ASHTABULA COUNTY OHIO *************************************************************************** Transcribed by Cherre Loftus Flynn. THE HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ITS PIONEERS AND MOST PROMINENT MEN Published in Philadelphia by Williams Brothers in 1878 "THE JONES FAMILY SAMUEL JONES, SR. Among the many worthy citizens of Ashtabula County, none stand higher in the estimation of his acquaintances than Samuel Jones, Sr., of Wayne Township, at this date (1878) in his ninety-seventh year. Upright in business, cheerful and hopeful in manner, of sound judgment, and of irreproachable morals, he enjoys the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens when the frosts of ninety-seven winters have left their impress upon his head, visible in the silver which crowns it honorably and becomingly. He was born in Litchfield County, Connecticut, June 29, 1781. May 11, 1803, he married Miss Deborah Hayes, of Hartford, Connecticut. Both of these were school teachers in their native State of Connecticut. Mr. Jones' father's name was Samuel and his grandfather's, Israel. His mother's name was Ruth Ackley. He was a member of a family of three sons and four daughters. Elijah Jones, one of the brothers, was a member of the Connecticut legislature, and Lucien C. Jones, a nephew, was a member of the Ohio Senate in 1872. Deborah Hayes' family was composed of four sons and three daughters. Her father, Titus Hayes, was a soldier in the army of the Revolution. Her family suffered from exposures and necessities incident to that struggle. All of her brothers - Richard, Titus, Linus, and Lester - were soldiers during the War of 1812, Richard being colonel of the regiment that marched through Ashtabula County for the fronier during that war. Mr. and Mrs. Jones, with five small children between the ages of one and seven years, left Old Connecticut for the New on September 10, 1811, and in ten years from that very day, they started on a visit to their native State of Connecticut in company with The Hnorable Jonathan Tuttle, of Williamsfield. On their arrival at the place now known as Kelloggsville, they were met by Mrs. Jones' brother, Titus - afterwards known as The Honorable Titus Hayes - with a team of oxen. They pursued their way through the forest, on a rude road having been cut, part of it being but a little more than a blazed tree path, over brush, across logs, fording streams, and, what was worse, getting through the mud, Mr. Hayes carrying the second son, Flavel, a boy of five years, across the stream by taking hold of his coat-collar with his teeth. They arrived at the close of the second day, at the house of Mr. Zadoc Steele, in Andover. Near the close of the third day they arrived in sight of Mr. Hayes' cabin, accomplishing the journey from Kelloggsville to Wayne in three days. A few months after their arrival in Wayne they settled upon lot 28, where they continued to reside until after the death of Mrs. Jones (September 5, 1863); since which he has lived with the families of his children. Mr. Jones was well pleased with the new country after he settled upon his own land and was never homesick; but his wife used to stand n the door of their cabin looking towards the east with tearful eyes. Mr. Jones was drafted for service for the War of 1812 but was excused by Dr. Peter Allen, on account of lameness caused by cutting his ankle. In the late Rebellion, all of his grandsons who had arrived at sufficient age, with a single exception, were in the service for long or short terms, and nearly all met with the casualties of war. Mr. and Mrs. Jones united with the Congregational Church in Wayne previous to the year 1819. Mr. Jones, when called upon to aid in any worthy benevolent enterprise, asked only one question: "-What is my part?" or "What ought I to give for this?" and cheerfully and liberally responded. Benevolence was Mrs. Jones' crowning virtue, and it can truly be said of her: "She hath done what she could." Very few men have lived a long life, more respected as useful and influential citizens, than "Uncle Sam" as he was familiarly called. He was no aspirant for office or other places of distinction; did not encumber his mind with the provisons of the statute book; except as necessary in the