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Biographical Sketch of Dr. Harriet B. Jones, 1902
- From "History of Wheeling and Ohio County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens," Cranmer, Hon. Gibson Lamb, 1902, p. 365-366.
Dr. Harriet B. JONES, who has attained prominence as a practicing physician of Wheeling, is a woman of great force of character and has made her influence felt in elevating the social and moral tone of the city and community. She was born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1856, and is a daughter of John P. Jones.
John P. Jones was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, June 21, 1832, and came to the United States when six years of age with his parents, who located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He moved to Ebensburg, where he engaged in general merchandising. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and in politics was a Republican. He moved to West Virginia in 1862 and located at Cranberry Summit, now known as Terra Alta. There he was a general merchant and lumber dealer. He took an active part in politics, and represented Preston county in the state legislature, serving one term in the upper branch and two in the lower. He was a very active, enterprising and public-spirited man. He was superintendent of his Sunday school continuously for twenty-five years. He died September 18, 1900, and lies buried at Terra Alta. He married Hannah Rodgers, a daughter of Geroge and Catherine Rodgers. She was born September 28, 1832, and died November 28, 1894.
At an early age Harriet B. Jones entered seminary at Wheeling and graduated there-from on June 3, 1875. She received the advantages of a fine musical education. May 1, 1884, she graduated with honors from the Women's Medical College at Baltimore, Maryland, as a physician and surgeon. She commenced the practice of her profession in Wheeling in September, 1885, after spending a few months in travel. In 1887 she was elected by the board of trustees as assistant superintendent of the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane at Weston, and served with credit for three and a half years. She then returned to Wheeling, and has since applied herself diligently to the practice of her profession, in which she has met with unqualified success. Dr. Jones has been prominent in temperance matters, having organized the Society of the White Cross at Weston, Virginia, and was president of the W. C. T. U. and the United Chautauqua Circles of Wheeling. Ten years ago the Doctor interested herself in the welfare of homeless girls, and drafted a bill, which through her representative she presented to the state legislature for passage. It took six years of constant and persistent personal endeavor and lobbying at the state capital to gain her ends. In 1897 she was triumphant and had the intense satisfaction of seeing the measure pass without a single amendment attached thereto. With the bill was an appropriation of $10,000. The construction of the building was begun in 1899, when a further appropriation of $30,000 was made, and at the last sitting a further sum of money was set aside for the same purpose. In May, 1899, the home was opened and there are now 16 inmates. Soon this institution raised by the efforts of Dr. Jones will be ready to accommodate 50 inmates. Every session of the legislature finds her on hand to secure ample provision for the institution. She lectures occasionally on temperance, social purity and literature. She is a member of the First Presbyterian church. She belongs to the Women's Club; the State Medical Association; the Ohio County Medical Society; and the American Medical Association.
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