|
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
Jones Timeline
January 20, 1798 - Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts
1807-1809 - Embargo crisis with Britain begins, results in severe economic hardship in New England
1810 - Mexican struggle for independence from Spain begins
1811 - Resumption of crisis with Britain leads to War of 1812 and continued economic depression in New England
1814 - Hartford Convention proposes New England secession from U.S.; fails with news of U.S. victory in Battle of New Orleans
Anson Jones
A Joyless Boyhood
Born in 1798, Anson Jones was the thirteenth and next to last of the children of Solomon and Sarah Jones, tenant farmers in western Massachusetts. The area was rich in natural beauty and in political turmoil. Before Jones's birth, it was the center of Shay's Rebellion, an uprising against the fledgling United States government.
It is not known whether any of Jones's family were rebels. In later life, Anson Jones would remember a childhood marked by poverty and instability. The family moved ten times before he reached the age of 18, trying to better its situation with little success.
Anson was a frail boy who spent most of his time helping his father with a small tanning business and reading and studying when he could find the time. Life was hard, and Jones came of age as an awkward, serious, and timid young man.