ordinary transactions of business and sometimes as supervisor or township trustee. Yet in matters of public improvement and the promotion of the common interests of the commnity, and in the adjustment of differences where interests came in conflict, the judgment of no man was more readily accepted and approved than his. Linus Hayes, the oldest son of Samuel Jones, Sr., was born in Barkhamstead, Litchfield County, Conecticut, February 5, 1805, and came to Ohio with his parents in the fall of 1811. The winter following a school was taught in a part of the dwelling occupied by Titus Hayes, of which Linus and a younger brother, Flavel, formed the first class. His opportunities for education were then confined to the common schools of the district, with a finish of a few weeks of private instruction in the old log meeting-house of sacred memory. In December, 1824, he commenced teaching a common school; the same employment being persued for eight consecutive winters, and in each spring returning to the labors of the farm. After this, not stisfied with the monotony of farm life in winter, the teaching of "singing-schools" furnished the needed stimulus to keep the mind in action, which was followed for several consecutive winters in different parts of Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties. These services were fully appreciated. Although his qualifications as teacher were greatly below what are required in these later days, yet they were much beyond what could often be found in any "home-made" Ohioan. In the spring of 1826 he commenced cutting down the forest upon lot No. 66, where Mr. D.T. Beardsley now resides. November 11, 1827, he married Miss Mary P. Phelps, who died September 15, 1828. This bereavement caused him to change his plans for a home, and by the advice and an arrangement with his father, he changed his location, and settled upon the north part of lot No. 28, where he has continued to reside since his second marriage. January 20, 1830, he married Miss Eliza Seager, an orphan, formerly of Ontario County, New York, who died January 15, 1840. She was the mother of one child, Deborah Elizabeth, born May 21, 1837, and died November 23, 1839. October 28, 1840, he married Mrs. Lucy Ackley Rowe, widow of Dr. Albert G. Rowe, who died in Corydon, Indiana, September 10, 1838, aged twenty-nine years. The husband and wife were formerly from Hartford Township, Trumbull County, whose children were Cornelia Ann, born March 25, 1835, who married David Smilie, of Wayne, February 7, 1856. Their children (Cornelia Ann & David's) are William Albert, born December 21, 1858; Emily Lucy, born January 19, 1863; Linus David born October 21, 1870; Ralph Bliss, born January 22, 1877. The step-son (of Linus Jones by third wife Lucy Rowe), Albert Gallatin Rowe, was born April 7, 1839, and was a respected member of the congregational Church of Wayne. He enlisted in the One Hundred and fifth Ohio Infantry in the autumn of 1862, and after nearly two years of faithful service was mortally wounded while on the skirmish line near Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 14, and died at the field hospital, June 16, 1864. He was highly respected by his officers and beloved by his comrades. He was buried in the National Cemetery at Marietta, Georgia, in the grave numbered seven hundred and eight-two. The children of LInus H. and Lucy A. Jones were: Flavel Erasmus, born in Wayne, December 23, 1841; served three months in the Eighty-Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; he has been a school teacher, and is a surveyor and farmer by occupation; he married MIss Sylvia A. North, September 15, 1863, who died March 13, 1865, leaving an infant daughter, Sylvia North, born March 8, 1865. February 24, 1869, he married Miss Mary A. Hezlep. Their children are Charles Hezlep, born January 11, 1870; William Cowdery, born October 3, 1871; Benjamin Samuel, born November 30, 1873. Linus Brainard, second son of Linus H. and Lucy a. Jones was born February 26, 1844; married Miss Rhoda W. Woodworth: June 20, 1866, enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in the battle at Cynthiana, Kentucky. Their children are Katie Maria, born April 30, 1867; Mabel Elizabeth, born November 20, 1868; Albert Rowe, born