Saturday, March 30, 2024
Friday, March 29, 2024
Sources for Malinda Dillard 1834
Sources for Malinda Dillard (1834-1880?)
Malinda Dillard Pedigree Chart
PROCEED WITH CAUTION
as I am NOT certain about the Dillard line. There were multiple LARGE trees that had my line as listed below. These internet trees/research have been gobbled up by larger entities, i.e. Ancestry and are no longer available which is a true travesty for individual genealogists. I feel that the Ewing Family during the generation of Sarah Sally Ewing and William P Ewing, both during 1808-1860-1880, did not keep, nor know, much family history. This leaves a gaping hole in research when there are no notables that are found in local histories/archives. I even doubt the information given on F.S. Ewing's death certificate.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Malinda (Dillard) Ewing History Sheet
MALINDA DILLARD 1834-?1880?
History Sheet
Malinda was born to Orrin (twin) Dillard and Sarah Sally
Ewing in 1834 in Tennessee or Missouri? She was their first born child. Her
mother, Sarah Sally Ewing, had been previously married to Owen Dillard, the
twin brother to Orrin. Owen died young, at the age of 23, leaving Sarah Sally
as a young bride with their young son, Orrin Wayne Dillard. After Sarah married
Orrin, they had Malinda followed by 6 more children.
Interesting note about Malinda’s
mother (Sarah Sally Ewing 1808-1880), is that she was the sister to our William
P Ewing 1804-1864.
One thing that makes Malinda difficult to trace is that she
married young at the age of 16 in the year 1849, so in 1850 (the first year
that the census lists ALL people in the household), Malinda was already married
and in the census with her husband, James H. Ewing…yes, another Ewing/Dillard
connection.
Malinda Dillard and James H Ewing were married on 18 Dec
1849 in Cold Bath, Clark County, Arkansas. They are found in the 1850 census in
Cedar, Clark County. They do not have any children at that time. Living nearby
is Moses Mays and wife Harriet. They are parents to Leanna Mays who eventually married
Malinda's brother, John Wesley Ewing (1838-1892). Also living nearby is Malinda
(Ewing) Jones who married Robert Jones. Malinda and Robert were the ones who
settled James Ewing’s (1758-1810) estate. Malinda Jones is the sister to our Sarah
Sally Ewing Dillard and our William P Ewing.
[Sarah Sally Ewing ˃ Malinda
Dillard ˃ F.S.Ewing]
[William P
Ewing ˃ James H Ewing ˃ F.S.Ewing]
This is a confusing biography…all the more reason to believe what
Laduvsey Dillard said when settling James Ewing’s estate…That “you have some
strange family kin.”
In 1870, Malinda (Dillard) Ewing and husband James Ewing are
living in Clark County, Arkansas with 3 young sons, including our
great-grandfather Fed Short Ewing. Strange thing is…She is listed as Mary. So…I
may be missing something….maybe one day the answers will be revealed. However,
I know that the major researchers of these two lines have her as Malinda.
I am including a caution sign because there is much to absorb and
many directions from which these two families merge.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Dillard Family Connection
The Dillards…well, I found some credible information on the web by a man name Chris Kraft and others. They had built tremendous trees, not so much with sources, but these “world connect” trees have been taken down, I think by Ancestry. Ancestry has promised that these websites will return. It seems we live in a world where something that is good is always gobbled up by the greedy people who want to own it all. But in the meanwhile, it has disrupted my research. The Dillard line involved a marriage by a Ewing lady to the Dillard twins. When one twin died, she married the other. And I believe that there may be some double cousins. Interesting note: as I was putting this information together, I found amid the Ewing pages, some small print about Orrin Dillard. I’m anxious to go back to and review more closely. I also wondered why our William P Ewing was born in Kentucky. The notes mentioned above may show me why/how the Dillards or Ewings had land in Kentucky. I am hopeful with a new DNA connection to Patricia about the Ewing/Dillard connection.
Introduction to Malinda Dillard 1834-1880?
“Wife, Ladovesy, sons: John,
James, Ruben (a minor), William (a minor, my
William), Alfred (a minor) and daughters: Ruthey Cellers
(Sellers), Edy Ewing, Sally (a minor), Melinda (a minor) and Nancy (a minor)
... my desire is that my Executors shall rent out my plantation where William
Sexton now lives” [See “F” below. Mary his sister had married William Sexton in
Botetourt Co., VA. in 1790].
