Joseph Stevens Jones

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Joseph Stevens Jones (September 28, 1809 or 1811—December 29 or December 30, 1877, Boston) was a Boston actor, playwright and theater manager.

Early in life he became an actor, and was at different times proprietor and manager of the Old National, Tremont, and other theatres in Boston. In 1843 he graduated from Harvard Medical School, and held the place of city physician for several years.

Jones was a prolific author, writing about 200 plays. The most popular among them were:

  • Captain Kyd; or, The Wizard of the Sea (National Theatre, Boston, 1830)
  • Eugene Aram
  • The Liberty Tree; or, Boston Boys in '76 (Warren Theatre, Boston, 1832). This was Jones's first successful play. It celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Revolutionary War. Jones played the Yankee character Bill Ball.
  • The Green Mountain Boy (Park Theatre, New York, March 19, 1833). Provided actor George Handel Hill one of his most famous roles, as Jedediah Homebred, a Yankee servant with an inexhaustible supply of homespun sayings.
  • The Fire Warrior
  • The Siege of Boston
  • The Surgeon of Paris; or, The Mask of the Huguenots (National Theatre Boston, January 8, 1838). Sequel to The Carpenter of Rouen.
  • Moll Pitcher; or, The Fortune Teller of Lynn (National Theatre, Boston, 1839). Based on the life of Moll Pitcher, a famous New England fortune-teller.
  • Solon Shingle; or, The People's Lawyer (National Theatre, Boston, 1839). Jones's best-known play tells the story of the trial of Charles Otis, a poor clerk framed by a coworker for stealing. The play's popularity rests on the character of Solon Shingle, played by John E. Owens. Owens was a great success in the role, making his final performance as Shingle in New York in 1884.
  • Stephen Burroughs
  • The Carpenter of Rouen; or, A Revenge for the Massacre of St. Bartholomew (Chatham Theatre, New York, November 16, 1840). "A mechanic, sir, is one of God's noblemen.... The Supreme Ruler of the universe is himself the Great Mechanic."
  • Job and Jacob Gray
  • The Last Dollar
  • The Sons of the Cape
  • Zofara
  • Captain Lascar
  • Paul Revere
  • The Silver Spoon; or, Our Own Folks (Boston Museum, February 16, 1852). William Warren the younger, of the Boston Museum, made a great success as Jefferson Scattering Batkins. The play concerns a humorous country delegate to the Massachusetts General Court who is tricked by the other characters. It was revived at that theater through many seasons and reprinted in 1911.
  • The Three Experiments of Living, a dramatization of the novel by Mrs. Hannah F. Lee.

Jones supported copyright protection and adequate compensation for authors.

Nathaniel Dexter Jones, his son, was also a playwright and theater manager. He was a member of the Howard Athenaeum Stock Company for many years and was connected with the stage for 52 years.

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