James K. (Kimbrough) Jones (1839-1908) was a United States Senator from Arkansas, 1885-1903; and Washington, D.C., attorney for oil developers in Oklahoma. James Kimbrough Jones Junior (1867-1922) was a partner in his father's law practice. The collection includes legal, political, and business correspondence (including 21 letterpress copybooks) of James K. Jones; and of his son, James Kimbrough Jones Junior, lawyer for oil pipeline companies. The collection covers only the last years of the elder Jones's political career but includes letters from prominent national and Arkansas Democrats. The bulk of the papers concerns the oil industry in Oklahoma and other states. The Joneses represented developers seeking to lease government and Indian lands and appeared before Congress, executive agencies, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and federal courts for oil pipeline firms, most of which were connected with the Standard Oil Company. Also included are papers relating to other business interests: oil in Wyoming, Utah, Kansas, and Texas; Nevada gold mines; railroads in Arkansas and other western states; real estate in Arkansas, Texas, and South Dakota; oil and mining in Mexico; and Civil War claims of Arkansas citizens against the federal government. Correspondence includes letters from many prominent early oil entrepreneurs and gives a picture of society in Oklahoma in the early 20th century.
