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 was a 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 became a 

 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 Rifles. 



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-lieutenant 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 outbieak 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 

 governor. 



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 place 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 wns given. At "Ash bourne" he had a private museum 



(Ixxx) 



