Jones, Jacob F.

JONES, BOYLE, SHERWIN, KIMBALL, TEZAR, CANNON, LITTRELL

Posted By: Gary Norris (email)
Date: 12/2/2012 at 14:45:06

One of the highly regarded and capable agriculturists of Madison township is Jacob F. Jones, who is engaged in the cultivation of two hundred acres of land on sections 17 and 20.
He was born in the homestead upon which he now resides on the 22nd of February, 1856, a son of Uriah and Elizabeth (Boyle) Jones, the father of Irish and the mother of German descent. Uriah Jones, who was a carpenter and farmer, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on the 11th of April, 1813. In his early manhood he migrated to Virginia, where he resided for a short time, then went to Clinton county, Indiana, and the lady who subsequently became his wife. Mrs. Jones was a native of Virginia, her birth occurred in Tazewell county on the 8th of July, 1819. They began their domestic life in Indiana, continuing to reside there until 1851, at which time they removed to Illinois, locating on a farm in the vicinity of Peoria. In 1852 they came to Iowa, residing for a year on a farm near Mount Vernon, Linn county. They then came to Poweshiek county, where Mr. Jones entered one humdred amd sixty acres of government land which he cleared and improved. He later added to his tract another forty acres which adjoined it on the north. Mr. Jones was the first white settler in Madison township and his son, Jacob F., was the second white child born there. He continued to engage in the cultivation of his farm until his demise, which occurred on the 3rd of April, 1894. Mrs. Jones survived him until the 24th of October, 1910, making her home with her son after her husband passed away.
After the completion of his education, in the acquirement of which he attended the public schools, Jacob F. Jones gave his entire time and attention to the cultivation of the homestead under the supervision of his father. After the latter's death he rented the land from the estate, continuing its operation until the division of the property subsequent to the death of his mother. Having spent his entire life on the place he desired to retain possession of it and so purchased the interest of the other heirs. In additon to the cultivation of the fields, which are sowed almost entirely in grains, he breeds and raises a high grade of stock and feeds hogs for the market. Fifty acres of the land is in natural timber but the remainder, which is well drained, rolling prairie, is under cultivation.
Mr. Jones was married on the 24th of December, 1876, to Miss Eva I. Sherwin, a daughter of William and Abi (Kimball) Sherwin. The father, who was a farmer and miller, was born in Chester county, Virginia, on the 26th of February, 1814, but the mother was a daughter of New England, her birth having occurred in Vermont in 1815. They first migrated to Wisconsin, coming from there to Madison township, Poweshiek county, where they resided for many years. Later they went to Pulaski county, Missouri, and there the father passed away on the 28th of October, 1896. He had survived Mrs. Sherwin for many years, her death having occurred on the 15th of June, 1888, while they were residing at Dysart, Tama county. Of the ten chidlren born unto Mr. And Mrs. Jones but seven are living: Harlan S., a farmer of Madison township, who married Miss Mary Tezar and has two children; Warren H., a clerk of the court of Tama county, who married Zae Cannon, of Toledo, Iowa; Daisy, who married S.M. Littrell, a farmer of Nemaha, Nebraska, and who has one child; Frank C., a dealer in automobiles in Toledo, Iowa; Lester L., who is at home; Anna, a music teacher, living at home; and Dorothy, who is also at home. Of the three who are deceased two died in infancy and the other was a son, Clifton A., who was crushed to death by an engine in the roundhouse at Marshalltown, Iowa, when he was twenty-one years of age.
Mr. Jones has always prominently participated in local political activities, giving his support to the candidates of the democratic party. He was president of the school board of Madison township for ten years and director in district No. 4 for ten years, while he served for two terms in both the offices of justice of the peace and constable. Although not a member of any church he attends the services of the Methodist Episcopal, with which Mrs. Jones is affiliated. A man of high principles and sound integrity Mr. Jones' motives are ever actuated by worthy purposes which govern his every relation in life, both public and private.

History of Poweshiek County Iowa
- A Record of Settlement, Organizations, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II
written by Prof. L. F. Parker.
Published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., in 1911
Pages 433-435