Untitled - citizen hylbom blog

580 SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
one year. Then he was ofEered the principalship
of a new institution which had been recently
opened in Haydenville, Mass., and which
he helped to place upon a practical and substantial
footing, resigning after two years to
return home and enter the field of journalism.
In this line Mr. Jones made a name and place
for himself in the history of North Bridgewater
and Brockton which can never be forgotten.
He became proprietor and editorial manager
of the North Brid^ewater Gazette in 1863,
and for twenty years devoted his best efforts to
the welfare of that paper, which during that
period attained an amazing influence and popularity.
When he took charge it was a weekly
journal, of limited- circulation but great possibilities,
which Mr. Jones developed to the utmost.
He was sincere and enthusiastic, and he
had ideals of what a newspaper should be in
its effect upon the morals and welfare of the
community. With perception, intelligence and
education beyond the ordinary, he had the
vision to see the needs of the growing town and
the demands which would be made upon his
journal, and he led progressive thought and
movements for many years, with an independence
of spirit and a conscientious regard for the
right which won him the respect and support
of the best elements in all classes. When Mr.
Jones sold out and severed his connection with
the newspaper business, Sept. 1, 1884, he left
the Gazette firmly established both in a financial
sense and in its position in the community,
for no paper in the State bore a higher reputation
for honesty of purpose and unquestioned
standards. From 1881 it had been published
daily as the Evening Gazette, the North Bridgewater
Weekly Gazette being continued meanwhile.
Both were sold to A. M. Bridgman.
The building in which the weekly and daily
issues were published stood at the northeast
corner of Main and Ward streets, and in 1910
was replaced by the present Marston block.
During this time Mr. Jones had personally
entered heartily into various enterprises deserator
and frequently thereafter, and his ability
as a presiding officer over public assemblies was
so generally recognized that he was often called
upon
tined to keep the town and city abreast of the
times. In 1864, the year after he returned to
to act as such, and he was often chairman
at political conventions and various public
gatherings. In 1878, when it was decided to
establish the public water works in Brockton,
he was selected a member of the committee to
decide upon the best source of supply and the
best system to adopt, and he took an active part
in establishing what was for many years the
city's source of supply — the Avon reservoir. He
was appointed a member of the committee chosen
by the town to frame a city charter for
Brockton and represented his ward in 1882 in
the first city council, of which he was unanimously
chosen president. In 1886, 1887 and
1891 he was elected tax collector, and in 1887
became city treasurer, which office he held for
seven years. That he retained the public confidence
and the good will of the community
throughout his municipal service betokens the
liigh regard he showed for the interests of his
fellow citizens in all these positions of trust.
Mr. Jones cast his first Presidential vote
for John C. Fremont, and he was a lifelong
Eepublican in political faith. He was always
a faithful party worker, and served several
years as chairman of the Eepublican town committee
before Brockton became a city; he was
often called upon to preside at conventions in
his district. He was a prominent member of
various clubs and social organizations, belonging
to the Commercial Club, the Old Colony
Congregational Club, the Old Bridgewater Historical
Society, and to various Masonic bodies.
In 1864 he joined Paul Eevere Lodge, A. F.
& A. M., and he joined the higher bodies up
to and including Bay State Commandery, K.
T. ; he held the office of generalissimo in the
commandery, the next to the highest office, but
declined to serve as eminent commander because
of the pressure of business interests. He
was among the original promoters and members
of the Old Colony Congregational Club, served
five years as its secretary and was president for
two years. He was a member of the board of
North Bridgewater, he was chosen a member
of the school committee, upon which he served
twelve years between that time and 1880, with
a devotion only too rarely found in public officials.
In March, 1864, he was a member of a
committee appointed to consider the advisability
of establishing a high school in the town. In
1872 he was appointed postmaster by President
Grant, and had the appointment renewed in
1873, serving until 1876, when he resigned this
office. In 1874 he was elected first town mod-
directors of the Plymouth County Safe Deposit
& Trust Company and its successor. The Plymouth
County Trust Company, from the time of
its organization. He was practically the founder
of the People's Savings Bank, which opened
for business Aug. 1, 1895, and served as treasurer
from that time until his death. In fact,
he was always the leading spirit in this institution,
which proved to be such a valuable factor
in the prosperity of Brockton, and into whose
success he put so much of his own personality.