Mr. Jones was born in 1846, in Wales. Of his humble home he says: “It
could scarcely be dignified by the name of cottage, for, as I saw it a
few years ago, it seemed a little barren hut, though still occupied.”
It was in memory of this modest birthplace over the sea, which is known
as _Tan y Craig_ (under the rock), that Mr. Jones named his handsome
Toledo mansion Tan y Oderwen (under the oak).
Perhaps the following autobiographical statement will serve better than
anything I could write to present his life story:
“I came with my parents to America when I was three years old, and I
have often heard them tell of the tedious voyage of thirty days in an
emigrant sailing ship, and the subsequent voyage over the Erie Canal to
central New York, where they settled in Lewis County. My parents were
very poor and very pious. The poverty in our family was so stringent
that it was necessary for me to go out and work, and I bear upon my
body to-day the marks of the injustice and wrong of child labor.
“At the age of eighteen I heard of the opportunities in the oil regions
in Pennsylvania, and at once made my way to Titusville. I landed
there with fifteen cents in my pocket, and without an acquaintance
in the State. For three days I went through one of the most trying
experiences of any young man’s life—living without money and seeking
work among strangers. I had promised to write to my mother, and I used
hotel stationery to fulfil my promise, but was without the necessary
three cents then needed to purchase a postage stamp. This was one of
the hardest financial problems of my life. I overcame it through
stratagem. Seeing a man on the way to the post-office with a bundle of
letters I inquired of him: ‘Are you going to the post-office?’ ‘Yes,
sir,’ he said. ‘Will you have the kindness to mail this for me?’ At the
same time I put my hand into my empty pocket in search of the necessary
coin, fumbling my pocket-knife and keys a moment. The gentleman kindly
said: ‘Never mind, I’ll stamp it,’ and the revenue was provided which
took my first letter to my mother.