Augustus Jones

Augustus Jones
Bornc. 1757
DiedNovember 16, 1836
Occupation(s)Surveyor, Farmer
Known forDeputy Surveyor General for the Nassau District (Home District) of Upper Canada, 1789 - 1799
Spouse(s)Sarah Tekarihogen (Methodist ceremony)
Tuhbenahneequay (Ojibwa ceremony)
ChildrenJohn
Peter
Catherine
Rachel
Mary
Henry
Joseph
Sally
Lucretia
Augustus Jr.
Signature

Augustus Jones (c. 1757 – November 16, 1836) was a North American-born Upper Canadian farmer, land speculator, magistrate, militia captain and surveyor. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Canada. In Upper Canada, he worked as a crown surveyor in the Nassau District, where he quickly rose to the position of Deputy Surveyor General, the highest position in a district of Upper Canada. He occupied that position from 1789 informally, and 1791 formally, until his retirement in 1799. During that time he laid down many of the township boundaries in the Niagara Peninsula and on the north shore of Lake Ontario. He led various teams that cut many of the first sideroads and concession roads into these areas, facilitating their settlement by European and American immigrants. Jones also surveyed the routes for Dundas Street and Yonge Street, and supervised their construction. After his retirement, Jones farmed first in Saltfleet Township, later moving to Brantford and finally an estate outside Paris named Cold Springs, where he died in 1836.