From Slave To Gunsmith: The James Jones Story

In the mid-1800s, the safety of the populace in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, hinged upon the good quality of their rifles for hunting food and pocket pistols for defense against would-be assailants. James M. Jones’ skill provided the tools to fill those needs. James M. Jones was born into an enslaved black family. Fortunately for him and his siblings, his father had the foresight to buy his family’s freedom. The family picked up and removed from the Carolinas to Ohio. James and his three brothers eventually enrolled in Oberlin College, unheard of for black Americans at this time. James left the college in 1849 with a Bachelor of Science degree in hand.

But how did James’ father earn the money to free his family? He worked in the trades as a blacksmith and possibly a gunsmith. It was with the money he earned as a blacksmith that he bought the freedom of his wife and family. Actually, some would say he had to purchase their freedom twice, as the unscrupulous slaveholder demanded $1,000 over the agreed-upon price of $2,000.

Even after buying his family’s freedom, Allen Jones thought it best to move out of North Carolina, a slaveholding state, to the free state of Ohio. Although the family lived as free blacks in Raleigh, N.C., the severe beating Allen received at the hands of a white mob was most likely the catalyst that led the Jones family to seek shelter in Ohio. The white-owned Raleigh Register’s Oct. 18, 1842, edition came out lambasting the attack on Allen Jones, a free black man, proclaiming the attack a “Disgraceful Outrage.”

A percussion “derringer” pocket pistol signed by James “Gunsmith” Jones. This pistol is highlighted on p. 214 of “The Deringer in America Volume I: The Percussion Period” by R.L. Wilson and L.D. Eberhart. The author’s note that J.M. Jones of London, Ohio, was “One of a handful of American Blacks engaged in making guns in the 19th century.” In addition to derringers, he also produced high-quality rifles. Image courtesy of Rock Island Auction.

Even though James and his family were residing in the relative safety of the little town of London, Ohio, his father, Allen, was drawn to take his family to Chatham, Ontario, considered by many blacks as the “promised land,” as it was the terminus of the Underground Railroad. Chatham was seen by the former slaves and free African-Americans as a safe anchorage, as blacks made up nearly one-third of its population.

It was in Chatham that James established himself in the gunsmithing trade and where James’s superior gunsmithing skills cemented the sobriquet, “Gunsmith” Jones. While turning out firearms in Chatham, he was the sole black gunsmith residing in all of pre-Confederation Canada. He proved his gunsmithing skills by turning out exquisite pocket-size derringers. He had a burgeoning market in wild and woolly Canada, where people relied on their firearms for their very existence.

While operating his manufactory, Jones, in an anticipatory gesture of meeting Edward, the Prince of Wales, created a pair of gilt derringer handguns especially for him. The prince, an avid collector of fine firearms, was on his initial official visit to Canada. Informed that a prominent gunsmith had crafted a pair of gilt derringers especially for him was too much for the prince to ignore, and soon decided to take a bit of time out from his official trip to pay a visit to the town of Chatham. But just one drawback: the prince had no inkling that “Gunsmith” Jones was a black man. Although Chatham was a haven for black men and women, racism was still in play.

As a result, it fell into the lap of Chatham’s mayor; not knowing what else to do, the mayor apprised the royal’s staff that a change was in the works. By now, the prince must have been piqued. The mayor offered a terrible excuse, stating that the pair of gilt derringers were fashioned by “contaminated hands,” and as such were not fit to give as a gift to Prince Edward. Unfortunately, Prince Edward and Gunsmith Jones, Canada’s sole black gunsmith, would never meet.

An 1850s percussion derringer signed by James “Gunsmith” Jones. The gun measures 5.5″ length overall with a 2″ .41-cal. rifled barrel. This particular pistol sold at Heritage Auctions on June 25, 2011 for $1,015.75. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

That was an especially caustic blunder on the part of Chatham’s mayor. The local news publications freely attacked the mayor for his costly mistake. As to status of the brace of gilt derringers, as well as an engraved silver platter, fashioned by James Jones, some say they were later bestowed on the prince by his mother, Queen Victoria. While others claim that what happened with the derringers is unknown. Edward, Prince of Wales, would become King Edward VII. Is it possible that he regretted never meeting Gunsmith Jones to take possession of the pair gilt-adorned derringers directly from the famed artisan’s hands.