“James
Ewing's estate was not settled until many years later. In Jan 1829 Robert Jones
and Malinda Jones “(ancestors of Bobbie Jones McLane and her Jones family)” of
Hardeman Co., TN appointed Orren Dillard, husband of Sarah (Sally) Ewing their
Atty. in settling Estate of James Ewing father of said Malinda Jones” (Smith
Co., TN Deed Book K pp 414-415). “In 1836 Alfred Ewing filed a bill of
complaint against James Raulston appointed Executor on 11 Feb. 1817 upon death
of John Lancaster ... Ralston as guardian kept money and entirely neglected his
wards.” Descendants reported Ladovesy was a Dillard that Ruben Ewing was her
“stepson” wrote from Lawndale, Logan Co., IL 9 Aug 1872 to Melinda Jones, of
Clark Co., AR. re himself, wife and children and questions about Albert, your
brother and sister Sally ... you have some strange kin here on your father's
side you are their aunt on your father's side (Ewing) and on your mother's side
(Dillard) you are their cousin. There is two of them here and two in Kansas.”
“James
Ewing's oldest son, John Ewing, married Elizabeth Dillard. Assuming Ladovesy is
her sister, Elizabeth and John's children would be Melinda's cousins and their
aunt as John Ewing was her half brother.”
I feel that I am on the right path, though, when I see that one of the lead researchers Wallace K Ewing has incorporated my information into his tree. Wallace has used my information all the way down to my daddy, Truman B Quillin Sr.. I have trusted the Ewing research for a LONG time and also the research done by Bobbie Jones McLane. I just makes it difficult when the documentation can’t be found online for myself. Hopefully, these sources will become available.
Monday, March 25, 2024
Yellowstone 1953
Mother and Daddy loved to take us to Colorado each year for a vacation. They loved the mountains and Daddy loved to fish. This year they must have gone from Colorado on up into Wyoming to see Yellowstone. This was Mother making a picnic lunch for everyone. I was not born yet.
.jpg)
Pictured are: Paula Quillin, Bryan Quillin, Carolita Jones Quillin
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Forever Grateful for My Great-Grandparents
I was truly blessed with a grounded foundation. Both of my great grandparents, Charles Franklin McNair and Ella Vermell King McNair, walked the walk and talked the talk. I was fortunate enough to live near them, and I knew them personally. Mama passed away when I was 7 years old so my memories of her are vaguer. However, Papa lived 4 more years after Mama passed. I was 10 years old at the time and I have wonderful memories of him. Their daughter, Ava Ella McNair Jones, was a faithful caregiver. Ava would bring Papa with her to Vernon every Wednesday to do grocery shopping, so almost every Wednesday I was able to visit with Papa and even got to go shopping with them.
This picture was taken in our home in Vernon, Texas, when we lived on Texas Street. I was probably about 4 years old.
Pictured here from left to right: Nancy Claire Quillin, Truman Bryan Quillin, Jr., Charles Franklin McNair, Paula Fae Quillin
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Ella Vermell King McNair Obituary
Papa was so distressed when the doctor's suggested that they take her legs. She had suffered a stroke and was surviving as a vegetable in the Vernon Convalescent Home on Texas Street. He declared that she would go to Heaven with her whole body and soul.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Ada Benona McNair Parnell Obituary
Charles Franklin McNair and Ella Vermell King McNair suffered the loss of their daughter, Benona.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Mama & Papa Receive a Visit
Charles Franklin McNair (Papa) & Ella Vermell King McNair (Mama)
Receive A Visit From Their Children
This is an article titled "Lockett Briefs" from the Vernon Daily Record on 15 Jue 1961. Of interest to me is the family of Rev and Mrs. Frank McNair, my great-grandparents. Lockett Briefs details who was in town visiting family...or who was out of town visiting relatives...or who was attending a funeral, etc.
