A carpenter and builder by trade, Orrin Jones and his brothers, Leander M. Jones and Charles Jones, also carpenters, settled in Monterey, Michigan, in the mid-1850s. Charles had a Millerite Adventist background, so it is possible that Orrin Jones shared the same experience. He became a Sabbatarian Adventist in 1857 and was chosen as deacon of the Monterey church in 1861, in which year he also supervised the construction of a two-story brick building to house the Review and Herald press in Battle Creek. 1EGWLM 853.3
In the early 1870s Orrin Jones was again called upon to erect additional press buildings and the three-story Battle Creek College. James White was impressed with the quality of Jones's work and in 1875 called for him to come out to Oakland, California, to construct a building for the newly established press (later “Pacific Press”). In the face of complaints from local Adventist carpenters who could see no reason to import labor from the East, James White endorsed Jones for his “ability and faithfulness.” As a result, Orrin and his brother, Charles, spent two years in the Oakland-San Francisco area engaged in several building projects for the church. On returning to Michigan, Orrin Jones supervised the construction in 1877-1878 of a four-story brick building later known as the Battle Creek Sanitarium. 1EGWLM 853.4
There are no known letters from Ellen White to Orrin Jones. A few mentions are found, such as eating breakfast at Jones's house in 1859 and an account of a sailing excursion with the Jones brothers and others in San Francisco Bay in 1876. “The wind was blowing strong and I never enjoyed anything as much in my life,” Ellen White reported. 1EGWLM 853.5
See: Obituary: “Orrin B. Jones,” Review, Aug. 28, 1883, p. 559; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, “Elizabeth Jones,” Michigan, Allegan County, Monterey, p. 140; [news item] Signs of the Times, Mar. 25, 1875, p. 160; “Records of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Monterey, Michigan [1860-1880],” minutes for Nov. 9, 1861 (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University, n.d.), p. 22; J. N. Loughborough, “Conference Address,” Review, Oct. 19, 1876, p. 122; J. W. [James White], “How We Found Things,” Review, Oct. 21, 1875, p. 124; search term “O. B. Jones” or “Orrin B. Jones” in Review and Herald online collection, www.adventistarchives.org; Ellen G. White, Ms 8, 1859 (Nov. 18 entry); Lt 5, 1876 (Apr. 11). 1EGWLM 854.1