Asa W. Jones

Who was Asa W. Jones?

Asahel Wellington Jones was an American Republican politician who served as the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio from 1896 to 1900.

Jones was born September 18, 1838 at Johnstonsville, Trumbull County, Ohio, son of William P. Jones, born in Trumbull County, and Mary J. Bond, born in New York. He was raised on a farm and educated in the public schools. He attended Western Reserve Academy. He read law in Warren, and was admitted to the bar 1859. In 1861, he opened an office in Mecca, Ohio, during the oil boom there. In 1864, he moved to Youngstown. His practice there concentrated on personal injury lawsuits involving railroads. In 1869, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Mahoning County, and re-elected in 1871. He later was general council for the Pittsburg and Western Railroad, and attorney for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He was director and a large stockholder of the Second National Bank of Youngstown, and the Dollar Savings and Trust Company.

In 1880 Jones was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In December, 1884, he was elected President of the Ohio State Bar Association. Governor Foraker appointed him judge advocate general of the state. In 1895, he was nominated at the state Republican Convention, and won election as Lieutenant Governor. He won re-election in 1897.