John G. Jones
by: Joshua Feliciano

In the late 19th century, Freemasonry among African Americans was steadily organizing under the banner of Prince Hall Affiliation (PHA), committed to legitimacy, structure, and Masonic regularity. But one man would come to embody a sharp fracture in that tradition. John G. Jones of Illinois, once a respected Mason and lawyer, would ultimately become one of the most divisive figures in African American Masonic history. His legacy would be one not of uplift, but of irregularity, expulsion, and the creation of a network of clandestine bodies that persist to this day.

This article explores the rise and fall of John G. Jones not in legend, but in documented fact. From his early Masonic beginnings through the events of 1895 that would split the United Supreme Council and beyond, we trace how a man once trusted with high office became the architect of a decades-long schism.

‍Beginnings in Illinois Masonry
‍John G. Jones was initiated into Freemasonry in John Jones Lodge No. 7, named for his uncle, under the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois. By profession, Jones was a lawyer and orator, both articulate and knowledgeable in Masonic jurisprudence. These qualities propelled him quickly through the ranks. Intime, he achieved the 33rd degree in the United Supreme Council of the Southern and Western Jurisdiction, Prince Hall Affiliated.

As early as the 1880s, Jones was active in national Masonic discussions, particularly in the Scottish Rite. He created the General Grand Masonic Congress, a bogus masonic organization that claims to be the original National Grand Lodge which was debunked by John G. Jones himself with an affidavit in 1910. In the early 1890s, he also led efforts that resulted in an African American Shriner body: the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS). At this point, Jones was regarded as a loyal Prince Hall Mason and a powerful political presence.

The 1895 Split in the United Supreme Council
‍Everything changed in August 1895 during the triennial session of the United Supreme Council (USC) held in Washington, D.C. During the session, elections were held for Sovereign Grand Commander, the highest office. Jones was not elected, and the vote went to Thornton A. Jackson, of Washington, D.C., a respected Masonic leader and longtime officer in the USC. Jones left the meeting before the voting started.

Shortly afterward, Jones circulated a forged version of the proceedings claiming that he, not Jackson, had been elected Sovereign Grand Commander. He began signing correspondence and issuing charters under this title. In effect, he created a competing Supreme Council using the same name as the legitimate body. The officers of the USC, now under Jackson, viewed this not as a misunderstanding—but as a deliberate act of fraud. In October of that same year, the legitimate United Supreme Council issued a formal edict suspending Jones for unmasonic conduct, forbidding any member from communicating Masonically with him.

The Romanian Charter Myth
‍Faced with growing questions about his authority, Jones and HC Scott attempted to legitimize his splinter body by claiming he had obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge of Romania. This claim first emerged in 1896 through correspondence and flyers circulated by Jones and his supporters, including Dorsey F. Seville of Washington, D.C., another expelled Mason.

The Romanian charter was intended to give international weight to Jones’s organization. But there was a problem: no documentation of such a charter has ever surfaced, and no evidence exists that any Grand Lodge in Romania recognized or issued such a warrant to Jones or any Prince Hall body. Furthermore, the first Romanian diplomat didn’t set foot on US soil until 1918.

In 1910, during a court case involving HC Scotts organization and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of D.C., Jones admitted under oath that the Romanian charter was a complete fabrication, originated by Seville. This sworn testimony would later become one of the most damning pieces of evidence against his legacy.

Jones’s use of the Romanian myth demonstrates a pattern that would continue throughout his career: retroactively inventing documents and claims to justify actions already taken.

Formation of Spurious Bodies
‍Following the 1895 USC split, Jones expanded his irregular empire. In 1903, he founded the Most Worshipful St. John Grand Lodge of Illinois, styled as a rival to the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois. He began issuing charters across the country under this new Grand Lodge, often to cities and states that already had recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges in operation.

These acts violated the Masonic principles of jurisdiction, recognition, and lineage. Jones was creating Grand Lodges with the likes of William H. Gray, John A. Bell and Robert Fletcher among the few, without authority, using the same titles, names, and degrees, confusing the public and misrepresenting himself to both Masons and non-Masons alike.

