John Coffin Jones

John Coffin Jones Jr. (1796 – December 24, 1861) was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life John Coffin Jones Jr. was born in 1796 in Boston, Massachusetts, and baptized on June 26, 1796, by the minister of the Brattle Street Church. He was the son of John Coffin Jones Sr. (1750–1829) and his third wife, Elizabeth (née Champlin) Jones (1770–1837). His father served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. His siblings included Christopher Champlin Jones and Anna Powel Jones and his elder half-siblings included Thomas Jones and Margaret Champlin Jones and Mary Jones. Through his mother, he was the nephew of U.S. Senator from Rhode Island Christopher G. Champlin and grandson of Christopher Champlin, a merchant, ship owner and financier of Newport, Rhode Island. Career Jones worked for Marshall and Wildes of Boston before he was appointed as the first Consul to Hawaii, which was then known as the Sandwich Islands, on September 19, 1820. He was considered an advocate for commercial interests in Hawaii, and was often in conflict with missionary elements in the island. He was a Unitarian. His career was full of turmoil and complaint, and had limited support or instruction from Washington, D.C. Although "his disposition was so unsteady and irascible", he was known for his entertainment of visiting dignitaries, including John Sutter.