George Clark Jones, the son of William C. and Lucy Strong Jones, was born in Barry, Orleans County, New York on October 1, 1829. In 1842 his family moved to Oakland County, Michigan, where at the age of twenty-one, Mr. Jones began the study of law with Judge A.C. Baldwin. He was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1853 and for the next sixteen years, practiced law in Ontonagon, Michigan.
Mr. Jones and his family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1869. He practiced law in Appleton, but his primary interest was his vast holdings in mineral and timber lands in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Oregon. Companies Mr. Jones was associated with include, George C. Jones Land Company, Lane-Coos Land Company, Elizabeth H. Jones Land Company, Oregon-Wisconsin Timber Holding Company, Challenger Mining and Development Company, Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company, Outagamie County Produce Company, The Pearl and Jasper Consolidated Mining and Milling Company, Woodford Electric Manufacturing Company, and the Neenah Cold Storage Company.
Mr. Jones was married to Elizabeth H. Weller, then Lucy S. Rhodes, and later, Camilla Davis, and had five sons, Charles W., George C., Fred W., William S., and Edward G. Only Charles and Edward-the latter associated with is father in business-survived their father. Mr. Jones died in Appleton in 1914.
