 Jones was born near Waynesboro in Burke County, Georgia in 1824 to Seaborn Henry Jones (1798-1859) and Margaret Walker Jones.He attended Waynesboro Academy and graduated from Emory College in Oxford, Georgia, (current-day) Oxford College of Emory University in 1845.He studied law, gained admittance to the state bar in 1848 and became a practicing attorney in Waynesboro.