Bishop Henry Jones

Jones, Henry, Bishop of Meath, was born in Wales about the year 1605. [His father, Lewis Jones, Bishop of Killaloe, died in Dublin in 1646, aged about 103, and was buried in St. Werburgh's. He had four sons — Sir Theophilus Jones, a captain in the army; Colonel Michael Jones, an able Parliamentary officer, appointed Governor of Dublin, who defeated Ormond at the battle of Rathmines; Henry Jones, the subject of this notice; and Ambrose Jones, Bishop of Kildare.] In October 1641 Henry Jones unsuccessfully defended the castle of Belanenagh against the O'Reillys, was for a time held prisoner by the Irish, and after his release was instrumental in the preservation of Drogheda, by giving the Lords-Justices timely notice of a plan for its seizure. He did much to mitigate the sufferings of the Protestants during the war, and went to London to collect money for their relief. Upon his return in 1645 he wa consecrated Bishop of Clogher; yet we afterwards find him Scout-Master-General to Cromwell's army, a post which Ware declares "not so decent for one of his function." Appearing early in favour of the Restoration, his countenance of Cromwell was forgotten, and in 1661 he was advanced to the see of Meath.

Fifteen years Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, he made considerable improvements in the Library. He died in Dublin, 5th January 1681, and was buried in St. Andrew's Church. Harris styles him "a prelate of considerable fame for his learning and profound judgment in politicks, hospitality, and a constant exercise of preaching." Besides numerous sermons, he wrote historical relations of the War of 1641-'52, an account of St. Patrick's Purgatory, and several works enumerated in Harris's Ware. Harris says in his notice of Lewis Jones and his sons: "From the first of these gentlemen [Sir Theophilus Jones, above mentioned] are descended three orphan females, who are the printers of these sheets. 'God is the judge, he maketh low, and he maketh high.'" The printer of Ware's first volume in 1739 is E. Jones — probably the "Miss Elizabeth Jones, 3 Books," in the list of subscribers. Both she and Harris lived in Clarendon-street.

Sources

339. Ware, Sir James, Works: Walter Harris. 2 vols. Dublin, 1764.