The Honorable Burr W. Jones
Justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court
In office September 6, 1920 – January 1, 1926
Appointed by	Emanuel L. Philipp
Preceded by	John B. Winslow
Succeeded by	E. Ray Stevens
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's3rd district
In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
Preceded by	George Cochrane Hazelton
Succeeded by	Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
District Attorney ofDane County
In office January 1, 1873 – January 1, 1877
Preceded by	J. C. McKinney
Succeeded by	W. H. Rogers
Personal details
Born	March 9, 1846 Union,Wisconsin Territory
Died	January 7, 1935(1935-01-07) (aged 88) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Olive L. Hoyt (m. 1873; died 1906) Katharine McDonald (died 1956)
Children	Marion Burr (Smith) (b. 1883; died 1967)
Parents	William Jones (father) Sarah M. (Prentice) Jones (mother)
Signature

Burr W. Jones (March 9, 1846 – January 7, 1935) was an American lawyer, politician, jurist, and law professor. He was a member of theUnited States House of Representatives in the48th Congress, and a justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court.

Born in the Town ofUnion, inRock County,Wisconsin Territory.^[1] His father and mother had migrated to the Wisconsin Territory from Western Pennsylvania and Western New York, respectively. His father, William Jones, died in 1855, and his mother then married Levi Leonard, a pioneer of Rock County.^[2]

Jones was raised on a farm and attended the Evansville Seminary, inEvansville, Wisconsin. He then taught at the school for three years to pay for his university education. He graduated from the literary department of theUniversity of Wisconsin in 1870, and then from the law department in 1871. After leaving the university, he studied law in the office ofWilliam Freeman Vilas and was admitted to theState Bar of Wisconsin that year. Near the end of 1871, he began practicing law inPortage, Wisconsin, but within a year moved toMadison. While in Madison, he went through a series of partnerships, withAlden Sprague Sanborn, A. C. Parkinson, F. J. Lamb, andE. Ray Stevens.^[2]

In November 1872, Jones was electeddistrict attorney forDane County, Wisconsin. He was then re-elected in 1874. In 1882, he was elected to the48th Congress (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885) on theDemocratic Party ticket inWisconsin's 3rd congressional district. He was defeated seeking re-election in 1884. In Congress, he served on the House Committee on War Claims, and served as acting Chairman when the chairman was unavailable with a long illness.^[2]

Jones returned to Madison and became a professor of law at theUniversity of Wisconsin for the next thirty years of his life. He remained involved in local affairs and government, serving as City Attorney in 1891, and as chairman of the firstWisconsin Tax Commission in 1897 and 1898.^[1][2]

In 1894 he served as attorney for University of Wisconsin professorRichard T. Ely during the effort to remove Ely for discussingsocialism and allegedly holding unpopular views, the controversy which led to thesifting and winnowing statement.

He also remained active with theWisconsin Democratic Party. He was chairman of the Democratic State convention in 1892, and represented Wisconsin as a delegate to the1896 Democratic National Convention at Indianapolis, where he was chosen to nominateEdward S. Bragg for president.^[2]

In 1920, he was appointed to theWisconsin Supreme Court by GovernorEmanuel L. Philipp, to fill the vacancy created by the death of justiceJohn B. Winslow.In April 1922, Jones was elected to fill the remainder of Winslow's term, which expired in 1926. He did not seek re-electionin 1925, and in January 1926 he was replaced by his former law partner E. Ray Stevens.

Jones returned to the practice of law.

Jones married Olive L. Hoyt in December 1873. They had one daughter together.^[2] After the death of his first wife in 1906, he married Katharine McDonald, who survived him.

After thirty years as a professor at theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School, he was conferred aLL.D. in 1916. He was chairman of the Dane County Bar Association and, in 1908, was President of the State Bar Association. In 1896, he published a treatise on the law of evidence in civil cases, followed by two subsequent volumes.^[1]

Jones died in a hospital in Madison, on January 7, 1935. He was interred at Madison'sForest Hill Cemetery.^[3]

One of the Kronshage dormitories at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison is named after him, as well as a Madison city park on theYahara River, and Burr Jones Road in the historic Leonard Leota Park in Evansville, WI.

The television seriesProfiles in Courage did an episode in 1964 titled "Richard T. Ely" about the "sifting and winnowing" incident. Jones was played byLeonard Nimoy.^[4]

• Jones, Burr W.The Law of Evidence in Civil Cases. Vol. 1.ISBN 9781334589805.
• Jones, Burr W. (May 28, 2017).The Law of Evidence in Civil Cases. Vol. 2.ISBN 9780282119980.
• Jones, Burr W.The Law of Evidence in Civil Cases. Vol. 3.ISBN 9781334604805.

• United States Congress."Burr W. Jones (id: J000213)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1846 births
• 1935 deaths
• People from Union, Rock County, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• University of Wisconsin Law School faculty
• District attorneys in Dane County, Wisconsin
• Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin)
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2020