In due course, Jones made the move to western Canada where he wed Emily Francis; the pair had six children. The James Jones family eventually returned to Chatham where Jones maintained his shop, turning out several fine pistols. A number of examples may be seen on display within Windsor, Chatham and U.S. museums.  

As an interesting aside, Jones was associated with John Brown, actually to the point of discussing Brown’s upcoming raid in Harper’s Ferry. “He questioned how successful the raid would be,” said Chatham’s Gwen Robinson, a descendant of the black American Shadd family and author of Seek the Truth: A Story of Chatham’s Black Community. Robinson claims that Jones “… didn’t think it would work.”

As we know from history, the raid was an utter failure for which Brown was executed. Jones skirted danger, signing onto the Provisional Constitutional Convention, along with Brown. But wisely, this gunsmith did not join John Brown and his ill-fated posse in 1859. But, as the government tracked down those associated with Brown, Jones may have feared a knock at his door; fortunately for him it never came. “Gunsmith” Jones spent his final years at his son’s home in Ann Arbor, Mich., passing away peacefully in 1906. He was 85 years old.

Jones’s pocket pistols are beyond rare, and are sought after by keen gun collectors. One especially beautiful example is described by James D. Julia Auctions as a “rare pocket derringer with 2-7/8” ovoid shaped Damascus barrel with dovetailed front sight with silver or platinum blade. Top flat of barrel is engraved “J.M. JONES.” The breech plug is inlaid with two wide gold bands and has an engraved screaming eagle’s head in between. Back-action lock is engraved in tiny letters “J. M. JONES” above fine delicate serpentine shaped flat sided, square edged hammer and decorative scalloped bolster with platinum blow-out plug. Mounted in a 1-pc. walnut stock with Schnabel tip and secured with a wedge through dog-bone shaped silver escutcheons. Pistol is silver mounted with a tapered trigger guard that is engraved with panoply of arms with two different American shields framed with floral sprays. Trigger plate has an elaborately engraved silver pineapple finial. Top of wrist has an empty inlaid rectangular gold thumb plate with cut corners. Side plate has Mr. Jones’ distinctive sweeping floral design, also lightly engraved. Buttcap has a pinned teardrop shaped silver plate with an engraved triangular silver plate in tip of forestock. Grip is finely checkered in Mr. Jones’ usual patterns.” This exquisite gun sold at Morphy Auctions in the fall of 2017 for a staggering $18,400.

This pistol, attributed to “Gunsmith” Jones, sold at James D. Julia Auctioneers in the fall of 2017 for $18,400.

In addition to derringers, Jones also produced high-quality rifles. One example is a rare “Chatham, percussion rifle, .42 ca., with an 810 mm octagonal barrel J; on the top of the barrel is his signature. JONES CHATHAM C.W., the left side of barrel marked REMINGTON.” Apparently, Jones purchased the barrel from that maker. But this raises the question of why Jones, who was more than capable in fashioning his own barrels, used one made by Remington. The lockplate is decorated with pheasants and marked Joseph Golcher who manufactured the lock. The rifle has a walnut stock with checkered grip, a brass patchbox fitted to the right side, brass trigger guard and crescent shaped buttplate. It was also discovered that Jones produced an over-under combination rifle that, at one time during the 1960s, was on display at the Hiram Walker Museum in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Gunsmith Jones’ renown as “a world class gunsmith,” was proven by his garnering first prize at a number of contests that took place in notable U.S. and Canadian exhibitions. These included a medal at the Montreal Manufacturing and Trade Fair for a matching set of his derringers in 1859, and in 1864, at the Provincial Exhibition, where he won first prize. The Canada Directory for 1857–58 lists J.M. Jones as a “manufacturer of rifles, guns and pistols.”

James Gooding, publisher of The Canadian Journal of Arms Collecting, cited James Monroe Jones as “one of six Canadian gunsmiths who had the skill… to be compared with the best in the world. A skilled engraver, his three “Newfoundland Dog” derringers took first prize at the 1860 Montreal Expo, ironically opened by the Prince of Wales.

As an interesting aside, many of his superior crafted gun barrels have been discovered on rifles produced by those of lesser skill than Jones. Today, there are but a few complete rifles in existence known to have been produced by Jones. Several high-end auctions have offered a number of Jones’s firearms. Among them are Bonhams, Heritage, Morphy, Rock Island and Maynard’s Auctions.