Melville D. Jones

Who Was Melville D. Jones?

He was a city alderman for Somerville, Massachusetts and owner of the M.D. Jones Company in

Boston that manufactured, among other cast iron items, grave markers for the Sons of the American Revolution.

Melville was born on the 25th of September 1842 in Boston to Henry Jones and Sarah Hemenway, both originally born in Maine.

At the age of 18, Jones enlisted in the Civil War under Captain William R. Swan's Company C 5th Regiment  Massachusetts Volunteers.  The regiment went off to the war on the 19th of April, 1861 eventually participating in the first battle of Bull Run. In 1862, he served in Captain J.F. Sawyer's Company F , 6th Regiment of Cambridge and served for nine months.

After the war, he went to work for John A. Winn's company that manufactured ornamental iron works and in 1870 started his own business, M.D. Jones & Co. to manufacture ornamental iron works including vases, plant hangers and eventually grave markers.

Link - 1904 catalog of ornamental home items

Link - grave marker catalog

He married Catherine (Kate) Lovett on the 31st of August 1864 and had at least five children Melville F., Charles H., Frederick G., and Catherine M.

In 1879, Jones and his partner, Charles T. Oakes, filed for bankruptcy in the United States district court. All of the stock of his company was sold to pay creditors which amounted to about $15,000 in stock. (Boston Post, 17 June 1878)

Sometime between 1879 and 1885, Jones reinvented himself and restarted the M.D. Jones Co. In 1885, his company was commissioned by the city of Dorchester, Mass., to build a fountain that honored the late mayor of Boston, Theodore Lyman, Jr. . The fountain was the largest and most elaborate fountain in New England at the time of its dedication in October 1885.  The dedication was a big affair with several speakers and many citizens in attendance. In book published by the city council to commemorate the occasion, the editor wrote, "Let the Fountain be looked upon not only for its beautiful display of the graceful streams and cascades of water in the sunlight, but as a standing lesson in honor of human goodness to be found in the examples of Theodore Lyman, Jr., in his public and private life."

Today, the fountain has been inactive for 30 years and is in need of repair. Only the main bowl of the fountain remains at the site, the taller bronze portions having been dismantled in the 1950s.


Alderman Jones
In 1895, Jones became a city alderman in his home in Somerville, Mass., serving in Ward 2.

Boston Post, 17 Nov 1895

Boston Post 05 Nov 1896

Sons of the American Revolution Grave Marker

Jones patented the first official grave marker of the SAR which was commissioned by the Marblehead, Mass chapter of the SAR and approved on 19 October 1893. Jones filed for US Patent on the design and on the 19th of February 1895 was awarded patent number 24,059 "Design for a Grave Marker".

The Massachusetts society commissioned the creation of the grave marker to "designate the graves of soldiers or patriots of the Revolution. The society used its influence to induce most of the cities and towns of the state (Massachusetts) to purchase and place the markers; it also bought and placed many in Boston and contributed others placed elsewhere. Private individuals also purchased and placed large number." By 1901, 4000 were placed in Massachusetts, 700 in other states and 8 in France. (A National Register, p.451)


A 1901 listing of graves marked by these markers was compiled by the Massachusetts SAR. (Link) and again in 1904 (Link)









References:

• Somerville Past and Present: An Illustrated Historical Souvenir Commemorative of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Establishment of the City Government of Somerville, Mass. p. 571
• 1880 Census
• Death Certificate
• US Patent 24,059 Design for a Grave Marker
• Proceedings of the Dedication of the Fountain on Eaton Square Ward 24
• Fountain present day - Urban Culture Institute
• A National Register of the Society of Sons of the American Revolution Vol 1