MARK R. JONES
Crime writer ~ Tour guide ~ Speaker
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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
* 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 were 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.
Mark lives in Charleston SC with the love of his life - romance novelist /
tour guide Rebel Sinclair - a Bagel hound named Megan, and two cats
named Annabel Lee and Edgar Allan Poe.
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
* 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 were 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.
Mark lives in Charleston SC with the love of his life - romance novelist /
tour guide Rebel Sinclair - a Bagel hound named Megan, and two cats
named Annabel Lee and Edgar Allan Poe.
QUICK FACTS
Born: Aug. 19, 1959
High School: 1977, Barnwell High School.
Pres. of the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes &
the Miller High Life Club.
College: Francis Marion College (a long 2
years) and
Univ. of S. Carolina.
Favorite Books:
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by
John Irving
CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons
ENDER'S GAMER by Orson Scott Card
THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman
ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
RULE BY SECRECY by Jim Marrs
A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute
Favorite Movies:
HARVEY - the greatest movie about a
6-foot tall invisible rabbit ever made!
LOCAL HERO - I want to live in this movie.
Quirky, funny and romantic.
BREAKING AWAY - greatest bicycle movie
ever!
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - the Emma
Thompson award-winning version.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION -
Masterpiece!
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID -
Newman and Redford are great.
RETURN TO ME - the sweetest (and
funniest) romantic comedy I've ever seen.
Favorite Music:
(in alphabetical order)
The Beatles
The BoDeans
Randall Bramlett
Roseanne Cash
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Rodney Crowell
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Radney Foster
Al Green
Shelby Lynne
Lynyrd Skynyrd (original line-up, pre-1978)
Louis Prima
Queen
The Raspberries
Django Reinhardt
Richard Thompson
Favorite Quotes:
"A man with an erection heeds no advice."
- Samuel Pepys, 1668.
"I have never let school interfere with my
education." - Mark Twain
Sex is like a drug. To obtain the same
results, you must often double the dose."
- Balzac.
Born: Aug. 19, 1959
High School: 1977, Barnwell High School.
Pres. of the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes &
the Miller High Life Club.
College: Francis Marion College (a long 2
years) and
Univ. of S. Carolina.
Favorite Books:
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by
John Irving
CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons
ENDER'S GAMER by Orson Scott Card
THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman
ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
RULE BY SECRECY by Jim Marrs
A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute
Favorite Movies:
HARVEY - the greatest movie about a
6-foot tall invisible rabbit ever made!
LOCAL HERO - I want to live in this movie.
Quirky, funny and romantic.
BREAKING AWAY - greatest bicycle movie
ever!
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - the Emma
Thompson award-winning version.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION -
Masterpiece!
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID -
Newman and Redford are great.
RETURN TO ME - the sweetest (and
funniest) romantic comedy I've ever seen.
Favorite Music:
(in alphabetical order)
The Beatles
The BoDeans
Randall Bramlett
Roseanne Cash
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Rodney Crowell
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Radney Foster
Al Green
Shelby Lynne
Lynyrd Skynyrd (original line-up, pre-1978)
Louis Prima
Queen
The Raspberries
Django Reinhardt
Richard Thompson
Favorite Quotes:
"A man with an erection heeds no advice."
- Samuel Pepys, 1668.
"I have never let school interfere with my
education." - Mark Twain
Sex is like a drug. To obtain the same
results, you must often double the dose."
- Balzac.
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