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Jones placed the children with a brother-in-law
in Edisto, SC while he pursued postgraduate
work at Howard University. He transferred
to Wilberforce, and here he met Augusta
E. Clark, music teacher and foster daughter
of Bishop Daniel A. Payne. In 1887, he
graduated with a Divinity degree and was
appointed to Lynn, MA serving only one
year. Bishop Payne married Jones and Clark
October 5, 1887. He was then appointed
to Meeting Street A.M.E. Church in Providence,
RI, where he settled his new wife and
children.
After
two years, he was transferred to the Ohio
Conference and assigned to St. Paul’s
(Long Street) in Columbus where he pastored
for eight years. In 1892, he became the
first African American elected to the
Columbus Board of Education. During his
eight-year tenure with the board, he was
successful at championing the hiring of
African American teachers for the first
time in the city's history. In 1893, he
became Secretary of the Industrial Department
at Wilberforce. As a result of his political
contacts, he helped the university acquire
financial aid through the state legislature.
Interestingly enough, Rev. Jones was appointed
Presiding Elder in 1894, all the while
continuing as pastor of St. Paul’s,
along with his work with the school board.
In 1899, he was assigned to Zanesville
A.M.E. Church.
The
industrious Jones was elected president
of Wilberforce University during the 1900
General Conference, a position he held
for eight years. From 1908-1915, he returned
to the pastorate and presiding eldership.
As President of Wilberforce, he was characterized
as being “dynamic, aggressive, masterful
and scholarly with a commanding appearance.”
By this time, President Jones had amassed
a considerable fortune and the mere mention
of his name had become synonymous with
greatness.
The
president’s first order of business
at the university involved policies of
administration. Of chief concern was the
long-term financial security of the university,
cohesion between the three university
departments, and the centralization of
presidential authority. For example, under
the previous administration, the theology
department had become Payne Theological
Seminary, a financially and administratively
independent entity with little to no relation
to the university. Another issue at hand
was the industrial department’s
hiring of a superintendent and endowing
him with executive and fiscal power instead
of a Superintendent of Industries, as
required by state law. As a former member
of the trustee board, Jones was well aware
of the challenges ahead.
President
Jones immediately began efforts to increase
income to the university with the purchase
of two farms, 157 acres in total, paid
for with university dining hall funds.
His idea was to grow the food supply used
by the university, eventually making sufficient
profit to pay for the land and ensure
the school an endowment. Next, he purchased
another farm with $10,000 of his own funds
and operated it for profit through the
dining hall, much like the other two farms.
However, this time he paid himself six
percent interest on his investment. The
trustees did not agree with this action
even though he explained that the university
was not financially obligated. The matter
was never resolved, and Jones was required
to purchase all the land and settle all
transactions.
Through
it all, Jones was a very popular president
with students and faculty alike, especially
the young men who admired his qualities
and referred to him as the “Big
Horse” or “Horse Jones”,
pronounced “Hoss”, according
to great grandson, Edwin Jones. Still
Jones had other aspirations, including
that of the A.M.E. Bishopric. In fact,
he became a candidate in 1908, but was
defeated due largely to the animosities
developed during his tenure as president
of Wilberforce. During the university’s
next administration, that of Dr. William
Sanders Scarborough, Jones would become
Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
At the
1912 General Conference in Kansas City,
Rev. Jones was elected the 38th A.M.E.
Bishop and assigned to the Ninth Episcopal
District (Tennessee and Alabama Conferences).
He was later moved to the Texas area where
he was very instrumental in further establishing
Paul Quinn College. At the 1919 death
of Bishop Cornelius T. Shaffer, Bishop
Jones was assigned to the Third Episcopal
District where he immediately began working
with Wilberforce again by retiring the
school’s debt, and re-establishing
Shorter Hall after the fire on December
7, 1922. Bishop Jones was noted in a 1960s
A.M.E. publication as walking around the
building’s ashes on the morning
after the fire saying, “She shall
rise again and will be a greater Shorter
Hall!”
In 1928,
Bishop Jones was assigned to the very
bankrupt First Episcopal District (Philadelphia,
New Jersey and New England). Early in
his Bishopric, he raised $40,000 for Wilberforce
and, with his own funds, purchased a new
building for the A.M.E. Book Concern after
its near demise in 1930. He also assisted
in establishing his namesake church, Jones
Tabernacle.
