Mark's family has deep roots in the South Carolina low country, but due to being a
Methodist minister's son, he lived all over the South Carolina during childhood and
graduated from Barnwell High School in 1977. An intriguing list of people from
Barnwell County include:
- William Gilmore Simms, 19th century novelist who Edgar Allan Poe called "The
best American writer of this age."
- James Brown, the Godfather of Soul; the hardest working man in Show Business
and Soul Brother #1.
- Cliff Hollingsworth, screenwriter of the film Cinderella Man (by the way, an
amazing story of how the movie got produced, read the link)
- Henry Wallace, a serial rapist/murderer of 9 Charlotte women in the 1990s
Mark is proud to part of THAT diverse group!
Mark's Family History
His maternal grandmother was Nova Bellamy. The Bellamys arrived in the low country
in 1695. They became a prosperous slave-owning family but lost most of the family
fortune after the War Between the States. Mark's maternal grandfather was Benjamin
Bryan. The Bryans arrived in America from County Cork , Ireland in the 1730s to North
Carolina. Rebecca Bryan later married a man named Daniel Boone. One of Rebecca's
cousins rode with Light Horse Harry Lee (father of Robert E. Lee) during the Southern
campaign against the British in 1780-81 and established the Bryan family in the
Charleston area after the Revolution.
In the fall of 1779 Daniel Boone led his family and a group of settlers to
Boonesborough , Kentucky. Included in the group was Abraham Lincoln , grandfather
of the 16th president. The Boones and Lincolns became lifelong friends; in fact, the
Lincoln, Boone and Bryan families intermarried several times. Being kin to Abraham
Lincoln has not always been something to brag about in South Carolina, since
President Lincoln was the most hated man in the deep South until deep into the 20th
century.
Mark is also kin to William Jennings Bryan who was the Democrat Presidential
nominee in 1896, 1900, and 1906. Bryan served as Secretary of State for Pres.
Woodrow Wilson, but is most famous (or infamous) for his participation in the 1925
Scopes Monkey Trial where Bryan was called to the stand by Clarance Darrow to testify
on his views of Creationism vs. Darwinism.
Mark comes from a long line of Methodists. His father, J. R. Jones, was a Methodist
minister, as is his brother, Joel Jones. Mark also has an uncle who is a Baptist
minister. Since there were plenty of people in his family already preaching the gospel,
he became a tour guide and now he preaches the gospel of the not-so-Holy City.
Current Projects
Mark is working on a volume of North Carolina murder stories called Tarheel Terror
and is researching the life, crimes and trial of serial rapist Duncan Proctor for a
future book. He also continues his research for his largest project to date: a complete
musical history of the Jenkins Orphanage Band and it's role in helping to define the
Roaring '20s.
Mark has lives in Charleston SC with the love of his life - romance novelist / tour
guide Rebel Sinclair - a Bagel hound named Megan and two cats, Edgar Allan Poe and
Annabell Lee.
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