The Jones Farm by Susan Lebo UNT Institute of Applied Sciences During our ongoing research of the Jones Farm, we have had the wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know Roy Jones. Roy Jones is 94 years old and was born at the Jones Farm in 1897. He has a been a researcher's dream, sharing with us his family's history and information on the Jones Farm. We wish to thank him for all the memories and information he continues to share with us. The following overview of the Jones Family and the Jones Farm was generously provided to us by Roy Jones during hours of interviews at the farm, driving throughout the reservoir area, and in his home in Pilot Point. A family tree and a map of the Jones Farm designed to supplement the following text are attached.
Jones Family History
The Jones Farm is located in the Johnson Branch Park at Ray Roberts Lake. This farm is in Denton County and was first settled by Jackson Carroll Jones, his wife Ruth Manerva "Amanda" Wisdom, and their children in the 1850s. Jackson Carroll Jones was born in Tennessee in 1822 and was the son of George Washington Jones and Easter Ann Montgomery. He married Ruth Wisdom in 1848 in Dallas County, Missouri. They left Missouri a short time later, and settled in Kaufman County, Texas, by 1850. One daughter, Syntha, was born in the Creek Nation on the trail from Missouri to Texas.
Jackson Carroll Jones then moved his family to Denton County and settled the Jones Yarm. Several of his brothers also made this trip, including Robert James Jones and John Jones. Each of these brothers acquired land nearby and built farms. Robert James Jones settled northeast of Jackson in Cooke County. John Jones settled southwest of Jackson on an adjacent piece of land in Denton County. Robert Jones received a patent for his land in June 1859. John Jones' land was patented in July 1859. Jackson Carroll Jones moved before fulfilling his contract and his patent was sold to Jacob Sampson Everly, who received his patent in January 1875.
Jackson Carroll Jones and his family lived at the Jones Farm until the early 1860s when they moved. Jackson is listed in the Denton County Tax Rolls beginning in 1857, but he did not own land at that time. He is listed as paying taxes on the Jackson Carroll Jones survey from 1861 to 1863. The land was purchased by Jackson's brotherinlaw, Jacob Sampson Everly (also soninlaw of John Jones). A new patent was issued to Jacob Everly by the State of Texas. Jacob Sampson Everly first appears on the Denton County Tax Rolls in 1881. Based on the land and census records, J. S. Everly lived at the Jones Farm for several years before he began paying taxes.
In 1880, eighteen individuals from several families are listed in the population census as living at the Jones Farm. These include Jacob Sampson Everly and his family; his sisterinlaw Susan Jones (widow of John Jones) and two sons, David Lee and Thomas; John Hale and his family; and four single men, Robert West and his son, Uri, S. P. Caldwell and R. M. Bolton. These two men and John Hale are listed as farmers, and John Hale's son, John W. is recorded as a farm laborer. Undoubtedly, these individuals aided Jacob Sampson Everly in operating the farm.
David Lee Jones acquired the Jones Farm in 1884 and paid taxes on the property the same year. David Lee Jones was the son of John Jones, who was a brother of Jackson Carroll Jones and a brotherinlaw of Jacob S. Everly. David Jones also was the father of Thomas Roy Jones, the last owner of the Jones Farm. Thomas Roy Jones (usually called Roy Jones) owned the Jones Farm and lived there until it was purchased by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1984. Roy Jones was born in the 1850s log house at the Jones Farm on June 3, 1897, and just turned 94 this summer. His family moved into the extant (standing) 1898 house on his first birthday. Roy Jones is a grandson of John Jones, who settled on the farm next to Jackson Carroll Jones in the 1850s. Roy Jones' father, David Lee Jones, was born on this adjacent farm in 1863 (John Jones homestead). His mother, Robert Susan Cloud was born in Missouri.
Jones Farm Structures
A map of the Jones Farm is attached to provide a guided tour through the farm. Two early structures no longer standing are shown on the map in gray. These two structures include the 1850s house and an early l900s smokehouse/carriage house. A number of farm structures remain standing at the Jones Farm. Clockwise from the farm gate entrance these structures include (a) animal shed, corral, and loading chute, (b) 1939 barn, (c) water tank and windmill stands, (d) north shed, (e) south shed, (f) log crib, (g) corral, loading chute, and animal shed, (h) chicken house, (i) cellar, (j) 1898 house, (k) chicken house, and (1) chicken coop.
was more prevalent in the eastern portion of the Ray Roberts Lake area, while ranching was common in the western part of this area. The oralhistory and archival information available about the Jones Family and the occupation of the Jones Farm is tremendous and will allow researchers to more fully reconstruct the past lifeways of this family and their farm than is often possible. The archaeological deposits at the Jones Farm are well preserved and contain considerable data on early structures such as the 1850s log dwelling, yard activities such as clothes washing, gardening, raising chickens, and the processing of hogs. The extant structures and farm machinery provide information about the types of farm buildings and farm machinery commonly used in this area. Preservation of this farm, and its future development into a historical farm or interpretive center open to the public will greatly enhance our understanding of how the Jones Family and their neighbors lived in this region between 1850 and the mid 19OOs.