According
to Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols (59th A.M.E.
Bishop), Bishop Jones was a moderately
wealthy man who enjoyed deep relationships
with both his black and white families.
Although born a slave, his white brothers
were known to have personally visited
him during his undergraduate years at
Wilberforce. "Bishop Jones was a
kind and giving soul, often times rescuing
our churches from the threat of financial
ruin with his personal funds."
Bishop
Jones was said to have had many fine qualities
as a man of God, but was "forgetful
and lax" regarding his finances and
recordkeeping. Bishop Nichols recalled
a time when he invited Bishop Jones to
preach at his church in New York City
and extended him hospitality for the weekend.
After Bishop Jones returned to Philadelphia,
$5,000 was found wrapped in a rubber band
under the bed in which he slept. When
Bishop Nichols called to inquire if he
had lost any money, Bishop Jones replied,
"Nick, I don't rightly know, but
if it ain't yours, hold it 'til I see
you again!"
Many,
including Bishops Nichols and Wright,
thought envy was the culprit of Bishop
Jones’ downfall, as a result of
his very humble beginnings, subsequent
financial stability and vast successes
in the church and community. Many more
believed these factors ultimately lead
to accusations of misuse of funds launched
against him by Bishop Ransom, “one
of his bitterest of foes”, at the
1932 General Conference in Cleveland,
OH.
The
specific charges against the Bishop included
funds raised to support Wilberforce and
some churches in the First Episcopal District.
According to Rev. Childers, former editor
of the A.M.E. Review during the 1960s,
the Bishop was forced to defend himself
against a screaming mob stirred by Bishop
Ransom. “I saw the emaciated figure
of dear old Bishop Jones as he pled with
the crowd to hear him. Bishop Ransom was
presiding and it seemed to me he encouraged
the crowd to vote Jones [and Bishop Vernon]
guilty.” Without an opportunity
for self-defense, Bishop Jones was suspended
and forcibly retired. Rev. Childers said
he visited the Bishop on the evening of
his suspension and he remarked, “This
race of ours has not yet cultivated the
art of appreciation. Watch yourself, or
you, after you have served and sacrificed
for the church, you will become the victim
of political intrigue.’“ Six
months later, Bishop Joshua Henry Jones,
the 38th Bishop of the A.M.E. Church,
was said to have died of a broken heart.
In truth, the Bishop passed away on November
24, 1932 at 1:47 a.m. of a diabetic comma.
Subsequent investigations into the church-related
incident found him guiltless of financial
improprieties, ending what is now called
"the saddest chapter in A.M.E. history.
Bishop
Jones is buried at Massies Creek Cemetery
located in Cedarville, Green County, Ohio
along with various other notable figures
in African Methodism including his son,
Dr. Gilbert Haven Jones, Rev. Dr. William
S. Scarborough, Bishop Benjamin Franklin
Lee and Bishop Reverdy Cassius Ransom.
--By
Ty Kelley
MAIN
SOURCES
· The A.M.E. Review, April-June
1964
· 2001 Interview, Bishop Decatur
Ward Nichols
· 2003 Interview, Presiding Elder
Herman A. Rhodes
· 2003 Interview, Direct Descendents
of Bishop Joshua H. Jones
· McGinnis, F.A.: History and an
Interpretation of Wilberforce University
· Wright Jr., R.R., Journal of
the Twenty-Ninth Quadrennial Session of
the
A.M.E. Church, May 2-16,
1932; The Bishops of the A.M.E. Church,
1963;
Encyclopaedia of African
Methodism, 1948.
· Claflin University-Historical
Archives Department, Orangeburg, SC
· Wilberforce University-Historical
Archives Department, Wilberforce, OH
· Drew University--Historical Archives
Department, Madison, NJ
· -Dickinson University--Historical
Archives Department, Carlisle, PA
· Brown University--Historical
Archives Department, Boston, MA
· Lexington County Public Library,
Lexington, SC
· The Ohio Historical Society
· The Free Library of Philadelphia
· National Archives, Philadelphia
Branch
· Joan Donovan, Green County, Ohio
Records Center and Archives
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