Continental Congressman, North Carolina Governor. His first name was pronounced "wily", and he was the son of Robin Jones, the agent and attorney of Lord Grenville, one of North Carolina's lord proprietors. He attended England's Eton College, and then returned to North Carolina where he owned a plantation. He served in North Carolina's Provincial Congress from 1774 to 1776. In 1776 he was appointed President of the state Committee of Safety and ex officio Governor. Jones served in the North Carolina House from 1776 to 1778, and the Continental Congress in 1780. He was chosen as a Delegate to the US Constitutional Convention in 1787 but declined to accept. In 1788 he was a member of the state convention called to consider the new US Constitution. He opposed ratification as the leader of the anti-Federalists, placing him in opposition to his brother Allen, a former Continental Congressman who favored a strong federal government and led the pro-ratification delegates. Willie Jones prevailed and the Constitution was not adopted at this convention. In the 1790s he was one of three commisioners who chose a site and design for Raleigh, a new city planned as the state capital, and also served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina. In keeping with his Deist beliefs, when he died Jones was buried in an unmarked grave. This grave is believed to have been located on the site of what is now Raleigh's St. Augustine's College, but attempts to locate it have proved unsuccessful.
Continental Congressman, North Carolina Governor. His first name was pronounced "wily", and he was the son of Robin Jones, the agent and attorney of Lord Grenville, one of North Carolina's lord proprietors. He attended England's Eton College, and then returned to North Carolina where he owned a plantation. He served in North Carolina's Provincial Congress from 1774 to 1776. In 1776 he was appointed President of the state Committee of Safety and ex officio Governor. Jones served in the North Carolina House from 1776 to 1778, and the Continental Congress in 1780. He was chosen as a Delegate to the US Constitutional Convention in 1787 but declined to accept. In 1788 he was a member of the state convention called to consider the new US Constitution. He opposed ratification as the leader of the anti-Federalists, placing him in opposition to his brother Allen, a former Continental Congressman who favored a strong federal government and led the pro-ratification delegates. Willie Jones prevailed and the Constitution was not adopted at this convention. In the 1790s he was one of three commisioners who chose a site and design for Raleigh, a new city planned as the state capital, and also served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina. In keeping with his Deist beliefs, when he died Jones was buried in an unmarked grave. This grave is believed to have been located on the site of what is now Raleigh's St. Augustine's College, but attempts to locate it have proved unsuccessful.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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