6th paragraph
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 10
His Words - His Blog
GRANDDAD’S LIFE PART 10 Posted on January 15, 2013 by Martin Jones
Daddy was a
generous man. He was a deeply religious man. He was a deacon in the church and
was very active in the Masonic Lodge. In those days the church and the Lodge
were influential in helping people, and there were plenty of people to help. I
remember one family in Thalia that had about ten kids. I know that Daddy bought
many of their groceries. I know of one time he brought two older men to live
with us through the winter. They stayed in the cellar. All they had to do was
keep wood for the stoves. Us kids thought they were OK. One of them played the
Jew’s Harp, and the other would sing folk songs to us. Another time he brought
home a young couple who stayed in the cellar. The woman was pregnant. They
stayed with us until she delivered, and he bought them a ticket on the bus to
get to where they needed to go. I relate this stuff to illustrate the kind of
man my daddy was. My mother would sometimes complain that if he did not give
everything away, we could have more. But I remember that we did not want for anything.
Daddy bought
groceries by the case... and flour and sugar by the 50-pound bag. He always had a
hog to slaughter, and a cow for milk. Mother made sure that every old hen that
wanted to set was able to do so and raise a bunch of little chickens. We had
plenty of meat and milk and eggs. Looking back, it is easy for me to see why we
did better than most of the people at that time. My daddy was a hustler and a
provider.
The depression began to let up, and
Daddy bought a refrigerator that ran on kerosene. It was a huge thing that had
3 burners under it that had to be lit every night. When they were lit, we had to
leave home because of the heat. I cannot tell you how that silly thing got
cold and made ice, and even ice cream from heat of the burners. But it did. It
must have exploded while we were gone one evening. We had gone down to our
grandparent’s house. You could see the fire from their house, and we loaded up
and started home. When we got there the whole house was afire. Daddy was able
to reach through the front room door and drag out the sewing machine, which was
sitting beside the door. That is all that we saved. All we had was the clothes
on our backs. I had come in from plowing and took off my shoes and shirt. I did
not even have a shirt or shoes.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Martin Frank Jones Blog Part 9
His Blog - His Words
GRANDDAD’S LIFE PART 9 Posted on December 26, 2012 by Martin Jones
In the late l920’s
or early l930’s as his family grew it became necessary for my dad to provide a
larger house. There was a 90 acre, more or less, farm that bordered the town of
Thalia. It was owned by J.H. Laneer who lived in Crowell. There was a pretty
nice 4 room house on it. I remember also the smoke house, and a big barn with a
loft for storing feed for the animals. Daddy rented the land and bought himself
a team of 4 horses, and we moved to what we called up on the hill. It is
important to note that he did not give up his trucking business. He did a lot
of the farming at night. This all happened at the beginning of the great
depression. Not only was daddy working night and day providing for his family,
he was making sure his father and mother were taken care of. They moved into
his 2 room house and lived there until after the depression.
The depression worsened, and Daddy
leased his trucks to the State, which was leasing trucks to build highways etc.
At that time the state did not own trucks or mowers for the highways. He also
bought a small tractor with a mower and leased it to the state to mow the sides
of the highways. I do not remember how many trucks he had when the depression
hit, but I know that at one time he had bought 3 trucks, and his 3 brothers
were driving them. I do not remember us having to do without any thing. I guess
we were considered along with the men with mail routes and other government
jobs. Compared to the population I guess we were considered rich. Daddy was
fortunate to have been in the trucking business and get on with the state. I
remember him having trucks working on highway 70, Highway 287, and the highway
being built between Lubbock and Wichita Falls.
Monday, March 18, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 8
His Blog - His Words
GFANDAD’S LIFE NUMBER 8 Posted on November 29, 2012 by Martin Jones
During school time, he would remove
the bed of his truck and install a wooden school bus body on it and run a bus
route. I remember one cold winter morning that his truck would not start. The
way to start cars those days, was to insert a crank into the front of the
engine. It had to be turned by hand. He even built a fire under it to try to
warm it up thinking maybe if it was not so cold it might start better. No luck.
He removed the crank and gave that truck a good beating with the crank. The
scars were still there when it was ready for the junk pile. One of Daddy’s
faults was his high temper. When his temper flared up his language became a
little foul. It was during this time that daddy had an accident one night while
working at the gin. Actually, it was when I was a baby. He got caught in the gin
saws of one of the stands, and almost lost his life. He ended up getting his
left hand and arm almost mutilated to the point of amputation. Dr. Clark and
Dr. Hill at Crowell were taking care of him. Dr. Clark wanted to amputate, but
Dr. Hill thought they could save all the hand and arm except the left thumb.
After a long battle with infection, lack of healing and pain, the arm began to
heal and movement in the fingers began to come back, and it was saved. There was
limited use of the fingers but at least they were still there, and he learned to
use them very well. He was naturally left-handed and had to learn to write and
use his right hand as the primary hand.
