In the past I have written about Dr. Sophia Bethena Jones, but in this column I would like to tell you about her and her father.

James Monroe “Gunsmith Jones” was born in North Carolina in 1821.

He was a slave.

As a youngster he trained as a gunsmith and became a master craftsman in the trade.

I believe his father was also a tradesman in the craft.

By the 1850s, James, having bought his freedom through his skill, was in Chatham and practising his trade. His location was on the north side of Head Street (Grand Avenue East), about opposite the north end of Thames Street.

In 1860 it was announced that the Prince of Wales (Edward VII)........

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