JOHN D. JONES Father of Charles E. Jones

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1 JOHN D. JONES Father of Charles E. Jones John D. Jones was a most successful farmer and fruit growers of Utah County. His residence has been in Provo, Utah, most of the time since He was born in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, December 25,1835. John D. Jones is the son of Moses and Eliza Case Jones. His father, Moses Jones was born 4 July 1799, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and died 10 March 1879 in Provo, Utah. His mother, Eliza Case, was born in Monmouth, New Jersey, 19 June 1810 and died in Ogden, Utah, 29 October To this couple ten children were born: John D. Jones Abigail Jones Born 4 December 1827 Springfield, Illinois Elizabeth Jane Born 28 April 1829 Cincinnati, Ohio Moses S. Born 6 October 1831 Delhi, Ohio William Case Born 18 October 1833 Delhi, Ohio John D. Born 25 December 1835 Quincy, Illinois Angeline Born 2 January 1838 Quincy, Illinois Sarah Ann Born 2 January 1840 Quincy, Illinois Stephen Born 19 March 1843 Quincy, Illinois Joseph C. Born 12 June 1844 Quincy, Illinois Joshua V. Born 19 February 1847 Quincy, Illinois Moses Jones's family, also his father, Stephen Jones, moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana, and from here to Quincy, Illinois, in the early 1830's. Moses became a member of the Latter-day Saint Church about

2 While at Quincy, Moses and Stephen Jones became acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Although John D. was only about six years old, he remembers seeing the Prophet. Moses Jones and family were called by Authorities to leave Quincy and join the Saints at Nauvoo about They stayed here only a few months then crossed the river to Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. Here they stayed for five years. John D. Jones was sixteen years old when the family loaded all their possessions in two wagons in 1851 under the direction of Harrison Walton and a company of fifty wagons. They bid farewell to their home in Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, and left for a home of peace and safety in the West. The Jones family consisted of Moses (Father), Eliza (Mother), and ten children. The trip was full of exciting incidents. One woman was killed in the stampede of cattle, many wagons were overturned and some were demolished. They had considerable trouble with vast herds of buffalo. One time the Indians stole their horses, but they were later recovered. The Company reached Salt Lake City, October 10, That same fall, Moses Jones and family traveled south to Provo. It was about this time that the people of Provo area were moving out of the fort and establishing homes for themselves. The Jones' settled on the east side of Provo, just below Main Street, in what is now know as the Provo First Ward. Here the father and his sons followed farming and stock raising. There was no water to irrigate the land, so Moses and his sons set out to dig a ditch or canal to carry the water to his land. This was the second ditch dug in Provo. When they did get water into the ditch, it continually broke over the banks. It was then a trying ordeal to get enough water on their land to irrigate. Moses Jones (John D's father) was Counselor to Bishops Duke and Johnson of the First Ward. Moses also fought in the Timpanogos, Walker, and Tintic Indian Wars. In 1870, John's mother (Eliza) dropped dead in the Ogden Depot, as she was returning from a trip to California, 29 Oct The entire family greatly mourned the loss of their mother, who was so devoted, kind and helpful to her husband and children. John D. received his early education in Quincy, Illinois, and Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. He plowed the first land in the eastern part of Provo, near the resent sight of the Mental Hospital. He also worked with his Father in a sawmill in Provo Canyon. John D. was a believer in the principle of polygamy and became the husband of two wives. He married Susanna Boren the 20th of July Nine children graced the home of the first marriage. They were: John Edward Born 20 November 1858 William Coleman Born 29 Dec 1860 Died at 13 Minerva Eliza Born 8 Dec 1862 Died at 20 2

