Thomas J.Jones    

Thomas J. Jones, clerk of the registered mail division of the Canonsburg post office and for nearly a quarter of a century an attache of that office, one of the real veterans in the post office service in this county, was born in Pittsburgh, January 11, 1887, a son of Thomas D. and Marian (Fellows) Jones, who are now living in Canonsburg, where they have had their home since the middle ‘90s. Mrs. Jones was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1866, a daughter of James and Eliza Fellows, both of whom were born in England and whose last days were spent in Pittsburgh, where James Fellows was for years employed as a puddler in the iron mills. They were members of the Butler Street Methodist Episcopal church and James Fellows was a local preacher of that communion, a supply pastor in his own and other Methodist churches in his home town.

Thomas D. Jones, an expert machinist now living retired in Canonsburg, in which city he was connected with the operations of the Fort Pitt Bridge Company from 1896 to 1915, was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, November 15, 1857, and was but a child when he came to this country with his parents, Thomas T. Jones and wife, the family settling in Pittsburgh. Thomas T. Jones was a mechanic of skill and was for some years master mechanic in the shops of the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company, later becoming the master mechanic in the government arsenal in Pittsburgh, thus serving at the time of the Spanish-American war and continuing to serve in that capacity until his death. He was a republican and was an elder in the Presbyterian church. Thomas T. Jones was twice married, his first wife having died not long after the arrival of the family in this country, and he was the father of six children, all of whom are living save one, Thomas D. Jones being the only one of these who resides in Washington county. One of his brothers, Dr. P. K. Jones, is a veterinary surgeon in Pittsburgh. A brother, William T. Jones, and a sister, Miss Mary Jones, live in Elwood City, this state, and another sister, Mrs. Kate Nichols, lives in Pasadena, California. Thomas D. Jones and wife are members of the Chartiers Presbyterian church and are republicans.

Reared in Pittsburgh and Canonsburg, Thomas J. Jones finished his early education in the schools of the latter city and in 1902, when fifteen years of age, became a clerk in the Canonsburg post office, with which branch of the government service he ever since has been connected, this period of continuous mail service now covering almost a quarter of a century. In 1920 Mr. Jones was made clerk of the registered mail division of the post office and has since been serving in that important capacity. He has for years taken an active and helpful interest in the great movement of the Boy Scouts of America and since 1910 has been scoutmaster in Canonsburg, in that capacity having done much to promote this helpful and patriotic service. He and his wife are members of the Chartiers United Presbyterian church and are republicans. Mr. Jones was for eight years superintendent of the Sunday school of the Chartiers congregation, has been for years a teacher in the Sunday school and is a member of the board of trustees of the congregation, present treasurer of the board. His interest in Sunday school work makes him one of the local leaders in that line and he has a certificate of training as an international Sunday school teacher. He is a member of the local Hungry Club and is also affiliated with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.

On June 16, 1908, in Pittsburgh, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Anna McNary of Canonsburg and they have one child: A daughter, Mary Edith, born December 24. 1912. Mrs. Jones was born in Canonsburg, August 9, 1886, and was graduated from the high school there in 1905. She is a daughter of John W. and Mary L. (Johnston) McNary, the latter of whom also was born in Canonsburg, and both of whom are still living in that city. John W. McNary. a member of one of the old families of Washington county, was born in this county and is a well known carpenter and builder in Canonsburg. He and his wife are members of the Chartiers United Presbyterian church and are republicans.

History of Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1926; Forrest, Earle Robert, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., pages 235-237  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.