- William Jones (Chartist)
William Jones (1809-1873) was a poltitical
Radical andChartist , who was a former actor, working as a watchmaker atPontypool in Monmouthshire and was also keeping a beer house.He was prosecuted for his part in the
Chartist Newport Rising atNewport, Monmouthshire in 1839.Along with
John Frost andZephaniah Williams , he was appointed a leader of a column of men in what is sometimes regarded as the greatest armed rebellion in 19th-century Britain [Edward Royal, "Chartism", Longman, London: 1996] .Jones was supposed to be bringing men to Newport from the
Pontypool area and the eastern valleys of Monmouthshire on the night of the rising, but they never arrived, delaying the main body of Chartists final march into Newport into the daylight hours and thus partly contributing to its defeat.He was captured a few days after the rising was put down. He was sentenced to death for
High Treason , but his sentence was commuted and he was sentenced topenal transportation toAustralia for life. He died in exile, in poverty.External links
* [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/32806 Portrait of Jones on trial]
References
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