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Willie Jones (December 24, 1740 – June 18, 1801) was an American planter and statesman from Halifax County, North Carolina. He represented North Carolina as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780. Allen Jones, his brother, was also a delegate to the congress. In 1774, 1775 and 1776, Jones was elected to represent either the county of Halifax or the town of Halifax in the North Carolina Provincial Congress.〔(North Carolina Manual )〕 For a brief time in 1776, as the head of North Carolina's ''Council of Safety'', he was the head of the state's revolutionary government, until Richard Caswell was elected as Governor. Thereafter, Jones served in the North Carolina House of Commons and the North Carolina Senate and was elected to the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787 but declined to accept his seat. He led the faction that opposed North Carolina's ratification of the Constitution in 1788. Among his last public roles was helping to determine the location of Raleigh, the new state capital, in 1791. He moved to Raleigh and died there in 1801. He was buried in an unmarked grave on ground that is now occupied by St. Augustine’s College.〔(Historical Raleigh, by Moses Neal Amis )〕 Jones County, North Carolina, in addition to Jones Street in Raleigh where the North Carolina General Assembly building is located, is named for him. ==Family== Willie Jones (pronounced Wylie Jones), revolutionary leader and "Father of Jeffersonian Democracy in North Carolina" was born in Surry County, Virginia, May 25, 1741, the son of Robin Jones, Jr., and Sarah Cobb Jones. Sometime prior to 1753, the Joneses moved to Northampton County, North Carolina, settling about six miles from the town of Halifax. Jones attended his father’s ''alma mater'', Eton, from 1753 to 1758, after which he made the Grand Tour of the Continent. When he returned to Halifax, he was described as a ‘peculiarly thoughtful and eccentric man.’ His home, ''the Grove'', which he built at the southern end of town, became the center of social life and political activity for the region. He had one of the finest stables in the South and in 1790 owned one hundred and twenty slaves. On June 22, 1776, forsaking his vow of celibacy, he married the charming Mary Montfort. The couple had thirteen children. Only five of them lived to maturity.〔Lefler, Hugh. “Willie Jones.” ''The Patriots: The American Revolution Generation of Genius''. Ed. Virginius Dabney. New York: Atheneum, 1975. Pg. 159-161.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Willie Jones (statesman)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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