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Rufus Sibb Jones
Member From: 1871 - 1875
- Birth Date: ca. 1834 Birth Place:Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- Death Date: July 17, 1897
- Gender: Male Race: African American
- Spouse: Annie M. Stevens (m. April 25, 1869; d. March 21, 1876) and Margaret Blunt (m. June 23, 1878)
- Children: 1 daughter
- Religion: African Methodist Episcopal
- Education:
- Military Service: the Hannibal Guards (1856) and the Fort Pitt Cadets (1860)
United States Colored Troops (regimental clerk, Sergeant in November 1865) - Occupation/Profession: Postmaster, Teacher, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Sheriff, Lawyer
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Additional Info Links:
Bio from Virginia's Martin Luther King Jr. Commission
Encyclopedia Virginia Biography
- Bio: Rufus Sibb Jones, a member of the House of Delegates (1871–1875), was born about 1834 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Pittsburgh by 1850, where he was apprenticed to a wigmaker. He attended a school affiliated with an African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. In the 1860 U.S. Census he reported his occupation as hair worker and owning $1,000 in personal property. Drafted into the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War (1861-1865), he became a regimental clerk before mustering out as a sergeant in November 1865. Moving to Virginia after the war, in 1869 Jones worked as a postmaster of Newport News, in Warwick County, and briefly taught in a Freedmen’s Bureau School. He won election in 1871 to a two-year term in the House of Delegates representing the counties of Elizabeth City and Warwick. He was reelected in 1873 but lost a third term in 1875 as well as a bid to the Senate of Virginia in 1877. A practicing attorney, he also served as a justice of the peace, a customs inspector, and a deputy sheriff. He died on July 17, 1897, and is buried at Hampton National Cemetery.
| Session | District | District Number | Party | Leadership | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871-1873 | Elizabeth City and Warwick | Schools and Colleges | |||
| 1874-1875 | Elizabeth City and Warwick | Republican | Labor and the Poor Schools and Colleges |
*The information within this interactive and searchable application has been researched extensively by the House Clerk’s Office. As with any historical records of this age and breadth, there may be discrepancies and/or inconsistencies within records obtained from a variety of credible sources. Any feedback is encouraged at history@house.virginia.gov.