Segregated from Omaha’s mainstream healthcare programs, for more than a century African American doctors in the city had to build their own practices from scratch. They were locked out from practicing in hospitals and the community wasn’t allowed full hospital services. From this fire, many legends were born, and this man is one of them. This is a biography of Dr. Wesley Jones.

Dr. Wesley B. Jones (1891-1959) was the son of Louisa Jones. His mother was born around 1845 in South Carolina, most likely born into slavery. In 1900, the US Census recorded Louisa living in Macon, Mississippi, where she gave her mother’s birth place as South Carolina and her father’s birthplace as Mississippi. Her son Wesley was born in Macon in 1891. The future Dr. Jones’ siblings included Lyda, Charity, Benjamin, Henrietta, and Nathaniel.

A notedly happy child, young Jones was a “an angel in a church pantomime while quite a little tot.” When he was still a child, he worked as a “hotel chambermaid” in Macon. After graduating from the segregated Macon High School #2, he immediately started work as a railroad waiter to afford college.

A pre-medical graduate of Fisk University, after getting his bachelor’s degree he went back to Mississippi to teach school. After a few years, he went to Meharry Medical College and earned his doctorate. He completed post-graduate work at the University of Nebraska, Howard University, and the University of Berlin in Germany. After serving in Jones in World War I, Dr. Jones was an officer in the Army reserves for more than a decade after returning.

After starting his career in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Jones moved to Omaha in 1921. He kept an office near North 24th and Charles Street for more than 30 years. On April 9, 1926, Jones was the subject of a front page banner in The Monitor newspaper that screamed “Doctor Shot.” Apparently his wife, Myrtle, shot him three times. Dr. Jones drove himself to a nearby hospital and lived. In 1930, the census recorded him as “widowed.”

His community leadership began almost as soon as he got to Omaha. An early member of the segregated American Legion Post #30 in North Omaha and a delegate to their international convention in 1927.

A decade later in 1940, Dr. Jones was recorded as married to Alberta.

He had his own private practice in north Omaha for more than 20 years. He was a community leader, serving as a trustee in his church, a leader in the Boy Scouts, and as the president of the Omaha NAACP in the 1930s. He was also involved in several attempts to start a segregated hospital for Omaha’s Black community, including one called Omaha Mission Hospital and another called the Provident Hospital. Neither attempt succeeded. In 1949, he was crowned King Borealis, a social honor in Omaha’s Black community. A founding member of the Nebraska Negro Medical Association, Dr. Jones was also involved in advancing his field as a leader in the Omaha Medical Association and as an active member of the National Medical Association, participating in conference panels and special events throughout his career.

At the end of his career, Dr. Jones was on the staff of the Children’s Hospital and Doctor’s Hospital, both in Omaha. President Harry Truman gave him a certificate of appreciation for his efforts supporting Selective Service, as well. A committee member of the Omaha Urban League, in 1954, he joined the executive committee of the Near North Side YMCA along with Eugene Skinner, E.T. Streeter, Alfred B. Grice, and other community leaders.

After staying in the VA Hospital for a long visit, Dr. Jones died after an extended illness. A longtime member of St. John’s AME Church in North Omaha, his large funeral was held there and he was buried on April 27th, 1959, at Forest Lawn.

Today, there are no known memorials to Dr. Jones in Omaha.

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MY ARTICLES ON THE HISTORY OF HEALTHCARE IN NORTH OMAHA
GENERAL: Segregated Hospitals
HOSPITALS: People’s Hospital | Salvation Army Hospital | Immanuel Hospital | Provident Hospital | Swedish Mission Hospital
PEOPLE: Dr. William W. Peebles | Dr. Craig Morris | Dr. John A. Singleton, DDS | Dr. Aaron M. McMillan | Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts | Dr. S. Edward Gilbert | Dr. Wesley Jones
RELATED TOPICS: Lead Poisoning

Listen to my podcast on the History of Hospitals in North Omaha »

MY ARTICLES ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS IN OMAHA
General: History of Racism | Timeline of Racism
Events: Juneteenth | Malcolm X Day | Congress of White and Colored Americans | George Smith Lynching | Will Brown Lynching | North Omaha Riots | Vivian Strong Murder | Jack Johnson Riot | Omaha Bus Boycott (1952-1954)
Issues: African American Firsts in Omaha | Police Brutality | North Omaha African American Legislators | North Omaha Community Leaders | Segregated Schools | Segregated Hospitals | Segregated Hotels | Segregated Sports | Segregated Businesses | Segregated Churches | Redlining | African American Police | African American Firefighters | Lead Poisoning
People: Rev. Dr. John Albert Williams | Edwin Overall | Harrison J. Pinkett | Vic Walker | Joseph Carr | Rev. Russel Taylor | Dr. Craig Morris | Mildred Brown | Dr. John Singleton | Ernie Chambers | Malcolm X | Dr. Wesley Jones | S. E. Gilbert | Fred Conley |
Organizations: Omaha Colored Commercial Club | Omaha NAACP | Omaha Urban League | 4CL (Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Rights) | DePorres Club | Omaha Black Panthers | City Interracial Committee | Providence Hospital | American Legion | Elks Club | Prince Hall Masons | BANTU | Tomorrow’s World Club |
Related: Black History | African American Firsts | A Time for Burning | Omaha KKK | Committee of 5,000