James H. Jones: free Black man and friend to Jefferson Davis

James H. Jones was a born as a free man in Wake County in 1831. His father died when he was an infant, and Jones learned brick masonry and plastering. In the 1850s, he started hiring himself out as a servant and waiter.

When Union troops threatened Richmond in the summer of 1862, Varina Howell Davis and her children were evacuated to Raleigh. She lived for some time in a stone house on the campus of St. Mary’s School in Raleigh after living for a short time in the Yarborough House.

In search of help, Davis asked for recommendations and was told of Jones. It is believed Watt Otey, a brother of the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia suggested Jones, as he had employed the man as both a servant and a coachman. Varina Davis and Jones quickly formed a warm bond and when she returned to Richmond, she offered him a job at the Confederate White House.

Jones became the body servant, personal courier and coachman for Jefferson Davis for the rest of the war. When Varina fled the capital in 1865 for Charlotte, it was Jones who was sent with her (along with a maid). Jefferson Davis followed shortly after and eventually was captured in Irwinville, Georgia. There has always been a legend that Jefferson Davis was dressed in women’s clothing at the time he was caught, but Jones disputed that claim all his life.

After the war, he returned to Raleigh, and Union General H.W. Halleck had him pursued because he thought Jones had buried two bags of money. The money was never found and Jones became a leader of the Black community.

He served in the Union League, as chief doorkeeper for the Republican convention, and as a deputy sheriff. In 1873, he was elected as an alderman in Raleigh and served several terms. He worked for two railroads and in 1876 formed the first Black military company in the state.

He served in other roles and when General William Ruffin Cox became secretary of the U.S. Senate, he appointed Jones to a position in the stationery room.

In 1889, when Jefferson Davis died, he had asked to drive the casket to the final resting place, but did not arrive in time to leave with the delegation. In 1893, when Davis’ body was exhumed and moved to Richmond for reburial, Varina Davis made sure Jones drove the funeral carriage from the train station to the state capitol. Jones referred to Davis as his “best friend.” Varina gave him her husband’s walking stick, which he later donated to the North Carolina Museum of History.

Jones died in 1921 in Washington, D.C. at the home of one of his sons, who was a doctor.

Sources:

NCpedia. “James H. Jones” by Raymond L. Beck

Scoundrels, Rogues and Heroes of the Old North State by Dr. H.G. Jones