Thomas Goode Jones, governor of Alabama, was born at Macon, Ga., Nov. 26, 1844; son of Samuel G. and Martha Ward (Goode) Jones; grandson of Dr. Thomas W. Jones, of Brunswick county, Va., and of Dr. Thomas Goode of Hot Springs, Va., and a descendant of John Jones, "gentleman," and of John Goode, of Whitby, both of whom came to America from England, and settled near Richmond, Va., between 1650 and 1665. He removed to Montgomery, Ala., with his parents in 1850; was graduated from the Virginia Military institute in 1862; served in the Army of Northern Virginia as a private and staff officer, attaining the rank of major. He was on the staff of Gen. John B. Gordon, and carried one of the flags of truce sent out by Gordon to Sheridan's lines at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865. At the close of the war he engaged in planting and the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1866 and established himself in the practice of law at Montgomery, Ala. He was a member of the city council, 1875-84; a representative in the Alabama legislature, 1884-88, being [p.149] speaker of the house, 1886-88: reporter of the decisions of the supreme court of Alabama, 1870-80; and colonel of the 2d regiment of Alabama state troops, 1880-90, which he commanded at Birmingham, Ala., in the Hawes and Posey riots in 1883 and 1888. He was governor of Alabama, 1890-94, distinguishing his administration by suppressing lawlessness, increasing the state tax rate in order to preserve the credit of the state, and establishing a new plan for ameliorating the evils of the convict system. He also took personal command of the state troops during the great mining and railroad strike of 1894, restoring order without bloodshed. He is the author of: Alabama Supreme Court Reports (18 vols., 1870-80); Code of Ethics of Alabama State Bar Association (1886). He was appointed a U.S. district judge in October, 1901.

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans 1904

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