John Coffin Jones, Sr.

John Coffin Jones Sr. (1749 – October 25, 1829) was a businessman who served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1802 to 1803. Early life Jones was born in 1749. He was the son of Ichabod Jones (d. 1790). John attended and graduated from Harvard College. Career In 1790, Jones wrote to Thomas Jefferson upon his return from France as the U.S. Minister regarding "whalefishery," which Jones considered it to "ever been the most important branch of business to this State, by furnishing its most valuable Staple export, creating a great consumption of the Produce of the Country; and thereby giving employment to a vast number of husbandmen and mechanics, whilst it proved a most extensive nursery of expert and hardy seamen." Jones was a businessman who became a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. From 1802 to 1803, he served as the Speaker of the House succeeding Edward Robbins. Jones was succeeded by Harrison Gray Otis, who later served as the Mayor of Boston and a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. In 1814, Jones was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.