3 Stephen Boren Born 4 Jun 1865 Charles E. Born 19 April 1868 Died 4 April, 1948 Rosa Bell Born 1 Mar 1871 Died 18 April 1956 Lizzie Born 4 September 1875 Died at 7 Annie Jennie Born 14 Jun 1878 Died 2 July 1961 Irvin Born 6 February 1884 In 1858, during the summer and fall, John D. was employed by the Young Express Co. to carry mail for the United States Government. He was stationed at Fort Seminole at Devil's Gate. During his time here he had many exciting experiences with the Indians. In 1862, John went to California with an ox-team, purchased a stock of goods at Sacramento, California, and returned with a mule train. He followed wagon freighting for six years. While on one of these trips, he purchased some bolts of cloth for his wife to make dresses and shirts for the children and herself. Susanna made several long dresses for her babies, then in four to six months she would make short dresses for them. The same dress was used shorten for both boys and girls. One short dress, which she used for seven of her children, was given to her baby son Irvin. This dress was used by Irvin's wife for each of his six children. It is still being used by their daughter. This little dress is now one-hundred years old. In 1867, John D. moved his wife and four children from Provo to San Bernardino, California. Here he purchased a track of land and put out 3500 grapevines. He sold the grapes on the market. He built up a very good business. On this land was a large spring of water. Years later this spring of water was sold to the City for drinking water at a price of nearly a half-million dollars. While in California, a son, Charles E., and a daughter, Rosa Belle, were born. Due to the ill health of Mrs. Jones their stay in California was about four years. They traded their home, vineyard and the spring of water for a yoke of oxen, wagon, and provisions to return to Utah. In 1872, John D. and family moved to Willow Creek where he purchased a large ranch. This ranch was about three miles south of Mona, Utah. Mr. Jones still did a great deal of wagon freighting while Mrs. Jones and the children ran the ranch. They had many horses, cows, pigs, and chickens on the ranch. At one time they milked as many as twenty cows at once. They made cheese and butter, while the skim milk was used mostly to feed pigs. Mrs. Jones would walk three miles to Mona, to sell the butter and eggs, carrying them in a bucket in one hand, and her baby in the other arm. At one time, William Coleman jumped off a fence and ran a sliver in his knee. There was no Doctor closer than Nephi. Mrs. Jones tended it the best she could, but it got worse. They brought him to Provo, but the poison had gone into his blood and he soon passed away. Another time, John D. was in the mountains hunting cattle. His horse slipped and threw him to the ground. The horse then fell upon him. He was in serious condition when they found him. This time they were able to get a Doctor from Nephi to come and set his arm and tend him. Most of the time when they had sickness the mother did the doctoring, and when she was sick the neighbors would come in and help. Mrs. Jones just had a new baby, and was still in bed, when her children began 3

4 to cough very hard. She soon found that all seven of her children had whooping cough, and even her week-old baby got it. She got up and nursed them all through it. John D. failed to claim his water rights on his ranch at Willow Creek. Other men found out he had not claimed his water rights, so they filed on his water and took it from him. They not only took his water rights but also everyone else's who had not filed on their water rights. Mr. Jones was elected president to take the matter into court. The courts would not give them their water rights. They could not sell their land without water so they just left and came back to Provo. He purchased the north half of the city block on third south between second and third west. Here he built a beautiful brick home and the largest barn then in Provo. He purchased one hundred acres of land in Orem, then called Provo Bench. He also purchased two other large pieces of land. As his sons married, he sold them what land they wished to buy. On his farm he had four acres of every kind of fruit known in Utah. There he had some kinds of fruit that were not found on the market then, such as nectarines, and various varieties of apples and prunes. Much of his land was used for growing alfalfa, and all kinds of grains. He raised cattle and many hogs. Near Christmas he would have as many as a hundred head of hogs for sale. He had given most of his time to farming and irrigation matters since moving to Provo. For many years he was a director in the Provo Bench Irrigation Company. In his youth and early manhood he was very active in the church. Although in later life he didn't work in the church he was willing to help when called upon for contributions. He had loaned large sums of money at times to businessmen to keep their stores running when their business was in danger of closing. He was regarded as a successful businessman and enjoyed the confidence and respect of a large circle of friends. John D. worked on his farm and drove his team until he was 85 years old. He died 27 October 1920 at the home of his son, Irvin Jones. He was buried 30 October 1920 in the Provo City Cemetery. 4

5 Standing: Charles E. Jones and John D. Jones Sitting: Julia Sackett Jones (wife of Alma), Ray Alma Jones (infant who later died), and Alma Jones 5