Frederick Jones was born in England in about 1680. He arrived first in Virginia and later to North Carolina by 1700, where he established himself as a merchant. By 1710 he had amassed thousands of acres in Chowan Precinct, North Carolina, but many of his land improvements were destroyed during the Tuscarora War, prompting him to return to Virginia for a year in 1714. Jones later served on the North Carolina Council from 1716 to 1729 and as chief justice of the general court from 1718 to 1721. He died in North Carolina in about June 1722.