HONEY GROVE, TEXAS

John Watson Jones and Others

Published in the Honey Grove Signal-Citizen about 1938

Written by H. P. Allen, assisted by W. J. Erwin

John Watson Jones was born Dec. 16, 1785; died Sept. 28, 1850, near Honey Grove. His boyhood home was in New Jersey (1847), and taught school in his younger days. His brother and sister, William and Hannah, lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hannah married a Mr. Bacon. John Watson Jones served in the War of 1812 and was present at Hull's surrender. Returning home after the war, he married Tamizine Finley, whose early home was also in New Jersey, where she was born on June 18, 1789. She died in Feb. 1853. After marriage Mr. Jones moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, then a village of but a few houses; also lived on a farm at North Bend and Cleveland, Ohio, and his children were all born in Ohio near Cincinnati. The children were Charlotte Osborn, James Finley, Horatio Westcott, Theodore (lived to be 15 years of age), Enos Ewing, William F. infant boy (died at birth), John Watson, Tamisine Finley (died at age of 7). While living on a farm near Cincinnati, Mrs. Jones received a china pitcher as a premium for her dairy products, presented by the Agricultural Society at Cincinnati, in 1835. The family moved from near Cincinnati to Covington Ky.

John Watson Jones owned two farms near Cincinnati, and sold one to William Henry Harrison, his boyhood friend, later president of the United States. He had another farm nearly paid for, when the bank burned and the papers were destroyed and the original owner compelled him to give up the farm and lose all he had. What is now the cemetery at Covington, KY., was a farm he rented. Mr. Jones started the first Sunday school in Covington, Ky., (Baptist). Moved from Covington to East Bend, Ky., where he lived on a farm for four years. Mr. Jones, accompanied by his son William made a trip to Texas, and soon after returning home, the entire family moved to Texas, except James Finley, who was in Covington, and Horatio, who had previously left home as a missionary to the Choctaws under the Missionary Board of Louisville. The trip to Texas was by boat via New Orleans, and Shreveport, La. From the latter point overland by their own team to the farm ten miles northeast of Honey Grove. While en route they purchased a yoke of oxen and coupled with the team. This was in the fall of 1847, about November, when the start was made from Kentucky. The Texas home consisted of two small log houses, which served as a residence during the life of John Watson Jones. The farm was later owned by Horatio Jones, who was then in the Indian Nation. Horatio was married in 1848 to Elizabeth Cheatham in Fannin county,. Six children were born to this union. One son, John Jones, was killed by the blowing up of his Uncle John Jones' flour mill in the year 1873, at the age of 20 years. Two of the children are yet living, Annie Jones (now Mrs. John Parrish of Denison) and Lizzie Jones (now Mrs. Swafford of Sherman). Horatio's second wife, ao sister of his first wife, was Isabella Cheatham.

William W. Jones and wife, together with their five children, all of whom are now dead, lived at Paris, Texas.

John W. Jones was born March 18, 1827, and made his home in Honey Grove for many years. Early in life he was married to Hannah Craddock, who died May 19, 1906, at the home in Honey Grove. A brother of Mrs. Jones, E. C. Craddock, lives in Seymour. Mr. Jones died June 30, 1918 at the age of 91 years. Five children were born to this union: Charlie, who died in 1937; his home was in Mabank. Ella Jones, who died December 24, 1936. The surviving children are John W. Jones, Mrs. A. N. Norwood (Mollie), and Mrs. J. J. Rhodes (Ida).

Note - Next week's article will contain a short sketch about the life of Mr. and Mrs. Jones in and near Honey Grove

JONES FAMILY - Continued

In reading the foregoing history in last week's paper of the Jones family our mind very naturally turned back to the first time we ever saw Mr. Jones, the father of the Honey Grove family. He was herding a flock of sheep on the extensive prairie which lay south and east of his home, eight or nine miles north of Honey Grove. It was rather a wild looking region at that time, there being only two other settlers living in sight. In about 1860 Mr. Jones married Miss Mary Hannah Craddock, whom the writer had gone to school with in 1858 or 1859. She boarded with my Aunt Sallie Stapp.

After the civil war practically all farmers went to growing cotton. Mr. Jones, seeing the necessity for it, built a gin and mill at his home place, and was doing well with it. One morning the engineer was late in getting to his work. John Jones, Horatio, Jones' son, was a helper at the mill, and suggested to his uncle that he believed he could fire up and fun the mill until the engineer came. He was permitted to do so. When all was in readiness, he turned on the steam, and there was a boiler explosion that was terrific, killing three men - himself, a Mr. Scrimpshire, and we have forgotten the name of the other man. This explosion caused Mr. Jones to have to spend many years o toil to recoup himself for his loss.

He passed away after having lived 91 years. The writer knew him personally during the last 70 years of his life, and never during that 70 years did we ever hear anyone speak of Mr. Jones except in words of kindness and praise.

It is generally conceded that writers do not make history, but rather the type of the citizenship they write about makes the history. Honey Grove and the surrounding country was made a good place in which to live thru the influence of the early settlers. The moulded sentiment, established customs, and set to work influences that to some extent are guiding men today. Honey Grove being a small town, cannot furnish employment for all the young men and women who are capable and anxious to work, so they have to seek employment elsewhere, and go to Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and many other cities, and it is surprising what a lot of Honey Grove young men and women you will find, many filling positions of trust. Only six years ago, the writer was in Bowie County to build a tenant house; went to a station on the Cotton Belt railroad, where there was a large stock of lumber, and handed the proprietor a bill for the material wanted. He sent a clerk to select what was wanted. After getting loaded, we went to the proprietor's office and handed him a list of what we had loaded. He figured it and announced the amount I owed him. We drew from our pocket a check book and filled it out and handed it to him. He read it and accepted it as pay. He asked me if I lived in Honey Grove and how long I had lived there. After telling him, he drew a chair near and told me that the most popular men in Bowie county were Honey Grove boys - Mark Taylor, Jim Baker and Will Clay; one superintendent of schools, one sheriff, and one an auditor. He praised them highly and asked me if we had many more like them.

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