Malachi Jones (clergyman)

Malachi Jones (c.1651–1729) was an Anglo-Welsh clergyman and missionary active in late 17th and early 18th Century England and Pennsylvania. He is best known as the father of the Dissenting educator Samuel Jones and as the founder of Abington Presbyterian Church in Abington, Pennsylvania.

Jones was born 1651 or 1652, probably in England or Wales. His earliest recorded residence is in the Parish of Clodock, Herefordshire, where he was employed as a tanner between 1693 and 1694.

Jones served as a Dissenting preacher in "the welch part of Herefordshire" sometime after 1689. His ministry was supported by the Congregational Fund in London, which provided Jones with at least four grants between 1697 and 1704 . In or about 1682 Jones married, his wife Mary's surname is not recorded. The couple had several children, including Samuel Jones, who became a notable educator.

Between 1711 and 1713, Jones left England for America. One report has him in Abington, Pennsylvania in 1711. However, another source indicates that in May 1713, a "Malachy Jones" sailed from Bristol bound for Pennsylvania aboard the frigate "Foy". Other passengers on this voyage, such as one Sarah Abraham (possibly a resident of Clodock and later a founding member of Abington Presbyterian Church) appear to be associates of Jones. It is possible, therefore, that Jones returned to England at least once before permanently settling in Pennsylvania.

Most of Jones's children also immigrated to Pennsylvania at this time. One son, however, Samuel Jones remained in England, where he established a notable Dissenting Academy in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, and is buried in Tewkesbury Abbey.

Given Jones's work with the Congregational Fund in London, it is possible that he came to America in order to establish Congregational churches on behalf of the Fund. However, shortly after his arrival, he adopted Presbyterian principles, and was instrumental in organizing at least two churches under presbyterian governance.

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