 Because of his mixed race ancestry, Jehu Jones was able to join Charleston's relatively privileged mulatto elite; his father bought his first slave in 1807.Jones took over his father's tailoring business circa 1816, as his father concentrated his own energies on a hotel which he opened to cater to white travellers.Although originally connected with the Episcopal Church, Jones Jr. joined the Lutheran Church and became of member of Charleston's St. John's Lutheran congregation in 1820.