Ted Jones

Ted Jones was born in McAdam, New Brunswick, on 11 March 1939. He was the second of two children born to Louis and Harold Jones. He graduated from McAdam High School in 1957 and then went to teachers’ college in Fredericton. He then began to teach in numerous New Brunswick schools, including Stanley High School, Albert Street Middle School, and Fredericton High School, where he taught for 35 years, retiring in 1993. While working as a teacher, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1965 and Master’s in 1969 from the University of New Brunswick. He did this, he said, “‘by cramming in summer school and winter sessions, taking only a year[’s] leave to complete graduate school’” (McLaughlin, “New Brunswick”). He is married to Anita (Boone) Jones; they have one son (Adam) who is married and lives in Fredericton.

Jones’ Master’s thesis evoked his passion for local history. He researched the young painter and author Willa Cather, who vacationed on Grand Manan Island, where she wrote many of her novels. Jones became intrigued by Cather and travelled to Maine, New Hampshire, and New York to dig up information on her. This adventurous journey in search of information ignited a fire that would last a lifetime. Jones once said, “‘I was bitten by the research bug. Doing my MA in Arts, that’s what started me writing. Then after that I said I’d like to do more research and more writing’” (McLaughlin, “New Brunswick”). He has published several books about the history of New Brunswick and its people, including Fredericton and Its People 1825–1945 (2002) and Both Sides of the Wire: The Fredericton Internment Camp (1988), a two-volume work. Jones and his wife Anita have also co-authored Historic Fredericton North: Images of Our Past (2007). This book “explores how the communities [Nashwaaksis, Devon, Barker’s Point, and Marysville] were settled and how industry and transportation arrived soon after” (Bowie). Jones has also written two biographies on prominent New Brunswick figures: All the Days of His Life: A Biography of Archdeacon H.A. Cody (1981) and Bryan Priestman: A Biographical Sketch (1970). Although Jones’ books are not on the Canadian bestseller list, they do make enough to pay for their production costs and to help support the work of three local museums: the York-Sunbury Museum, the Ripples Internment Camp Museum, and the School Days Museum.

After he retired from teaching at Fredericton High School in 1993, Jones became editor for the York-Sunbury Museum’s publication, The Officer’s Quarterly (McLaughlin, “New Brunswick”). He also wrote for the now-defunct Atlantic Advocate and had a bi-weekly column in The Daily Gleaner entitled “Fredericton Flashback.” The nearly one hundred and fifty articles in this series covered a wide variety of topics ranging from education, built heritage, social and cultural events, and politics. He compiled fifty of these Gleaner articles and published them as Fredericton Flashback: Stories and Photographs From the Past (2003). For this book, he was awarded the 2007 Journalism Prize from the Heritage Canada Foundation, which “is presented to a journalist whose work has brought profile to Canadian communities’ historic places” (“Journalism Prize”). Jones is very much involved in the preservation of Fredericton’s local history. In fact, he has worked collaboratively with the City of Fredericton to prevent demolition of the city’s historic buildings.

Ted and Anita Jones still reside in Fredericton and keep themselves busy, writing and researching. Both also love to read. Says Ted: “If you are going to write you have to have a love of reading too. They go hand in hand” (Interview with author). By bringing attention to historical New Brunswick, Jones has become a leading citizen of this province.

Amanda Fairley, Winter 2008
St. Thomas University

Bibliography of Primary Sources

Jones, Ted. All the Days of His Life: A Biography of Archdeacon H.A. Cody. Saint John, NB: New Brunswick Museum, 1981.

---. Both Sides of the Wire: The Fredericton Internment Camp. 2 Vols. Fredericton, NB: New Ireland Press, 1988.

---. Bryan Priestman: A Biographical Sketch. Fredericton, NB: U of New Brunswick, 1970.

---. Capital City Has Long Legislative Tradition. Fredericton, NB: The Daily Gleaner, 2003.

---. Fredericton and Its People, 1825–1945. Halifax, NS: Nimbus, 2002.

---. Fredericton Flashback: Stories and Photographs From the Past. Halifax, NS: Nimbus, 2003.

---. Personal interview. 16 Nov. 2008.

Jones, Ted, and Anita Jones. Historic Fredericton North, 1825–1950: Images of Our Past. Halifax, NS: Nimbus, 2007.

Bibliography of Secondary Sources

Bowie, Adam. “Fredericton Author Helps Pen Past Into Present With Book.” The Daily Gleaner [Fredericton, NB] 5 Nov. 2007: A3.

“Journalism Prize.” Ted Jones Biography File. Ref #: ACASE 39. U of New Brunswick. Harriet Irving Library Archives. 31 Oct. 2008.

McLaughlin, Heather. “Jones Loves to Take the Research ‘Journey.’” The Daily Gleaner [Fredericton, NB] 21 Aug. 1999: B2.

---. “New Brunswick Historian Books National Journalism Prize.” The Daily Gleaner [Fredericton, NB] 20 July 2007: A7.