The Rev. William Armistead Jones

The Rev. William Armistead Jones was rector of the Rock Creek Baptist Church in Reno City.

Jones was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, which is on the shores of the James River, in August 1861. In 1863, he was sent by boat to Haiti, but returned in 1864.

Although his biography does not specify, it is plausible that Jones was part of the unsuccessful effort to relocate hundreds of formerly enslaved people from Hampton, Virginia.

Jones moved to Washington, DC, when he was about 11. In 1873, he joined the Rock Creek Baptist Church, and in 1902 was installed as rector.

He attended Howard University for a time, but earned his D.D. degree from the American Correspondence School. He also pastored at Shiloh Baptist Church in Virginia and Mt. Glory Baptist Church.

He was a member of several secret orders, including the Masons, Odd Fellows, Samaritans, Love and Charity and the True Reformers.

Biography drawn from History of the American Negro Vol. VI (Washington, DC ed.) (1922) by Arthur Bunyan Caldwell