JOHN JONES and
ALVINA (WILLIAMS DAVIS) JONES

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John & Alvina's marriage record hasn't been found. By 1870[1], they and children William and Jane, along with Alvina's sister Caroline Davis, were living in LaPlata, Macon county, Missouri. Alvina's parents had migrated with them and were living in the adjacent county of Chariton. John was a coal miner. In order for him to find work in coal mines, the family moved between Missouri, Ohio and Illinois. Children William and Jane were born in Missouri. In the 1880[2] census, S. John Jones and Elvina (sic) had children Daniel, Caroline and Frank living with them. Daniel was born about 1871 in Illinois. Caroline was born about 1876, and Frank was born 11 December 1877. Caroline and Frank were born in Ohio. Jennie was the last child and was born two years after the 1880 census, in Missouri. Alvina's brother John Davis was boarding with them and was also a coal miner. Son William[3] was staying or living with Alvina's parents in Chariton County.

It seems likely the first four children were named for Alvina's family members: William was Alvina's maternal grandfather, Jane was her mother, Daniel was her father (or stepfather), and Caroline was her sister. We have the names of six children but more may have been born and died between the census years and therefore not recorded. It seems that only William, Frank and Jennie lived to adulthood.

At the time of the 1890[4] census of Union Veterans and Widows of Veterans, John is living in Ardmore, Missouri and suffering from rheumatism. He gives his name as John S. Jones. He is listed next to David E. Griffiths, who may have been married to Sarah J. Davis, Alvina’s sister.

On 3 September 1890, John started the process to receive a disability pension[5] based on his military service.  Between the 18th and the 20th of May 1891, his service was confirmed by the War Department. He was examined on 1 July 1891. Results of the exam include:

• Pulse rate, 78, respiration, 19, temperature 98.4, height, 5 feet 4 inches; weight, 137 pounds; age, 46 years
• Pain "in all limbs, joints, and back, more severe in wet weather. Had this trouble 10 or 11 years. Brought on by exposure and work in wet weather. Has no other trouble that he knows of."
• "All joints including hands & feet vertibral column enlarged and tender, general thickening surrounding ligaments membranes & spinous (sic) processes. Motion & power of all joints limbs & back impaired 1/8. Muscles of limbs atrophied with tendency to contract. Hearts action irregular contractions feeble apex beat 6 intercostal space, valvular sounds muffled. Condition of heart probably result of rheumatism."
• "Origin of disabilities found probably as stated by soldier & not result of vicious habits. No other disability found to exist."

 Those examining him gave the opinion that he was entitled to a 15/18 rating for the disability caused by rheumatism and its results. On 25 January 1892, sixteen months after he applied, John received word that he had been granted a pension at the rate of $12 per month, commencing from the time the declaration was filed in September 1890. Presumably he received back payments of about $192. (A $12 monthly payment in 1892 is equal to about $335 in 2017; $192 is equal to about $5,355.) Military service pensions were also dependent on the fact that the soldier was honorably discharged, and that the disability was permanent.

 No family stories have come down through the years about Alvina and she most likely didn't leave any paper trail of her own. Alvina has marks under the 1880 census categories of Cannot Read and Cannot Write. The photograph[6] here is the only one we are aware of. She looks smaller than John and she's probably wearing that up-to-date fashion piece, a corset. Alvina must have been much loved as she had two nieces named after her: Alvina (Roy) Pirnie, daughter of her sister, Caroline (Davis) Roy, and Alvina Davis, daughter of her brother John Davis. Her obituary[7] tells us that she died on the evening of 18 October 1896 of bone erysipelas. Her name is misspelled Alma but she is identified by several things. Her sister Caroline married AlexRoy, her father died before she did, and she had one brother. Her children were 29, 18, and 14 when she died. In either printing or cursive, Alma and Alvina can look very much alike.

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[1] 1870 US Census, Macon County, Missouri, population schedule, LaPlata Post Office, p. 11, dwelling 95, family 95, John Jones; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 April 2000); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 790.

[2] 1880 US Census, Macon County, Missouri, population schedule, Bevier (town), ED 131, p. 16, dwelling 145, family 155, S. John Jones; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 April 2000); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, Roll 701.

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Chariton County, Missouri, population schedule, Bee Branch Township, enumeration district 164,  p. 15, dwelling 138, family 141, Daniel Davis; image, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 1 April 2010); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, Roll 680.

[4] 1890 US 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 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication 123,  roll 31.

[5] John Jones (Pvt., Co. M, 2nd Reg't Pa. (Heavy) Art'y), pension #I 710,080 (also 910,777), 3 September 1890, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[6] John Jones family portrait, ca. 1892; privately held by Mary Russell Hollowell, given to her by her mother, F. Grace (Jones) Ferguson Russell in 1980s; l. to r. Jenny, Alvina, Frank, John Jones.

[7] "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.