SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF J. M. JONES. 
(See Frontispiece. ) 
John Matthew Jones was born at Frontfaith Hall, Montgomery, 
Wales, on 7th October, 1828. He wasa son of Admiral Sir Charles 
Thomas Jones, K. C. B., his mother having been formerly Miss Jane 
Helen Satton. 
In 1840 he went to Osmestry in Shropshire, England, a grammar- 
school under the superintendence of the Rev. Stephen Doane, and 
subsequently he received instruction from a private tutor, the Rev. John 
Whitly, rector of Wargrove near Warrington, Lancashire. He becamea 
barrister of the Middle Temple, London, but being possessed of independ- 
ent means, did not practice his profession. For some time he was 
a captain in the Royal Montgomery hifles. 
In June, 1850, while on his way with his brother to the latter’s 
shooting-box in Scotland, he was wrecked in the steamship “Orion” off 
Portpatrick. Over one hundred persons were drowned, but Mr. Jones 
and his brother were among those who were saved. 
He came to America about 1854 with his eldest brother who 
was flag-lievtenant to Admiral Milne, intending to shoot in the Rocky 
Mountains. He landed at New York, but was only able to proceed as 
far as London, Ontario, when an outbreak of cholera forced him to go to 
Halifax. He finally decided to reside in the latter town where, about 
the same time, his relative the Earl of Mulgrave, was stationed as 
sovernor. 
He spent some time in the Bermudas, where his researches into the 
natural history of those islands resulted in the publication about 1859 
of a volume entitled “The Naturalist in Bermuda.” 
At Halifax he resided for some time at ‘ Ashbourne,” a charming 
country } Jace surrounded by fields and woods, at Dutch Village not far 
from the city. Near him lived the late Andrew Downs, well-known as an 
ornithologist, whose grounds were arranged as a zoological park ; while in 
the city were several men who were beginning to take a keen interest in 
the study of the natural history of Nova Scotia. 
In this country home, Mr. Jones’s opportunities were excellent for 
observing nature and making extensive collections of the fauna of the 
province, to the investigation and gathering of which the greater part of 
his time was given. At ‘‘Ashbourne” he had a private museum 
(Ixxx) 
