John Edward Jones (1840-1896)  Was the eighth Governor of Nevada.  He was a member of the Silver Party.  As a young man, Jones worked as a miner, a farmer, and a teacher.  In 1867, he worked on building the Union Pacific Railroad.  Settling in Eureka, Nevada in 1869, he was involved in organizing the Nevada Militia in 1876  where he served as Major. (Plot: 1E-16-04)

Jones worked mining and agriculture until 1883, when he was appointed Deputy Internal Revenue Collector.  From 1886 to 1894, he was Surveyor-General of Nevada, serving two terms.

Jones resigned that post in 1894 and ran for Governor of Nevada on the Silver Party ticket.  He won the election and took office in 1895.  During his tenure irrigation programs were supported and the state's first public library was established in Reno.  Diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 1895, he took a leave of absence, leaving Lieutenant Governor Reinhold Sadler in his office.  He traveled to San Francisco to try to heal.  Jones, losing his battle with cancer, died while still holding office on April 10, 1896 in San Francisco at the age of 55 years.