Cornelia Hall Jones

Cornelia Hall Jones was a Hawaiian philanthropist and clubwoman. She was one of the founders of the Daughters of Hawaii.

Early life and education

Jones was born Cornelia Hall in Honolulu in 1842 to American parents who emigrated to the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the daughter of Sarah Lyons Williams and Edwin Oscar Hall, a government official who served as Minister of Finance under King Kamehameha III and as Ministry of the Interior under King Lunalilo.
She attended Punahou School from 1856 to 1861.

On May 12, 1862, she married the businessman Peter Cushman Jones who, a few months after their wedding, was appointed as the Minister of Finance by Queen Liliʻuokalani. Her husband also served as president of C. Brewer & Co. and the Bank of Hawaii.
She was a noted philanthropist of her day, establishing the Portuguese Mission and the Palama Settlement's Palama Chapel with her husband. Together, they also established scholarships for Hawaiian students.
In 1903, Jones co-founded the Daughters of Hawaii along with Emma Smith Dillingham, Anna M. Paris, Anne Alexander Dickey, Sarah Coan Waters, Lucinda Clarke Severance, and Ellen Armstrong Weaver. They founded the organization to preserve and promote Hawaiian culture, language, and history. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.