1798-1858, last president of the Texas republic (1844-46), b. Seekonk section of Great Barrington, Mass. He studied medicine and after an itinerant business and medical career went (1833) to Texas and became a doctor. He joined the revolutionary forces in the war against Mexico and was present at the battle of San Jacinto (1836). Entering politics, Jones was a member of the Texas congress, was appointed (1838) by President Sam Houston as minister to the United States, was dismissed (1839) by President Mirabeau B. Lamar, and served as a senator. His appointment as secretary of state in the second Houston administration (1841-44) prepared the way for his election as president in 1844. Following the annexation of Texas, Jones resigned (1846) his authority to the new governor of the state. He committed suicide in 1858.
Bibliography: See biography by H. Gambrell (1948).
