John William Jones was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

 who served in the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

.

Biography

Jones was born in Rockville

Rockville, Maryland

Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, in 1806. His family moved to Nicholas, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, in 1810. He attended Carlisle Semiary, studied medicina and practiced medicine in Washington, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, in 1826. At a later day he moved to Monroe, Georgia

Monroe, Georgia

Monroe is a city in Walton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,381 at the 2008 census. The city is the county seat of Walton County, Georgia.-Geography:Monroe is located at ....

 and then to Campbellton, Georgia

Campbellton, Georgia

Campbellton is an unincorporated town in southwestern Fulton County, Georgia, that lies along the banks of the Chattahoochee River. The area prior to white settlement was populated by the Creek Indians. Campbellton was settled by several families. The Beavers Family owned and farmed a large...

, in 1829..

In 1830 and 1831, Jones attended the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, and then moved to Culloden, Georgia

Culloden, Georgia

Culloden is a city in Monroe County, Georgia, United States. The population was 223 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Culloden is located at ....

 in 1833. In 1836, Jones graduated from the Jefferson Medical College (current-day Thomas Jefferson University

Thomas Jefferson University

Thomas Jefferson University is a private health sciences university in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The university consists of six constituent colleges and schools, Jefferson Medical College, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies, Jefferson School of Health...

) in Philadelphia.

Jones was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives

Georgia House of Representatives

The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...

 in 1837. He moved to Griffin, Georgia

Griffin, Georgia

Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 23,643.-Geography:Griffin is located at ....

, in 1841. In 1846, Jones was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to represent Georgia's 3rd congressional district

Georgia's 3rd congressional district

Georgia's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is based in west central Georgia and stretches from Columbus in the south to the southern edge of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area in the north, including Fayette, Coweta, Henry, and Spalding...

. He did not run for reelection in 1848, serving one term from March 4, 1847 through March 3, 1849.

After his congressional service, Jones moved to Oak Bowery

Oak Bowery, Alabama

Oak Bowery is an unincorporated community in southern Chambers County, Alabama, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 431, north of Auburn, Alabama.- History :Oak Bowery was first settled in 1828 by South Carolinians and was originally named Woodlawn...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, and practiced medicine in addition to serving on the board of the Oak Bowery Female College in 1850. The next year, he moved to Auburn, Alabama

Auburn, Alabama

Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...

, and was a founder of the Auburn Masonic Female College (current-day Auburn High School). In 1856, Jones moved to Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, and was a professor at the Atlanta Medical College (current-day Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

) from 1856 to 1862. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Jones served as surgeon on the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

. After the war, he returned to the Atlanta Medical College and served on that faculty from 1865 until 1870. Jones moved in 1871 to Decatur, Georgia

Decatur, Georgia

Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...

, where he died on April 27 of that year. He was buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery.