John Jones (1829-1908) was born in Worcester, England. He was ordained in London in 1853 and accepted by the London Missionary Society as one of the first missionaries to Mare, Loyalty Islands. He and his wife Sarah (nee Herbert) spent 34 years on Mare establishing schools, workshops, an institution for the training of a native ministry and translating biblical texts into the local language. The French expelled him from Mare in 1887.

The papers relate to the Mare mission. They comprise newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, maps, a diary and personal and other correspondence. The personal correspondence describes their daily lives, the adjustment to local conditions and foods, the seeds and plants they grew and a very detailed account of Sarah's childbirth with placenta previa (See item 7 on the microfilm). In all Sarah had 8 children, 2 stillborn, 2 died in infancy and 4 survived. The photographs are of indigenous people and the mission buildings on Mare, and members of Jones' family. There are letters between him and the French government 1881-86, including the 'rules drawn up for settlement of the Mare difficulty' (in French). The newspaper clippings include items from The Christian, The Chronicle and Le Neo-Caledonien. Also included on the reel is a copy of The People and Language of Lifu, Loyalty Islands by Sydney H. Ray, MA FRAI, with illustrations.

Family letters:

1. 19 Jun 1908 - 'My dear Hattie'
2. 18 Nov 1856 - 'My dear parents'
3. 1 Jan 1856 - 'My dearest mother': another typed transcription of this letter has been microfilmed with the original.
4. 23 May 1861 - 'My very dear parents'
5. 3 Jul 1865 - 'My very dear Parents': read in conjunction with 'Sarah's Affliction', Item 7.
6. 5 Mar 1957, No 17 - 'My dear Parents'
7. See also letter 3 Jul 1865 - Account of Sarah's Affliction
8. 2 Aug 1854, No3 - 'My very dear Parents…'

Other Correspondence:
This section includes letters addressed to 'My dear young friends' and which appear to be duplicated a number of times. It is assumed that the same letter was sent to different people. The letter dated 12 Apr 1881 appears to contain in total 8 pages, the originals being repeated 4 times but filmed two at a time, i.e. pages 1 and 2 (repeated); pages 3 and 4 (repeated); pages 5 and 6 (repeated); pages 7 and 8 (repeated). This section also includes the 'rules' and other letters in French: Maps of Mare, Rarotonga, Cook Islands and Aitutaki (not all together) and various references to the Mission's land; various printed articles; a copy of Power of Attorney to Douglas Carter and notes from a speech (not delivered).

4. Photographs