Charles Henry Jones (businessman)
| Charles Henry Jones | |
|---|---|
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| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Captain of Industry |
| Spouse(s) | Bessie Roberts |
| Children | Paul Elizabeth Charles H. Jr. Harriet |
Charles H. Jones (April 10, 1855 - January 4, 1933), was an American capitalist and philanthropist, who amassed a fortune engaging in many fields of business and industry including leather and shoe manufacturing, cattle breeding, dairy farming, and real estate development.
Born to Isaac Rodney Jones and Harriet (Sears) Jones, Charles married Bessie Roberts of Boston in December 1882, and fathered four children.
Charles H. Jones began work in the shoe industry in his mid-teens. In 1881 at the age of 26, he and Henry B. Endicott established the shoe manufacturing company Charles H. Jones & Co. in Whitman, Massachusetts. By 1885, the partners’ business had merged with the Bay State Shoe & Leather Co. to form the Commonwealth Shoe and Leather Co, and had begun manufacturing what became the hugely popular Bostonian shoe. Known for high quality and comfort, The Bostonian is still sold today. By 1902 the manufacturing company had begun to sell directly to shoe retailers in addition to wholesalers, garnering even greater profits.
At the start of 1906, sales through the Commonwealth Shoe and Leather Company office located at 72 Lincoln Street in Boston’s shoe district were international in scope, and the company was operating steam-powered factories in the three New England cities of Whitman, Massachusetts (the largest and original site), Gardiner, Maine, and Skowhegan, Maine, with a combined employment of 3,000 workers, and an output of 7,000 pairs of shoes per day.
Charles H. Jones’s prominence in the shoe manufacturing business led to him being considered by some to be the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subject. His business interests led him to become active in public policy, fighting unceasingly in Washington to keep the import of leather hides free from tariffs. He assisted in the framing of four tariff acts:
In 1909 Dartmouth College recognized him with an honorary master's degree. Although he had frequently been mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor, Jones refused the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and never sought public office. He did accept the position of Director of the First National Bank of Boston, Batchelder & Lincoln Co., Transportation Committee Chairman for the Boston Chamber of Commerce, held executive offices for the New England Shoe & Leather Association, the National Bank of Redemption and the Boylston Machinery Company. Club memberships included the Guernsey Club of Boston, Boston City, Exchange, Boot & Shoe, Eastern and Beverly Yacht Clubs. Jones attended the First Baptist Church of Weston, was a Trustee of the Gordon College of Theology and Missions and served as a Director of the Evangelistic Association of Missions.
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