Geneologies

Ellis O. Jones's page at Hanes Teulu

This website contains family history and ancestry information for more than 3,000 individuals mainly located in Mid Wales and North Wales. Among the many surnames represented are Jones, Roberts, Bynner, Roberts, Ellis, Vaughan, Lloyd, Bell and Waistnedge.

His biographical sketch there reads:

Ellis O. Jones (1874 - August 2, 1967) was a journalist, socialist and pacifist. He was born in Columbus Ohio. Jones attended Yale University and majored in political economy.

He headed the National Copperheads, an isolationist organization closely associated with the American First Committee. National Copperheads of America was founded by Ellis O. Jones shortly after President Roosevelt called Charles A. Lindbergh a “Copperhead”. During the American Civil War a Copperhead was a Northerner who sympathized with the Southern cause. The National Copperheads was formed in May 1941 was supportive of Lindbergh and his famous Des Moines speech in which he said Jews were one of the main groups pushing for war with National Socialist Germany.

Ellis Jones supported Robert Noble’s organization Friends of Progress and became its co-director. The Friends of Progress was a antiwar organization formed in August 1941 by Robert Noble. Later Ellis O. Jones became a co-director. Noble in testimony to a California un-American activities committee said the organization was an the offspring of the Humanist Society.

A few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jones reportedly said, "The Japanese have a right to Hawaii. I would rather be in this war on the side of Germany than on the side of the British." Shortly thereafter Jones and Noble held a series of mock trials calling for the impeachment of President Franklin Roosevelt. For this they were quickly arrested along with German American Bund leader Franz K. Ferenz. Charges were later dropped by U.S. Attorney General Biddle over concerns of violation of the right of free speech.

Local Jews angry over their release, began to apply pressure to state and federal agencies eventually winning convictions for violation of the California Subversive Organization Registration Act and the Federal Espionage Act of 1917.

Ellis Jones was defendant in the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 and acted as his own attorney.Jones and Noble were convicted under the California statue of sedition on August 11, 1942 brought by California Attorney General Earl Warren Jones was sentenced to ten years in prison. The California convention was later overturned and Jones was released in August 1945 after serving four years.

After his release Ellis Jones worked with Elizabeth Dilling and her organization Patriotic Research Bureau. He also wrote articles for Elmer J. Garner's publication Publicity and helped its distribution.

Ellis O. Jones's page at Geni.