Our Family's Journey Through Time
John B. Jones, born August 13, 1862, and Ida Phillips, born December 4, 1863, were married March 11, 1891, in Loveland, Ohio. Ida Phillips was a sister to my Grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Phillips (on my mother's side). John B. Jones was a great uncle.
They had six children, Everett LeRoy, Wilbur Norris, Ethel May, Lulu E., Verda, and Earl Edwin Bryan known as "Buddy"Everett LeRoy, born January 8, 1892, remained single. Everett worked as a brakeman on the railroad. He fell under a tram when it jerked unexpectedly and died of his injuries.
I have a card addressed to David Jones, senior, Ellsworth, Iowa from Everett. He was working in Kandigohi or Willmar, Minnesota at the time.
Wilbur Norris Jones, born May 10, 1894, was married to Beda Jones, born April 9, 1893. Wilbur died in 1956 and Beda died October 3, 1966. Beda Jones was born in Deepwater, Missouri. Her father was also a William Jones. She had two sisters, Viola and Laura.
Viola and her daughter, Fern Hudchins Hageboeck, live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fern has a large portrait of her grandfather, William Jones and has given it to Wilbur Ralph Jones, Beda's son.
Beda's other sister lived in DesMoines, Iowa and has three sons, David, John and Ralph all with the last name of Miller. Beda had a short marriage to a Parker before she married Wilbur Norris Jones. Wilbur and Beda had four children, Lena Mae, Wilson Paul, (Paul as I knew him), Wilbur Ralph (Orville) and Greta Juanita Rose. Orville and Rose are nicknames, the names I knew them by.
Lena Mae married Roy Cattell. They have two children Carolyn and LeRoy. Carolyn Davis Lopez has three children, Wade, (married to Bonnie Fialo), Jennifer, and Sharolyn married to a Lathrop. Carolyn and a grandson live close by her Mother, Lena, in Houston, Texas.
LeRoy Cattell is a pilot for American Airlines and lives in Arlington, Texas. He is now married to Shirley Orr but he has two sons by his first wife, Richard Edward and Russell Allen Cattell.
Wilson Paul (Paul as I knew him), born April 29, 1919 married Virginia Amsden. They had two children, Patricia and John. Patricia, born May 4, 1943, died May 5, 1977, taking her own life.
John Paul Jones married Sally Smith. They have two children, John Paul Jones, II and Gina. Gina married Mehdi Hassangadeh.
Wilson Paul Jones died March 23, 1973 after a brief illness. Virginia Amsden Jones, now married to Reverend Eli Sterner, a retired minister, still lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. John Paul Jones, II, Virginia and Paul's son, lives in Auburn, Indiana.
Beda, Wilson Paul and Patricia are buried in I.O.O.F. Cemetery, New Haven, Indiana.
Wilbur Ralph Jones (Orville, as I knew him) was born in Perry, Iowa in 1922. Wilbur Ralph married Mollie Brudzinski and they have a daughter, Marilyn Kathleen. She is married to David Bish. Wilbur served in the Navy in W.W.II. and now resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wilbur has given me much information and many pictures for the family history.
Greta Juanita (Rose, a nickname) was married to a Howard and then to William Steinbacker. He raised Greta Juanita's daughter, Rosiland. Greta Juanita Rose died some years ago and is buried in Leo, Indiana. Rosiland is now married to Kenneth Baker and lives at 3601 Arenac Co. Line, Pinconning, Michigan, 48650. Her children's names are David and Amy Glass.
Wilbur Ralph Jones recalls his Grandfather, John B. Jones, sold his farm in Ohio and moved to Foreman, Arkansas where he bought a 120 acre farm, which is located approximately 3 miles east of Foreman and lies on both sides of Highway 108. Virginia Amsden Jones and Wilbur Ralph Jones still own the property. Ashdoun is the County seat.
John B. was killed by his own shotgun while climbing over the fence on his property.
As Wilbur Ralph Jones recalls "as there was not any work and the sons all went north, looking for employment. My father (Wilbur Norris) met my mother in Deepwater, Missouri. After marriage, they worked for farmers and whatever work they could find all the way up to and in Minnesota. I was born in Perry, Iowa in 1922 and before my parents left Galesburg, Illinois, in approximately 1928, my father had been working as a riveter for the railroad. My father must have been corresponding with Cyrus Jones (Steven Jones' son) in Fort Wayne, as father heard that there was lots of work there. We three children, (Lena, Wilson Paul, Wilbur R.) a police dog, and my parents drove to Fort Wayne in a Model T Ford. We stayed the first winter in a small tent in the woods at Meyer Road and U.S. 24, east of Fort Wayne. Dad used his railroad money to buy a new dump truck in 1929 and lost everything in the crash. Dad's last work was at Fruehauf Trucking, Fort Wayne, as a riveter again. He retired from there. He took a correspondence course in auto-mechanics and built a tractor which he used on his five acre property at 211 West St. Extended, New Haven, Indiana. The house (used to be an Inn for the Wabash and Erie Canal) still stands."
Ethel May Jones born June 10, 1896, married Joseph Steven Murphy June 7, 1913 at Foreman, Arkansas. They had two children, Donald Woodrow Murphy, born July 3, 1916 and Margie Irene Murphy, born February 28, 1921.
The Murphy's moved to Bend Oregon. A few years before her death, she contacted my family, (David LeRoy Jones, Jr.) and became reacquainted . She was a very spritely person, with long beautiful hair. She died December 1980 from Cancer.
Her daughter, Margie Irene, married Emil Valdes, October 3, 1938. They have four children, Susan Irene Valdes, born November 14, 1948, Charles Robert Valdes, October 26, 1951 and twins Janice Marie and John Edward, October 9, 1957.
Charles Robert Valdes married Linda L. Lentz, September 28, 1974. They have two girls, Laura Anne born September 18, 1977 and Lisa Marie born August 19, 1979.
The other three children are unmarried at this time.
Ethel Jones Murphy's son, Donald Woodrow Murphy, married Ruth Parsons April 15, 1935. They have two daughters, Patricia Ruth, born March 28, 1936 and Ruth Irene born August 22, 1947.
Patricia Ruth Murphy married Dean Burnett in 1954. Their daughter, Deborah, born February 13, 1955, married George Williams. They have four boys.
Ruth Irene Murphy married John Crom, March 9, 1985. They have no children.
Margie Valdes has been a great help getting this information plus pictures to me. It is greatly appreciated.
Verda Jones, born July 16, 1898, married Richard Dickey. They lived in El Paso, Texas but moved back to East St. Louis when he became too ill to work. He was diabetic and had tuberculosis. He died when his two daughters, Charline and Virginia, were quite young. Verda died in 1969.
Lulu Jones, born March 15, 1901, married James Eubank. He was from Des Moines, or Ames, Iowa. They had three boys, Ralph, William and Russell. Ralph was an attorney for the city of Los Angeles and died of a heart attack at the age of 40 some years ago. No information on the other two boys, Russell and William.
A note found in Elverda Jones's belongings said Lu Jones was hit by a train January 3, 1966. Funeral was January 6, 1966. She was 65 years old.
Earl Edwin Bryan Jones (Buddy), was born April 17, 1907. He married Marie Richards. He worked for Monsanto Chemical Company in East St. Louis. He retired in 1969 and died of a heart attack in December 1969. Marie died a few months ago, (1988). They had no children.
Ethel Jones Murphy's parents and other family members are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Bellville, Illinois.
by Vivian Marie Jones Hutchins - 1988; Rewritten and slightly edited by her niece, Cheryl Jones Cash - 2022
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