Theophilus Jones (soldier)

Sir Theophilus Jones (died 2 January 1685 in Osberstown, County Kildare, Ireland) was a Welsh-Irish soldier and government official from a powerful Protestant family of clerics, soldiers, and landowners.

Jones was the second son of Lewis Jones, Bishop of Killaloe, his mother Mabel Ussher was a sister of Archbishop James Ussher. Jones fought on the Protestant side in the Irish Rebellion of 1641; in 1644 he helped save Lisburn from falling to the Scots. He was later made commander of Lisburn. He became a follower of the Earl of Ormonde in his struggle against the Irish Catholics. Captured in December 1646 by the O'Neills, he remained an Irish prisoner until fighting between his brother Michael and Owen Roe O'Neill ended in 1648.

Oliver Cromwell sent Theophilus Jones to Ireland with supplies in advance of his main force and made him governor of Dublin (a position previously held by his brother Michael.) Until the end of hostilities in 1653 he remained an active commander. In 1656 he was elected to the Second Protectorate Parliament, representing Westmeath, Longford, and King's counties. In 1659 Jones fell out of favor with the government and joined with Charles Coote and others in overthrowing the Commonwealth government in Ireland. Jones represented Meath in the Restoration Irish Parliament, serving alongside his brother Oliver, who represented Knocktopher. In 1660 he was appointed to the new Privy Council of Ireland; in 1661 he was made Scoutmaster-General of Ireland, in succession to his brother Henry Jones.

During the Cromwellian era he acquired Lucan Manor, the confiscated property of Patrick Sarsfield in County Dublin. Sarsfield had been involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and had later supported the Royal Irish Army of Charles II during 1649. Following the Restoration, the Sarsfields attempted to have the Manor returned to them. A compromise was eventually agreed due to the intervention of the King in which Jones was allowed to keep possession for the remainder of his life, when it would return to the Sarsfield family.

Jones married Alicia Ussher, a distant cousin. They had at least four children: Arthur, Theophilus (d. 1661), Judith, and Mabella.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Jones, Theophilus (d.1685)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.