James Wormley Jones facts for kids
James Wormley Jones (born September 22, 1884 – died December 11, 1958) was an African-American policeman and a veteran of World War I. He is famous for being the first African-American special agent to work for the FBI.
Early Life and Education
James Wormley Jones was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia. When he was young, his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, he finished his early schooling. Later, he returned to Virginia and studied at Norfolk Mission College. A year after that, he continued his education at Virginia Union University, but he did not graduate.
Police Work
In January 1905, Jones started working for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. He began as a foot patrolman, then became a horseman, and later a motorcycle policeman. His hard work led to him being promoted to a detective. During this time, he and his wife, Ethel T. (Peters) Jones, had three children: John B. Jones (born 1910), Amos W. Jones (born 1911), and Mildred Theodora Jones (born 1915).
Military Service in World War I
In 1917, Jones joined the United States Army. He went to Officers' Training School in Des Moines, Iowa. After his training, he became a Captain. He was put in charge of Company F in the 368th Infantry Regiment (United States), which was part of the 92nd Infantry Division (United States).
In 1918, his company was sent to France. They fought in the Vosges Mountains, the Argonne area, and on the Metz front. Captain Jones and his men showed great bravery in battle. They faced intense attacks from shells, gas, and machine guns. They fought their way through enemy trenches, cleared out dugouts, and silenced machine-gun nests. Even with casualties, the soldiers never gave up. Captain Jones and his company managed to capture over a mile of land and trenches that the Germans had held for four years. Their daring actions were praised by many.
During the war, Jones also became an instructor at the 92nd Division School of Specialists. He was later promoted to senior instructor. When the war ended in 1918, he left the army and went back to work for the Metropolitan Police.
Joining the FBI
On November 19, 1919, James Wormley Jones made history. He was appointed as the first African-American special agent by A. Bruce Bielaski, the director of the Bureau of Investigation (which later became the FBI). Jones was assigned to a new part of the Justice Department. This section was created to keep an eye on groups that were thought to be causing trouble. His work was directly supervised by J. Edgar Hoover.
Jones worked for the FBI in New York City and Pittsburgh. In New York, he was given a secret mission to join the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). This group was led by Marcus Garvey. Jones's job was to look for evidence of activities that were considered dangerous during a time called the "Red Scare" in 1919. His work eventually led to Marcus Garvey's arrest and trial.
While working undercover, Jones used the code number 800 for his reports and was known as agent "800." He seemed to know that his secret role might not be completely hidden. In March 1920, during a speech at the UNIA Liberty Hall, he made sure to tell the audience that he was of African ancestry, even though he looked like a person of European background. Despite this, he earned the trust of the UNIA leaders. He even gained the important job of registering all incoming mail. His access to UNIA letters and his position as Adjutant General in the African Legion were very important for gathering information.
In August 1921, Jones started watching another group called the African Blood Brotherhood. Eventually, people realized he was a former police officer, which meant he could no longer work secretly. He resigned from the Bureau on April 14, 1923.
James Wormley Jones passed away on December 11, 1958, in Dormont, Pennsylvania.
On February 10, 2021, on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr. did a comedy part about James Wormley Jones. He joked about Jones being a "black spy" who helped put Marcus Garvey in prison.
