KSGenWeb Digital Library Biographical Sketch of James Roland Jones Doniphan County, Kansas

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The following transcription is from a 750 page book titled "Genealogical and Biographical Record of North-Eastern Kansas, dated 1900.  These have been diligently transcribed and generously contributed by Penny R. Harrell, please give her a very big Thank You for her hard work!

James Roland Jones.

When the pioneer settlers were performing the arduous task of reclaiming the wild lands of Doniphan county the Jones family, of which our subject is a representative, came to northeastern Kansas, and he whose name introduces this brief sketch has spent almost his entire life upon the farm which is now his home.  He is regarded as one of the most progressive agriculturists of Wayne township and the leading breeder of and dealer in Aberdeen and Angus cattle.

He has a wide acquaintance in the community and it is therefore with pleasure that we present to our readers the record of his career.  His father, Charles Jones, who is now living retired in Atchison, was born in Cheshire, England, belonging to an old family of that country.  His birth occurred in 1816 and his wife was born there ten years later.

At the age of twenty he left his native land for the United States and located in Madison county, Ohio, where he engaged in carpentering, which trade he had learned before his departure for the new world.

He had heard of the opportunities offered young men in America and wished to secure a comfortable home and competence here.  He was successful almost from the beginning and as the years passed extended the field of his labors to including contracting and building.  He also conducted a furniture and undertaking business in Ohio, where he resided until after the close of the civil war, when he brought his family to Doniphan county, Kansas.

The second year after his arrival he purchased the northwest quarter of section 17, Wayne township, then a wild and unimproved tract of land, upon which he at once began the work of cultivation.  Here prosperity also attended his well directed efforts and as a result of his farming ventures he acquired a handsome competence which now enables him to live retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.  His home is in Atchison, where he has many friends, and throughout northeastern Kansas he is widely and favorably known.

It was on the 3rd of August, 1845, that Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Eliza Meadowcroft, who was born in Lancashire, England.  Their children are: Mary, who was born May 5, 1846, and is the wife of John Hagg, of Wayne township, by whom she has two children, Charles and Edith; George, who was born June 29, 1849, married Annie Stanles and resides in Sumner county, Kansas; Charles W., born May 7, 1851, married Agnes Waterson and is the city ticket agent for the Rock Island Railroad Company at Kansas City, Missouri; Salem, born May 12, 1854, married Annie Lloyd and resides in Doniphan county; Libbie, born October 23, 1859, is the wife of Alexander Henderson and resides in Leavenworth, Kansas; Edward, born July 23, 1861, married Agnes Steele and is a farmer of Wayne township, Doniphan county; Rev. Henry, born January 28, 1863, married Irene M. Moore and is the pastor of the Baptist church at Lena, Illinois; James R., born October 13, 1865, is the next in order of birth; and Rev. John M., born November 12, 1867, is connected with the ministry in Atchison.  He married Frances Harding.

James R. Jones has spent nearly his entire life upon the farm he now owns.  Before he was a year old he was brought by his parents from Madison county, Ohio to Doniphan county and in the public schools acquired his preliminary education, which was supplemented by a course in the university at Ottawa, Kansas.  Upon the old homestead he early became familiar with the duties of farmer and stock raiser and it was those pursuits which claimed his attention after attaining his majority.  One by one his older brothers and sisters left the farm, but he remained at home and is now the owner of the old place.

He is very practical and successful in the operation of his land and is also prosperous as a breeder of Aberdeen and Angus cattle, to which enterprise he has recently given much of his time and attention. 

In October 1893, Mr. Jones married Margaret Steele, who died in March, 1898, leaving a little daughter, Alice E. May 30, 1900 he married Hattie May Archer, a daughter of William J. Archer.  As a family and as individuals the Jones representatives have been prominent in church work.  The father was one of the founders and prominent supporters of the little church near his farm and for many years served as deacon.

James R. Jones is likewise active in advancing the work and interests of the church and is now serving as the superintendent of the Sabbath school.  His life has in a manner been quiet and uneventful, but it is a record of one who has ever been true to his church, to himself, to his family, to his friends and his country, and such a history always contains lessons that may be profitably followed by a younger generation.

Last update: Saturday, January 17, 2004 15:38:19

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