Anson Jones (1798-1858) was a doctor, congressman, diplomatic minister, and President
of the Republic of Texas. Son of Solomon and Sarah (Strong) Jones, he was born in
Massachusetts and practiced medicine in New York and Pennsylvania. Jones practiced
medicine in Venezuela from 1824 to 1826 to raise money for medical school. The next
year he returned to Pennsylvannia to earn an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College and
became a Freemason. In 1832, he traveled to New Orleans as a commission merchant,
moving a year later to Brazoria, Texas. He fought during the Texas Revolution in
Robert Calder's company at the Battle of San Jacinto. Jones served as a member of
the Second Texas Congress and in 1838 was appointed by President Sam Houston as
minister to the United States. After President Mirabeau Lamar recalled Jones, he
served as a Texas senator following the death of William H. Wharton. In 1841,
President Houston appointed Jones secretary of state, where he helped develop
Texas's foreign policy. In 1844, Jones became the fourth and last President of the
Republic of Texas. During his term, he actively sought options for independence as
well as annexation by the U.S. When Mexico formally recognized Texas as independent,
the people were angered that Jones had not solely pursued annexation. The Texas
Congress rejected the peace treaty and limited Jones’ official duties. When the U.S.
annexed Texas in 1846, he retired to his plantation near Washington-on-the-Brazos
and worked on his book,
In 1840, Anson Jones married Mary (Mrs. Hugh) McCrory, née Smith (1819-1907), first President of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and the couple had four children: Charles Elliot, who died during the Civil War; Samuel Edward, a doctor; Cromwell Anson (1850-1888), a lawyer who controlled most of his father's estate lands; and Sarah Sophia (Sallie) Jones. Sallie married R.G. Ashe, and they had several children, including Willie G., Charles E., and Myra, wife of Clayton Scott.
Sources:
Anson Jones Papers, 1809-1910, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Gambrell, Herbert.
Himmel, Richard L.
Archives & Manuscripts, Texas State Library & Archives Commission.
Correspondence, diaries, speeches, memoranda, calendar of correspondence, scrapbook, official documents, legal documents, day books, account book, and clippings concern the family and career of Anson Jones. The papers relate to Jones’s political career and views, including annexation, trade relations with England, Independence from Mexico, Jones’s views of Mirabeau B. Lamar and fiscal policy of his administration, his relationship with Samuel Houston, his United States Senate aspirations, the Know Nothing Party, and abolitionism. Subjects also include his founding of the first Masonic Lodge in Texas, family genealogy, and attempts to gain a contract for transcontinental railroad line through Texas.
Mary Jones’s papers cover her family activities, work in the Texas Veterans Association, organization of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and donations to Texas State Historical Society. Materials also provide insight into C. Anson Jones’s career as a lawyer and land speculator.
This collection is open for research use.
Anson Jones Papers, 1809-1910, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Some material has been separated to the Artifact Collection.
See also
See also the
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.