Willie Jones (statesman) - The Willie Jones and John Paul Jones Tradition

The Willie Jones and John Paul Jones Tradition

Willie Jones lived at "The Grove," near Halifax. These old mansions, grand in their proportions, were the homes of abounding hospitality. When John Paul Jones visited Halifax, then a young sailor and a stranger, he made the acquaintance of those fine old patriots, Allen and Willie Jones; he was a young man but an old tar with a bold, frank sailor-bearing that attracted their attention. He became a frequent visitor/at their house, where he was always welcome. He soon grew fond of them, and as a mark of esteem and admiration, he adopted their name, saying that if he lived he would make them proud of it. Thus John Paul became John Paul Jones— it was his fancy. He named his ship the "Bon Homme Richard," as a compliment to Franklin; he named himself Jones as a compliment to Allen and Willie Jones. When the first notes of war sounded he obtained letters from these brothers to Joseph Hewes, member of Congress from North Carolina, and through his influence received his first commission in the navy.