Cornelia Hall Jones

Jones was born Cornelia Hall in Honolulu in 1842 to American parents who emigrated to the Kingdom of Hawaii.^[1] She was the daughter of Sarah Lyons Williams and Edwin Oscar Hall, a government official who served as Minister of Finance under King Kamehameha III and as Ministry of the Interior under King Lunalilo.^[1][2][3]

She attended Punahou School from 1856 to 1861.^[4]

On May 12, 1862, she married the businessman Peter Cushman Jones who, a few months after their wedding, was appointed as the Minister of Finance by Queen Liliʻuokalani.^[5][6] Her husband also served as president of C. Brewer & Co. and the Bank of Hawaii.^[4]

She was a noted philanthropist of her day, establishing the Portuguese Mission and the Palama Settlement's Palama Chapel with her husband.^[4] Together, they also established scholarships for Hawaiian students.^[4]

In 1903, Jones co-founded the Daughters of Hawaii along with Emma Smith Dillingham, Anna M. Paris, Anne Alexander Dickey, Sarah Coan Waters, Lucinda Clarke Severance, and Ellen Armstrong Weaver.^[7] They founded the organization to preserve and promote Hawaiian culture, language, and history.^[7] She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.^[1]