JAMES W. JONES
James
W. Jones, a splendid representative of the worthiest and best
type of Iowa’s pioneer citizen, dates his residence in this
state from 1854 and has witnessed a great deal of the period
of its greatest growth and development, taking an active and
honorable part in the work of upbuilding. He was among the
early settlers in Clarke county and has for years been
numbered among representative agriculturists in this part of
the state, his eighty acre farm on section 9, Union township,
Lucas county, evidencing in its appearance the care and
practical labor which have been bestowed upon it. The years have
brought him success, prominence and a comfortable fortune and
his active and honorable life, guided always by high and
worthy standards, has gained him the respect and esteem of
many friends.
Mr.
Jones was born in Putnam county, Indiana, April 4, 1839, and
is a son of Reuben and Edith (Rogers) Jones, the former a
native of North Carolina and the latter of Kentucky. In 1854 they
journeyed overland to Iowa and settled as pioneers in Polk
county, this state, taking up their residence on rented land,
within three miles of the present site of Des Moines. The community was
called Fort Des Moines at that time, and was a village so
small that it has been truthfully stated that one bushel of
potatoes thrown upon the market would overstock it. After a short
period of residence in that vicinity the Jones family moved to
Clarke county, where the father entered land. This he later
disposed of, buying a farm five miles south of Osceola, Clarke
county. Here
also he encountered the hardships and privations of pioneer
existence, for he settled upon his property at a very early
date, finding the land for miles around raw prairie and the
Indians numerous in the vicinity. With characteristic energy he began the
improvement and development of his farm and became well known
in agricultural circles, dying upon his holdings in 1873 when
he was eighty years of age.
His wife passed away in 1890 and was eighty-nine at the
time of her death. Thirteen
children were born to their union: Mary Jane, deceased; David, who died in
Indiana; Asa and Mrs. Margaret Thomas, who have also passed
away; James W., of this review; Mrs. Lettie Lucas, deceased;
Mrs. Martha Clear of Prosser, Washington; John, who died in
Washington in 1912; Reuben, also of Washington; Jacob, who
makes his home in Butte, Montana; Peter of Kansas City,
Missouri; Isaac; and Mrs. Nancy Ann Crooks, of Prosser,
Washington. The
eight oldest of the above children were born in Indiana and
the others in Iowa.
James
W. Jones was fifteen years of age when he accompanied his
parents on the overland journey into Iowa and he is therefore
numbered among the pioneer settlers here. He learned farming
in his childhood by practical experience upon his father’s
property and has reaped the benefit of this early training
during his active career which has been entirely devoted to
agricultural pursuits. He
has not remained a continuous resident of this state since his
first settlement, for at one time he homesteaded land in
Nebraska and remained upon it for about twenty years, making
it during that period a productive and valuable farm. Eventually however
he returned to Union township, Lucas county, where he has long
been a factor in agricultural development. He owns eighty
acres of fine land on section 9, and another tract of ten
acres on section 4, and his properties are well improved in
every particular, giving every evidence of careful and
practical cultivation. The
house in which the family reside was one of the first erected
in Union township and is known as the James Leach home, having
been built by a pioneer of that name. The atmosphere of
the early times clings around the old dwelling and homestead,
where many interesting relics of the pioneers have been
discovered. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones are now in possession of a piece of cedar which
was taken from a depth of fifty-nine feet below the surface of
the ground, at a time when a new well was being bored near the
house. They
possess also a flax hackle and a spinning wheel belonging to
Mr. Leach, the first mistress of the house. These things have
led Mr. Jones to take an interest in accumulating curios of
this character and his collection includes a shoehammer
brought from Germany over a century ago.
In
1867 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Elvira Pollard,
who was born in Washington county, Indiana, on the 19th
of October, 1848, a daughter of Hezekiah Pollard and Matilda
Cox, natives of that locality, the former born May 4, 1822. The family came
overland in 1852, and settled in Union township, Lucas county,
on October 25th of that year, among the earliest
settlers. Both
have passed away, the father dying May 11, 1908, and the
mother April 9, 1910. To
their union were born thirteen children: Stephen Aaron, of
Hamilton county, Nebraska; Mrs. Jones, wife of the subject of
this review; William Zachariah, of Hamilton county, Nebraska;
Nathaniel, who makes his home in Buffalo, Wyoming; John of
Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Margaret Castle of Hamilton county,
Nebraska; Franklin Pierce, of Wyoming; Albert, who resides in
Ridgeway, Missouri; Mrs. Flora Morris, of Derby; Mrs.
Theodosia Robinson, who makes her home in Confidence, Wayne
county; Elisha and Mary Belle, who have passed away; and Mrs.
Ida May Dennis of Union township. The four eldest of these children were
born in Indiana and the rest in Union township, this county.
Mr.
and Mrs. Jones have become the parents of ten children: Mrs. Dora
McDaniels, who was born November 16, 1868, and who is residing
with her parents in Union township; Delora Ellen, whose birth
occurred on the 18th of February, 1870, and who has
passed away; Mrs. Edith Patterson, who was born December 17,
1871, and who resides in this township; Albert Walter, who was
born December 24, 1873, and who resides in Kendrick, Idaho;
Mrs. Clara Ida Hamilton, born December 20, 1875, also of
Kendrick, Idaho; Minnie, who was born October 8, 1878, and who
was graduated from the Methodist Hospital and the State
Hospital at Des Moines; Mrs. Maude Horton, who was born
November 17, 1880, and who resides in Union township; Edna A.,
who was born March 1, 1882, and died October 17, 1900; Fay L.,
born July 6, 1886; and Ernest Hezekiah, born October 9, 1891.
Mr. Jones voted twice for Abraham Lincoln and has throughout his life consistently adhered to the policy of casting his ballot for the man whom he considers best fitted for the position without regard to party lines. He and his wife are devout members of the Baptist church and are people of exemplary character, well known and favorably regarded throughout the township.