September 26, 1870; Franklin Palmer, born July 27, 1877. Willie, the third son of LInus H. and Lucy A. Jones, was born December 1850; died September 11, 1854. Mary Caroline was born October 18, 1855, who married Emery F. Treat of Colebrook, June 15, 1876. Their only child, Willard Hayes, was born in Austinburg, Ohio, August 18, 1877. ...." THE HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ITS PIONEERS AND MOST PROMINENT MEN Published in Philadelphia by Williams Brothers in 1878 THE SAMUEL JONES, SR., FAMILY continued "Except as a teacher, the active life of Linus H. Jones has been spent in his own township. He was for many years a teacher and leader of the choir of the First Congregational Church of Wayne, and has served in various offices of the township, such as clerk, trustee, assessor, captain of the militia, and justice of the peace, and, for many years, has been connected with the school interests of the township, and now, at the age of seventy-three, would be looked upon as an old man but for the greater age of his father. Flavel, the second son of Samuel Jones, was born in Barkhampstead, Connecticut, February 16, 1806; died in Wayne, June 9, 1842. October 27, 1833, he married Miss Orrilla Hart, who married S.P. Burton, November 1, 1853, and died at her residence in De Witt, Clinton County, Iowa, January 29, 1868, aged fifty-eight years. Calvin C. Wick, Esq., of Ashland, Ohio, an old friend of Flavel Jones, says, "Probably no man in my history retains such a hold on my memory as Flavel. He was my friend and my adviser. We had great confidence in each other. He was the only man I ever found who was unselfish, and was actuated in all he did by right motives. His intelligence was far in advance of his day. Sound on all public questions, he investigated them thoroughly and intelligently, and had he lived would have no doubt filled important positions in the State and the Nation." The children of Flavel Jones are Ellen, born in Wayne, December 22, 1835. Rollin Lucien, born in Wayne, February 5, 1839; was an apprentice to the printing business with James Reed, sr., of Ashtabula, Ohio. August 26, 1861, entlisted in Company C, Twenty-ninth Regiment Ohio Infantry, served during the war, and participated in the battles of Port Republic, Virginia, June 9, 1862, where he was taken prisoner by the enemy, and was held at Lynchburg and Belle Isle, Virginia, until September 7, 1862; Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1, 2, and 3, 1863; Dug Gap, Georgia, May 8, 1864; Resaca, Georgia, May 15, 1864; New Hope Church, Georgia, May 25, 1864; and was seriously wounded in an assault upon the enemy's intrenchments at Pine Hill, Georgia, June 15, 1864; promoted to the office of captain while at Savannah, Georgia, January 6, 1865; discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, July 22, 1865. He is a member of the International Typographical Union, Giddings Post, The Grand Army of the Republic, and of The Masonic Fraternity. January 1, 1867, he married Miss Lucy C. Palmer of Vernon, Trumbull County. Children - Rollin Flavel, born in Vernon, Ohio, May 7, 1869; Lovisa Margaret, born in Wayne, Ohio, June 23, 1877. Edward Herbert, youngest son of Flavel Jones, was born in Wayne, Ohio, December 25, 1840. He enlisted August 30, 1864, in Company I, One Hunedred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Infantry, and served to the close of the civil war. June 11, 1873, he married Miss Hannah Hayes Wright. Their children are Orrilla Hart, born in Wayne, August 20, 1874; Hayes Wright, born in Wayne, August 21, 1876; Harriet Belle, born in Wayne, August 21, 1876. Statira, eldest daughter of Samuel Jones, born in Barkhamstead, Connecticut, May 25, 1807, married Lovel E. Parker, January 29, 1830; died May 23, 1869. Almira, second daughter, was born in Connecticut, September 27, 1808; married Horace F. Giddings, December 15, 1833. Children - Frederick Merrick, born in Cherry Valley, Ohio, October 29, 1834, who enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, in the autumn of 1862; was wounded in action at Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862; died of disease at Murfreesboro', Tennessee, April 21, 1863, aged twenty-eight years. He was a young man of unusual intelligence and