35. Waistcoat

This embroidered silk waistcoat, from the second half of the 18th century, was worn by Charles Jones (1712-1798), a prominent landowner and local official both before and during the American Revolution. The silk face of this very fragile waistcoat is embroidered with both silk and metallic threads and embellished with tiny metal sequins; the metalwork is dulled today but was a sparkling feature when new. The needlework highlights the short collar, the center line with thirteen button holes (two of them faux holes at the top), and the two crescent pockets above the square-cut bottom. The waistcoat was donated by the Jones family in 1982.

The Jones’ estate, “Clean Drinking Manor,” was located on what is now Jones Mill Road in North Chevy Chase. His wife, Elizabeth, brought the land to their marriage, her grandfather being the original patentee in 1680. Built around 1750, the house remained in the family into the 20th century. By family tradition, Jones wore this waistcoat in 1750 when he was presented to King George II; there is, however, no evidence of a 1750 trip to England, and the waistcoat itself would seem to date from later in the century. In 1765, Jones was one of the twelve justices of Frederick County (the southern portion of which would become Montgomery County in 1776) who were the first officials to repudiate the British Stamp Act (November 23 is the now largely overlooked “Repudiation Day”). From 1777-1779, he was one of the first judges of the Montgomery County Orphans Court, created in 1777 to handle wills and estates, and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1780.

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