Jones, William P. (William Patterson)

William Patterson Jones, co-founder of the Northwestern Female College, was born in Philadelphia on April 23, 1831. The school opened in October, 1855, before the building was complete and before the school was officially chartered; classes were first held in rooms over Colvin's general store on Davis Street. After the merger of the Northwestern Female College with the Evanston College for Ladies, Jones engaged in a variety of pursuits, including continued endorsements of educational persuits.

Jones' father, also William Patterson Jones, a building contractor and Methodist minister, moved west with his family in the late 1830s, eventually settling in Mt. Morris, Illinois. The younger William P. attended the Rock River Seminary at Mt. Morris, where his brother, John Wesley Jones, was a tutor. After his graduation in 1849, William continued his education at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, graduating in 1853.

...