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Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1400 items) |
Abstract | William Cole Jones was a journalist with the Atlanta Journal for 45 years. He began his career as a reporter in April 1906. By 1910, his editorials were published regularly, covering topics ranging from social and cultural issues to local, national, and world politics and events. He had risen to chief editorial writer by 1927, and he was appointed associate editor of the Atlanta Journal in 1934. He retired in August 1951. Jones was a member of the Symposium, one of the oldest literary and social clubs in Atlanta. He married Edith Sewell on 10 January 1907, and they had one daughter, Emily, who died in an accident at age nine. The collection consists of materials documenting the life and work of William Cole Jones, including correspondence; newspaper clippings; a book about Jones by his niece, Julia Sewell Carter, that includes biographical and genealogical information as well as photographs of him and his family and a selection of his writings; and editorials, radio addresses, literary essays, short stories, and speeches by Jones. The bulk of the correspondence was received in the aftermath of his daughter's sudden death in 1918 and at his retirement in 1951. Pamphlets, programs, notes, correspondence, and images relate to Jones's trip to England in the fall of 1946 as representative of his newspaper on the maiden peacetime voyage of the Queen Elizabeth. |
Creator | Jones, William Cole, 1881-1963. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
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William Cole Jones was born on 13 December 1881 and grew up in Macon, Ga. He attended Mercer University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1902 and his master's degree in 1904. On 10 January 1907, he married Edith Sewell, and in May 1909 they had a daughter, Emily. Her death in a freak accident on 31 October 1918 profoundly affected Jones and his wife for the rest of the their lives.
On 1 April 1906 Jones began working for the Atlanta Journal as a reporter covering the police and capitol beats with an occasional feature story. These early articles are practically his only signed work. His first editorials may have been published as early as 1908, and by 1910 his work appeared regularly, though anonymously, on the editorial page. His editorials covered topics ranging from social and cultural issues to local, national, and world politics and events. Jones had risen to chief editorial writer by 1927, and he was appointed associate editor of the Atlanta Journal in 1934.
In 1946, Jones was chosen as the Atlanta Journal's representative in a group of American journalists invited by the Cunard White Star Line to make the maiden peacetime voyage on the Queen Elizabeth. The group sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to England on the Queen Mary in late September and returned to New York on the Queen Elizabeth in mid-October. During this trip, Jones wrote fourteen articles about life aboard the ships and his sightseeing experiences in England.
William Cole Jones was a member of the Symposium, one of the oldest literary and social clubs in Atlanta. Over the years, he read numerous papers at its meetings, and he was its president when he retired from the Atlanta Journal in August 1951. He died on 22 October 1963 at his home in Decatur, Ga.
Back to TopThe collection consists of materials documenting the life and work of journalist William Cole Jones of Atlanta, Ga. It contains correspondence; newspaper clippings; notes and a book by his niece, Julia Sewell Carter entitled William Cole Jones: A Sage of the South Remembered (2004), a biography and genealogy of Jones that includes photographs of him and his family and a selection of his writings; and editorials, radio addresses, literary essays, short stories, and speeches by William Cole Jones. The bulk of the correspondence was received in the aftermath of his daughter's sudden death in 1918 and at his retirement in 1951. Pamphlets, programs, notes, correspondence, and images relate to Jones's trip to England in the fall of 1946 to represent his newspaper on the maiden peacetime voyage of the Queen Elizabeth.
Back to TopArrangement: alphabetical and then chronological.
Letters, newspaper clippings, a travel diary, and books relating to the life and work of William Cole Jones. The correspondence spans the entire period of the collection, but most letters were received in the aftermath of Jones's daughter's sudden death in 1918 and at his retirement in 1951. The book entitled William Cole Jones: A Sage of the South Remembered (2004) by Julia Sewell Carter is a biography and genealogy of Jones, with photographs of him and his family, and a selection of his writings, including editorials, radio addresses, and literary essays.
Folder 1 |
Atlanta fire, 1917 |
Folder 2 |
Atlanta Journal Magazine, 16 January 1949 |
Folder 3 |
Biography |
Folder 4 |
Book: William Cole Jones: A Sage of the South Remembered by Julia Sewell Carter |
Folder 5 |
Children's book that belonged to Emily Jones |
Folder 6-8
Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8 |
Correspondence |
Folder 9 |
Emily Jones |
Folder 10 |
Genealogy |
Folder 11 |
Miscellaneous clippings |
Folder 12 |
Trip to Europe travel diary, 1956 |
Arrangement: alphabetical and then chronological.
Editorials, radio addresses, literary essays, short stories, and speeches by William Cole Jones. Most of Julia Sewell Carter's notes, made during the preparation of her book, are filed with the relevant writings. Also included are pamphlets, programs, notes, and correspondence relating to Jones's trip to England in the fall of 1946 to represent the Atlanta Journal on the maiden peacetime voyage of the Queen Elizabeth.
Folder 13 |
Editorials, 1908-1909 |
Folder 14-15
Folder 14Folder 15 |
Editorials, 1910 |
Folder 16 |
Editorials, 1912, 1914 |
Folder 17-18
Folder 17Folder 18 |
Editorials, 1915 |
Folder 19 |
Editorials, 1917-1918 |
Folder 20 |
Editorials, 1920s |
Folder 21-22
Folder 21Folder 22 |
Editorials, 1930s |
Folder 23 |
Editorials, 1940-1951 |
Folder 24-25
Folder 24Folder 25 |
Editorials, fragments, duplicates, and undated |
Folder 26 |
Harry Stillwell Edwards |
Folder 27 |
The "I" in Atlantian |
Folder 28-30
Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
Literary essays |
Folder 31 |
Mercer University address, 1939 |
Folder 32 |
Miscellaneous writings |
Folder 33-34
Folder 33Folder 34 |
Notes on editorials |
Folder 35 |
Queen Elizabeth "Book of Facts" |
Folder 36 |
Queen Elizabeth maiden voyage, 1946 |
Folder 37 |
Short stories |
Folder 38-39
Folder 38Folder 39 |
Trip to England, 1946 |
Folder 40 |
"Views of the News" |
Printed copies of pictures, most with no personal markings. The only photograph shows William Cole Jones with other representatives of American newspapers on board the Queen Elizabeth during her maiden peacetime voyage in the fall of 1946.
Image Folder P-5195/1 |
Miscellaneous |
Image Folder P-5195/2 |
Queen Elizabeth maiden voyage, 1946 |
Image Folder P-5195/3 |
Robert E. Lee |
Image Folder P-5195/4 |
Walter Scott |
Pictures (P-5195)
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