James L. Jones (1824-)
OFFICE LOCATION: West Chester, PA
TENURE: 10/31/1850 – 11/12/1851
HEARINGS: 1
RENDITIONS: 1
CASES:
Elizabeth Williams Case (1851) – 1 returned
- Commissioner Jones’s deputy, Marshal Milton Lapman, seized Williams as she was released from a West Chester prison at 4 am on June 28, 1851, after serving a five-month sentence for larceny. In “an almost incredible short space of time,” she was taken before Commissioner Jones, who issued a certificate of removal and remanded Williams to the custody of the claimant. [1851-07-04 Baltimore Sun]
- The West Chester Village Record reported that the predawn hearing lasted only 15 minutes, and no anti-slavery lawyer was present to defend Williams. [1851-07-03 Pennsylvania Freeman, quoting West Chester Village Record]
NOTES:
- Jones’s appointment as U.S. Commissioner was announced in November 1850. [1850-11-16 New Orleans Crescent]