Diana Jones (1801–1879) was born in New York and came to Nantucket sometime in the 1820s. Around 1828, she became the second wife of Jacob Jones (ca. 1790–1859), a mariner who later worked as a chimney sweep, whitewasher, and fisherman. They had three children, two daughters who died young and son James William Jones, who also became a mariner.
The family lived on Pine Street in the New Guinea neighborhood. After Jacob’s death and with her son often away for years at a time, Diana supported herself as a live-in domestic servant, working for Nancy and George Cobb until about 1875, when she was 74 years old.