FRANK JONES AND
ELIZABETH WILMOT (WORTH) JONES

Page 4 of 7

In the 1920 census[1], Lizzie was 31 and living with her parents and brother Dewey. Her social life during her 20s probably consisted of going to church occasionally, learning the craft of tatting and quilting, and getting together with other women in the neighborhood to quilt. Lizzie and other women on the west end of Loup county formed the Clever Clique Club. This club was still going strong after I was grown. Once a month women would gather at a designated home with their needles and thread and help stitch the quilt of the homemaker who was hosting. Others may have brought embroidery or tatting, if they didn't enjoy quilting or didn't think their quilting stitches were up to a high enough standard. They also brought potluck dishes and their children who weren't in school. The husbands were welcome to come and eat, and some did before going back to the field or whatever work they were doing.

Penny postcards were a popular way to keep in touch and Lizzie received and most likely mailed many of them. She kept postcards from 1908 through 1916 from several friends and family members. One bright pink postcard from her brother R. M. (Ralph) was mailed to her from Grand Island, 120 miles away. What today takes less than 2 hours to travel was a big trip in 1908, and probably couldn't have been made in one day. Some of those she received postcards from include her sister Nellie, niece Rosa Worth, cousin Wesley Hurlburt, cousin Flora in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, a Susie in Sidney, Iowa (possibly her aunt Susan (Worth) Matlock Thomas Spires) and friends J.S., Gracie Fuller, Nora Mehrhof, Evelyn, and Mary Ailshie.

Lizzie was busy helping her mother, writing and receiving postcards, helping with the garden and chores. Who knows what she thought about her life. Was she happy to be an adult living with her parents? Human nature hasn't changed over the generations, and I suspect Lizzie wanted a husband, children, and a home of her own. Then one day, when she was probably about 31 years old, an age at that time to be considered an old maid, Lizzie met Frank. "First time I ever seen him he was coming around the corner of a house someplace and he had a pipe in his mouth."

FRANK JONES

Frank Jones was born 11 December 1877[2] in a coal mining area of Ohio. So far no records have been found to suggest a town or a county, although most coal mines were located[3] in the eastern and southern part of the state. Frank grew up in the small mining communities of Bevier, Ardmore, and College Mound, Missouri. He was the fifth child of John and Alvina (Williams Davis) Jones. His father was a coal miner and the family traveled between Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio to find work, as suggested by the birth places of Frank and his siblings: William and Jane were born in Missouri, Daniel was born in Illinois, Caroline and Frank were born in Ohio. Jennie was the last child and was born in Missouri.

John, Alvina and children Daniel, Caroline, and Frank were living in Bevier, Macon county, Missouri, in 1880. According to Lizzie's memory of what Frank told her, his sister Caroline died of appendicitis as a child. William, Frank and Jennie were the only one we know of who lived to adulthood.

Lizzie's memories of conversations with Frank[4]: 

"Frank had to quit school pretty early. They lived close to their aunts and cousins. They kind of looked after 'em some after their mother died. They was grown up but still they needed some supervision. I think one aunt was a teacher. Anyway he would listen to their multiplication tables and things like that. That's the way he got his education. He really didn't have what you'd call a real good education but he could figure. He could write fairly good. He got his education himself just by listening in. He managed with the help of his relatives."

His father, John, is listed in the 1890 Soldier's census[5]. His residence is given as Ardmore, Missouri. They were living at College Mound when his mother, Alvina (Williams Davis) Jones, died[6] on 18 October 1896. Frank was 18 and Jennie was 14. William was married and living in Bevier, Macon county, Missouri. His age was listed as 32 in the 1900 census[7], making him about 28 when his mother died.

In 1900, Frank and Jennie were living with their father, John, in Bevier and both Frank and John were coal miners. This was probably the time and place he learned to enjoy baseball, horseshoes, and skating. Jennie married Jim Jackson on 6 March 1901 in Danforth, Adair county, Missouri[8]. In about 1909 or so, Jennie and Jim moved to Nebraska and apparently Frank moved with them.

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[1] 1920 U.S. Census, Loup County, Nebraska, population schedule, Sawyer Precinct, ED 203, sheet 1A, dwelling 9, family 9, George H. Worth family; image, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Jan 2006); NARA publication publication T625, Roll 997.

[2] Nebraska Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate #51-00530 (1951), Frank F. Jones; DHHS Office of Vital Records, Lincoln.

[3] http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Early_Industrialization

[4] Taped interview, Elizabeth Wilmot (Worth) Jones, 1979.

[5] 1890 U.S. census, Macon County, Missouri, "Special Schedule: Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows," Chariton Township, ED 148, p. 3, John Jones; accessed as 1890 Veterans Schedules, images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 28 June 2007); citing NARA microfilm publication 123,  roll 31.

[6] "Hamden Items," Mrs. Alma Jones, Salisbury Press Spectator (Missouri) 22 Oct 1896, p 8, col 2, "Died, on the eve of Oct. 18,...". Identification of this as Alvina is through the following: Alma and Alvina look similar when written in cursive, she was buried in the same cemetery as her parents, her sister was Mrs. Alex (Caroline) Roy, she had a aged widowed mother, one brother and several sisters, and she was survived by a husband and three children, although the youngest was 14, so they were not "small" children.

[7] Macon County, Missouri, population schedule, Bevier Township, ED 63, sheet 10, dwelling 205, family 214, John Jones; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 April 2000); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, Roll 873.

[8] Missouri, Adair County, <Marriage Records>, vol. # page 432, James W. Jackson and Jennie Jones, 6 Mar 1901; online image, "Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002; Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 September 2017); citing Missouri State Archives microfilm.