Amanda Theodosia Jones was a remarkable woman, author, and inventor. Her extensive compilation of published literary work includes six novels including poetry and an autobiography, as well as a multitude of published poems over the course of nearly a decade in the Ladies’ Repository of Cincinnati, a Methodist women’s periodical. Amanda T. Jones is perhaps most recognized for her contributions to the canning industry with her invention of the method for preserving canned foods.
Amanda T. Jones was born on October 19, 1835 in East Bloomfield, New York, and lived until her death from influenza in 1914. Jones came from a large family which stressed education despite their meager means. When she was fifteen, she became a country schoolteacher which she eventually abandoned in favor of writing for the Ladies Repository of Cincinnati in 1854. Jones had published two books by the time she was 32 years old: Ulah, and Other Poems published in 1861 and Poems published in 1867. The latter of these books was “dedicated to the ‘Nameless’, a Buffalo men’s group sharing literary interests, of which she was an honorary member.”[1]
Her invention of the method for vacuum sealing canned goods is named for her and known as the Jones Process. Jones also possesses five patents for her canning inventions, two of which she is the sole holder. Additionally, she is credited for the invention of the oil burner, which was patented in 1890 by Jones. An educated and independent businesswoman, Jones never married and was a noted supporter of women’s rights. She founded the Women’s Canning and Preserving Company and furthered this agenda by hiring only women and stating that, “This is a women’s industry…Give men whatever work is suitable, but keep the governing power. This is a business training school for working women – you with all the rest.”[2] The operation ultimately failed three years later but her advocacy for women’s rights and the governing ability of women was firmly established. Amidst her struggles in business, Jones regularly returned to writing, publishing Rubaiyat of Solomon and other poems, A Psychic Autobiography, and contributed articles in a paid review of a report written for an investigation conducted by the US Navy of the benefits of oil run ships over coal run ships for the Engineer: With which is Incorporated Steam Engineering.
As a teacher, author, spiritualist, businesswoman, and inventor, Amanda T. Jones was an incredible intellectual who displayed not only an impressive character but also a remarkable range of mental discipline. Her collected works on this website serve to display a similar range of her poetic ability.
One of the works I opted to include in this collection stands out from the others, not just in its departure from theme of the Civil War, but also in the fact that in this collection of poems centered on American women, an epic poem written in honor of a Canadian woman might seem strangely out of place. Amanda T. Jones’ poem about the titular woman, “Abigail Becker”, which details the heroic tale of a Canadian woman’s rescue of seven shipwrecked men. This epic poem, while centered on a Canadian woman, was written by an American author celebrating another woman’s incredible achievement and heroism which I found to be relevant to the recovery of women’s literature regardless. The poem describes in gripping detail the strength, willpower, and tenacity required for Abigail Becker to accomplish such a task as rescuing sailors from a waterlogged shipwreck with herself being unable to swim. This poem is at the heart of the recovery project because it shows women telling women’s stories, especially of overcoming obstacles and proving that the courage to act can come from anyone.
Touted in the later years of her career as a woman whose work and creations had become popularized separate from their author, Jones’ folk songs and poetry were, supposedly, highly popular in the time they were written. The Civil War was a tumultuous time in our nation’s history and the literature that surfaced in the face of this turmoil reflects an important origin of artistic expression. Art and literature are, historically, a means of proposition, reflection, and expression – especially in times of stress and unrest. This was an important time in our country’s history so it’s important to look at, not only a variety of reactions to these events, but also the different forms of expression. History has retained other, more prolific writers from the century, but Jones’ writings about the Civil War are worthy enough to necessitate recovery and the presentation of a sampling of her writings for this project.
“The South Wind” is a rather short, repetitive poem written towards the beginning of the Civil War in favor of the war and firmly against slavery. Pieces like “The Soldier’s Mother” and “The Soldier’s Bride” highlighted the personal effect of the war. While more playful pieces like “Fort Donnelson” celebrate the highs of war, more sobering pieces such as “Battle of Gaines’ Hill” and “Rebel Flag of Truce” embrace the gut-wrenching nature of war. These poems reflect some common sentiments from the time: sympathy for the oppressed slaves, joy at the triumph of right over wrong in the form of the North over the South, and despair at the cruel intimacy of a civil war. Jones’ style of poetry is marked by a supreme sense of nationalism and a grand manner.
Jones was not on record as being a particularly radical or vocal feminist but we do know that historically she did engage in some transgressive actions which went against what society dictated as acceptable behavior for women at the time. She wore her hair cropped very short, in what would have been seen as a very masculine style for the time, and never married in her lifetime. She founded a business run solely by and for women. Jones wrote against slavery and extensively about the Civil War including about the women’s perspective on the war. She patented several inventions and worked in science and the development of technology – areas of study generally considered unsuitable for women, even in contemporary time. Jones was a woman with a healthy variety of passions and pursuits and her writings which, critically acclaimed and popularized at the time, deserve a place in our literary memory.
[1]. James, E. Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Volume 2. Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.Link to text.
[2]. Jones, Amanda. A Psychic Autobiography, with introduction by James H. Hyslop. New York: Greaves Publishing Co.,1910. p. 414.
An American Women Writers Recovery Project 