His new system was structured around volume and speed: charter new bodies, confer high degrees quickly, and advertise his authority in print before any challenge could take hold. It was a formula he would repeat across jurisdictions—and one that would draw swift and coordinated response from legitimate Masonic powers.
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‍Expulsion by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois
‍Jones's activities did not go unnoticed by the Grand Lodge under which he had been raised. In 1903, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts brought formal charges against him, citing unmasonic conduct, usurping authority, and creating clandestine masons. He was initially suspended indefinitely. But after continuing to perform Masonic work during this suspension, Jones was brought before a Masonic tribunal.

In 1904, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois proceeded with a full trial recorded in their proceedings. Witnesses presented evidence that Jones had conferred degrees on profanes while suspended, partnered with previously expelled Masons, and deliberately misrepresented himself in multiple jurisdictions. The committee found him guilty as charged.

"The Committee met Saturday, November 28, 1904, at Masonic Hall, 2730 State St., Chicago, and proceeded with the trial. Past Grand Master Bro. J. W. Moore prosecuted the case on behalf of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge.
Jones and Gray were found guilty as charged, and the committee recommended to the Most Worshipful Grand Master that both be expelled.
The recommendation of the committee was approved by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, and notice was sent to all Grand Lodges in the United States."
— Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois, 1904

This expulsion severed Jones’s standing within all regular Masonic circles. According to Mackey’s Masonic Jurisprudence, expulsion is equivalent to Masonic death. An expelled Mason has no right to visit, communicate, or hold any office within the Craft.

The 1910 Court Case: No Vindication
‍One of the most misrepresented episodes in Jones’s legacy is the 1910 court case between the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of D.C. and William Grimshaw. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge filed suit in the District of Columbia seeking to prevent the group from using the title “Free and Accepted Masons.”

However, the D.C. Court of Appeals declined to intervene, ruling that there was no substantial injury proven and that courts had no jurisdiction to determine Masonic legitimacy.

"Courts of equity do not exercise jurisdiction to inquire into and adjudicate the right of different associations for charitable or religious objects to hold themselves out to be the original and only accredited representatives of some particular order or religious system."
— Grimshaw v. H.C. Scott, D.C. Court of Appeals, 1910

Though some of Jones's defenders claim this as a legal victory, the truth is more nuanced. The court’s decision was not a validation of the Grand Lodges legitimacy, but rather a refusal to legally arbitrate internal Masonic disputes.

‍A Legacy of Confusion and Contradiction
‍By the time of his death in 1914, John G. Jones had been expelled from multiple jurisdictions—including some of the very bodies he had helped to form.

Throughout his career, he preached Masonic principles while systematically violating them. He had once condemned clandestine activity, only to repeat every tactic he had criticized. His network of clandestine lodges and councils did not disappear. Many still exist today, tracing their lineage back to Jones’s forged charters and irregular practices.

Most operate under elaborate names—"National," "Imperial," or "Confederated"—often mimicking legitimate Masonic structures, but lacking recognition, lineage, and lawful authority. Jones’s influence lingers not because of the strength of his institutions, but because of the misunderstanding of his history. When his name appears on charters or titles, it is not a mark of innovation—it is the echo of a man whose most consistent trait was the invention of false authority.

‍Conclusion: Truth as the Standard
‍The legacy of John G. Jones is not one to uphold. It is one to understand and warn against. His rise and fall reflect a pattern all too familiar in fraternal organizations: the ambition of one man can fracture the unity of many. We do not preserve Masonic integrity by ignoring the facts. We preserve it by facing them. John G. Jones was expelled—not once, but repeatedly. He forged documents, circulated lies, and used the Craft for self-promotion. His own testimony, and the decisions of the very lodges he once served, leave no doubt.

History is not legend. It is evidence. And the evidence against John G. Jones is overwhelming.