DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker on the John M. Jones House tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, if you're going to build a life in Galveston, you could do worse than to show up in 1839 with an eye for fine things.
That's exactly what John Maxwell Jones did. He came down from Delaware — not Texas, not even the South — all the way to the Gulf Coast, and what did he set up shop with? Jewelry.
Right there on The Strand, that grand commercial spine of the city, he opened a jewelry store. A man selling beautiful objects in a city that was itself becoming one. But Jones wasn't content to just polish gemstones and mind his own counter.
He was active in area commerce, and active enough to help organize the First National Bank of Galveston. You don't get your name on something like that by being shy. Now here's the detail that stops you cold, the one that makes you set down your coffee and say — wait, say that again.
His wife Henrietta? She was the daughter of French composer Jacques Offenbach. Jacques Offenbach.
The man's music filled the opera houses of Europe, and his daughter was keeping house in a Greek revival home on a barrier island off the Texas coast. History has a way of drawing the most unexpected lines between people and places. That Greek revival house — the one the marker is standing in front of right now — served as the Jones family home prior to 1867.
After that, it passed through hands that read like a roll call of Galveston influence: banker Henry Rosenberg owned it, then businessman Joe Levy, and then County Judge E. B. Holman.
Four families, one house, and a story that stretches from Delaware to Paris to The Strand. That's Galveston for you — small island, very long reach.
What the marker says
John Maxwell Jones, a native of Delaware, came to Galveston in 1839 and opened a jewelry store on The Strand. Active in area commerce, he helped organize the First National Bank of Galveston. His wife Henrietta was the daughter of French composer Jacques Offenbach. This Greek revival house served as their home prior to 1867. It was later owned by banker Henry Rosenberg, businessman Joe Levy, and County Judge E. B. Holman. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979