WILLIAM L. JONES
WILLIAM L. JONES is an old
and highly respected citizen of Coryell county, in whose
honor Jonesboro is named,
was born in the state of Mississippi, in Claiborne
county, in 1827, the oldest
of a family of thirteen children. His parents, Milton
H. and Kisiah (Culbertson)
Jones, were natives of Tennessee; they removed to
Mississippi at an early
day, and were married in Claiborne county: later they
removed to Yalobusha county,
where they resided a few years, and in 1839 they
came to Texas and located
in Shelby county; here Mr. Jones engaged in farming.
He was a preacher in the
Methodist Episcopal Church and was a very earnest
and enthusiastic worker
in cause of his Master; he died January 22, 1875, in Hood
county, Texas; his wife
died February 10, 1847. William L. Jones received his education
in the pioneer schools of
the Lone Star State. After the death of his mother, in 1847,
he volunteered in the Mexican
war, and served with General Scott; he led a
most exemplary life while
on the campaign, never indulging in the habits which
the life of exposure encourages;
he participated in many skirmishes, but was in no
battles. Upon his return
from the war he engaged in farming, and the following
autumn he entered school
and attended one term. He then went to Corsicana,
Texas, in 1850, and with
his brother-in-law, C. B. Lindsey, embarked in mercantile
pursuits; he followed this
business until 1852, when he went back to Rusk county,
and was employed as clerk
for Mr. John Abney for a year; he was at Mt. Enterprise
the next year, clerking
for C. Vincent, and then removed to Bosque county, where
he again conducted a store
in partnership with J. A. Goodlet. At the beginning
of the Civil war he secured
a permit and operated a mill until the close of the
conflict. In 1866 he purchased
a tract of land, 320 acres, on the line of Coryell
and Hamilton counties, and
set up a saw and grist mill; this small industry soon
became the center of a settlement,
and goods shipped to the point were marked for
Jonesboro, so that by common
consent the town was christened in honor of
the founder. In 1872 Mr.
Jones brought his family here, and in the same year
he established a general
mercantile trade, which he carried on successfully until
1833, when he closed out
the business. The land which he bought is the present
site of Jonesboro, and most
of it has been sold in town lots; he has been one
of the prime factors in
developing the resources of the surrounding country, and
has aided very materially
in the growth of the place. Every laudable enterprise has
found in him a liberal and
enthusiastic supporter, and his country has found in him
a loyal and patriotic citizen.
His dealings in the commercial world have been
characterized by the most
upright and careful methods, and the successes he
has made have been fully
merited. Mr. Jones has been twice married: in Bosque
county, February 4, 1858,
he was united to Miss Mary C. Loyd, a native of
Hempstead county, Arkansas;
she died April 25, 1864, leaving two children:
Fountain E., who is now
engaged in the drug trade in Arizona, and Allie K., wife
of Thomas J. Atkinson, a
citizen of Hamilton county; the second union was to
Miss Susan R. Thomas, a
native of Alabama; three children have been born to
this marriage: Mary C. Hall,
William L., and Wiley P., who died May 26, l879;
Alfred M., a son of the
first marriage died May 29, 1864. The family are members
of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South; Mr. Jones is superintendent of the
Sabbath-school, and takes
a deep interest in all the efforts toward the elevation
of humanity. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity, having joined more than thirty
years ago. He is active
in the temperance cause, and since early manhood has
had the courage of his convictions
upon this subject. He is a man of so many
excellent traits that he
numbers his friends to the full number of his acquaintances,
and is well worthy of the
admiration he arouses.
JONESBORO.
"In the year 1866," says
a recent letter from William L. Jones, who has been a
Texan for fifty-three years,
"David Jones and I erected a steam saw and grist mill
on the Coryell and Hamilton
county line, at which time there were very few persons
living in the valley of
the Leon nearer than Gatesville, and none where the town
of Jonesboro now stands."
Homeseekers, whom the war had ruined or left
penniless, began to come
in, and sought employment about the mill. These
were: David Jones, P.P.
Jones, James Pennington, Simmons & Green, blacksmiths,
Daniel and Tom McCarty,
Dr. J. R. Smallie, W. A. Chancey, Daniel Murray, J. L.
McElroy, Charles Pate, T.
J. Neil, J. F. Stickney and John Nall. Mr. Nall opened
a store at once, but it
soon passed into other hands; Joseph Key had it awhile;
then J. F. Stickney; then
Mr. McElroy, and finally, in 1872, W. L. Jones and M. J.
Strickland. It was about
1869 that those interested in a church and school, and the
society of Masons, struck
upon a plan of building a two-story frame building, the
lower part of which should
be used for school and church purposes, and the upper
part for the secret order.
This was done, and in June, 1873, the Masonic lodge
was chartered. The place
had no name, except Jones' Mill, and the first post
office bore that name, with
Charles Pate as Postmaster. The real name of the
place was given to it by
some wholesale dealer's packer, for this packer had
addressed the first box
of goods ever received there, as "Jonesboro, Tex." This
suited the people, and soon
the post office was changed to that name. The town
suffered some from the Indians
in 1869 and 1871, as it was on the border. It has
grown slowly but surely,
and now has four general merchandise stores, two drug
stores, one implement, and
one furniture and hardware store, a boot and shoe
shop, two blacksmith shops,
two grist mills and gins. It has two churches, and a
stone building 34x60 feet,
the lower story of which is used for school purposes
and the upper for Masonic
ends. The Knights of Honor also have a lodge. The
population of 1890, the
first census that quoted the town separately, showed
207 people. Mr. Jones, however,
estimates it now as having a population of
about 650." As an illustration
of the other larger places, it may be mentioned
that The Grove, which began
in 1869, has two general stores, two wagon shops
and a mill and gin. It is
the seat, however, of four churches and a Masonic lodge,
and a school for a large
settlement. This is given to illustrate the character of
the other towns not quoted
in the census. The present growth will, however,
make a far different record
for the next census. Submitted Nov 12 2000
by: Frances Patterson (sandycrk@ctesc.net),
GGgranddaughter of William
L. Jones. His siblings were
Candace Benton Jones, Sarah Jones, Samuel
Jones, John Wesley Jones,
Matilda Jones, Milton Henry Jones Jr., Martha
Elizabeth Jones, Benjamin
Franklin Jones, Wiley Jones, Francis Wilson
Jones, Wiley Palmer Jones,
and John Culbertson Jones.
From "A Memorial and Biographical
History of McClennan, Falls, Bell and
Coryell Counties Texas",
published by the Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1893,
p. 471-472, p. 320-321: