Born in Robertson County, Tennessee, Jones was the son of a tobacco farmer and merchant. His father sent him to manage a tobacco factory at age 14, and at 19 he was put in charge of his uncle's lumberyards. Five years later, after his uncle died, Jones moved to Houston to manage his uncle's estate and opened a lumberyard company, which grew quickly. He quickly made his mark as a builder across Houston, and helped to secure federal funding for the Houston Ship Channel, which made the city a viable port. President Woodrow Wilson offered him the position of Secretary of Commerce, but Jones turned him down to focus on his businesses — though he could not refuse when Wilson asked him a second time to become Director General of Military Relief for the American Red Cross during World War I. After returning to his businesses, President Herbert Hoover appointed him to the Reconstruction Finance Commission, despite his Democratic affiliation. Jones later served under Franklin Roosevelt as Secretary of Commerce in 1940 — the same position he had turned down a quarter-century before — and served until 1945, when he was forced out in favor of Roosevelt's outgoing Vice President, Henry A. Wallace.
Jesse Holman Jones
Jones was alternately a revered and feared figure in Houston and Texas politics during his lifetime. Lyndon Johnson, infuriated by Jones's power and arrogance, reportedly referred to him behind his back as "Jesus H. Jones."
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