popularity, and his death was greatly lamented by his comrades and numerous friends. Albert C., born March 15, 1838, married Miss Sarah Ellen Stanley, September 18, 1860. Their children are Horace Edwin, born August 14, 1861; Almira E., born April 27, 1866; Stanley Albert, born November 5, 1868; Claude W., born August 13, 1877. Statira Eliza, the only daughter of Horace F. and Almira Giddings, was born March 3, 1840; married Henry S. Simpkins, May 16, 1861. Children - Frederick Merrick, born September 22, 1862; William Herbert, born October 1, 1864; Ernest J., born March 30, 1868; Frank A., born June 8, 1870; Carlton H., born January 4, 1872; Roy Howard, born May 29, 1873. Anson Jones, third son of Samuel Jones, was born in Hartland, Connecticut, March 31, 1810. He was married to Miss Fanny Barber, November, 1838, who died January 3, 1865. June 7, 1866, he married Miss Margaret Jane Beatty, of Mercer County, Pennsylvania. His children are Hannah Barber, born August 17, 1840, who married William B. Smilie of Wayne, October 30, 1860. Roderich Merrick, born August 5, 1842, who enlisted in August, 1862 in Company I, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served to the close of the war, and was captured twice by the enemy, being paroled once, and making his escape at the second capture. January 17, 1867, he married Miss Charlotte R. Wilcox, of Wayne; their only child Fanny, was born Janury 19, 1873, and died in Wayne, July 19 of the same year. Emma Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Anson Jones, was born September 23, 1854; married Charles H. Smith of Wayne, March 26, 1876. Their only child, Walter Anson, was born in Wayne, in June 1877. Emily J., youngest dauther of Samuel Jones, married Dr. Thomas E. Best, October 22, 1839, who served in the War of the Rebellion as a surgeon in the Forty fourth Wisconsin Infantry, and died at Agency City, Iowa, October 5, 1877. Her children born in Wayne were Hannah P., a graduate of Lake Erie Female Seminary, and now a teacher at Burlington, Iowas, born July 29, 1841; E. Swift, born October 31, 1842, who, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, enlisted in the Second Wisconsin Infantry, was severely wounded and taken prisoner at the first battle of Bull Run, and confined in various prisons nearly a year, - leaving the service was admitted to the bar in 1864; Deborah Jane, born February 4, 1846, died June 12, 1851; Edward Thomas, born January 17, 1848, died August 27, 1849. The family removed to Wisconsin in the spring of 1849, settling at Portage City, where the following children were born: Edward Thomas (2d), born February 22, 1850, printer, publisher of the Chariton, Iowa, Leader; Samuel Jones, born August 23, 1853, died September 3, 1853; Almira Fanny, born September 10, 1854, died June 20, 1855; Charles Jones, born January 4, 1858, now editor of Agency City, Iowa's Independent. In the Srping of 1866 the family removed to Iowa, settling at Agency City, where they now reside, except as stated above. Samuel Jones, Jr., was born in Wayne, Ohio, December 6, 1822; married Miss Samantha L. Fobes, who died January 9, 1866. February 21, 1867 he married Miss Sophrona Beckwith, of Colebrook, Ohio. He was a farmer until February 1867, when he commenced merchandising at the centre of Wayne, the firm name being Jones & Way, then S. Jones & Son. He was commissioned postmater at Lindenville, Ashtabula County, Ohio, January 14, 1871, by The Honorable John A. J. Creswell, postmaster general, and has served his township in that capacity to the present time. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity. The children of Samuel Jones, Jr., are Estella Theresia, born in Wayne, Ohio, September 11, 1851; married Elmore H. Wilcox of Colebrook, Ohio, December 23, 1869.Their children are Lilean, born December 17, 1870; Perry Hyde, born March 23, 1872; Maud, born March 14, 1874. Willis Edwin, oldest son of Samuel Jones, Jr., was born in Wayne, Ohio September 28, 1853; married September 29, 1877, Miss Sarah G. McNeilly, who was born in Ellsworth, Ohio, April 20, 1856. Jennie Lucinda, youngest daughter of Samuel Jones, Jr., was born in Wayne, January 19, 1871. Ralph Hayes, the youngest son of Samuel Jones, Jr., was born in Wayne, September 1, 1875."