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 7
His Blog - His Words
GARANDAD’S LIFE PART 7 Posted on November 21, 2012 by Martin Jones
GRANDDAD’S LIFE PART 7
I think that my father must have been born into the first generation of Joneses
that did not have a son named Martin. Daddy was a very enterprising man. They
tell a story on him when he was a kid. He was with the group pulling bolls
(harvesting cotton by hand and putting it into sacks which were dumped into a
wagon to be taken to the gin.) A cold front blew in. Carroll told the bunch
that the first thing he was going to buy with his earnings was a good pair of
long handles. As he grew older, he managed to find him a way of earning a
living without pulling bolls. He was an admirer of his grandfather, Martin E.B.
Jones. When his grandfather was older, he retired off the Indian Reservation.
By that time Frank McNair, my other grandfather, who was a Baptist preacher in
the area, became acquainted. I do not know how Martin E.B. Jones managed to
have a little nest egg laid by, but evidently, he did. At an early age Daddy and
his grandfather became owners of a truck, and Daddy started in the trucking
business. He hauled cotton bales to the compress, and cotton seed to Vernon. He
would go to Bridgeport, which was some distance east of Thalia and get a load
of coal and peddle it out. I have forgotten whether he and his grandfather were
partners, or he borrowed the money from him. But knowing my Daddy I would bet
that he soon bought out his grandfather and got out of the boll pulling
business. When there was nothing to haul with his truck, or even when there
was, he would get a job at night working at the gin. Trucking in those days was
a daytime thing. Trucks had no headlights. His first trucks did not even have
a cab.
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 6
His Blog - His Words
GRANDAD’S LIFE PART 6 Posted on December 28, 2012 by Martin Jones
My father, Joe
Carroll Jones, was born Feb. 19, 1902. He was a special kind of man. I hope
that I can do him justice writing about him. My mother, Ava Ella McNair was
born April 21, l904. She too was a very special mother and also deserves the
same justice in writing about her. My mother and father were married December
8, 1923. Mothers father was the preacher at the Baptist Church. Daddy attended
school at Thalia. Mother graduated from Thalia High School. When they decided
to get married, they came to Mother’s father for his blessings, and wanted him
to perform the marriage ceremony. He refused to give his blessing and would not
marry them. I do not remember his reason, if I ever knew why. I think Mother’s
father probably thought she could do better. I am glad that he was wrong. They
had 5 children together, 4 girls and l boy. Reitha Jo Jones was born January
26, l925. Jo was born with birth defects. She was badly deformed in her facial
make up and upper body. Jo’s situation brought much pain and hardship upon my
mother who worked hard and handled the situation heroically. I won’t say
anymore about this until latter, maybe. I might decide to elaborate on Jo later
in this writing.
Martin Frank Jones was born February
25, l926. Carolita Jones was born January 31, 1928. Doris Marie Jones was born
Nov. 23, l929. Dorthea Faye Jones was born Oct 2, 1931. My Father and Mother
lived and raised their family at Thalia, Foard County, Texas.
Friday, March 15, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 5
His Blog - His Words
GRANDDAD’S LIFE PART 5 Posted on November 3, 2012 by Martin Jones
The Great Depression came along and
times became very hard for everyone. I can’t remember if it started before or
after the janitor’s job at the school. But I remember that my granddaddy had to
apply and get on the WPA. This was a work project that the federal government
paid workers to do public work. I think they got $21.00 per month. They worked
doing things like building schools, bridges, roads and highways. And even
building out houses. The out houses were state of the art things with a pit dug
under a concrete floor, with a nice seat with a lid and a vent pipe out through
the roof. Along about this time daddy moved in a little 2 room house onto the
back of our lot for my grandparents to live in. They continued to live there
until around 1950, when granddaddy died. When he died, daddy moved the little
house up closer to his house, and grandmother lived there until daddy retired
and moved to Crowell. Even then he moved this little house to Crowell and put
it on a lot close to his house. Grandmother lived there with my mother mostly
taking care of her for several years, until my sister Faye and Bill moved to
Canadian, Texas to be a game warden. They had a house next door to mother and
daddy. Then Grandmother moved into their house and lived there until she was
moved into a nursing home in Abilene, where her daughter Lucy lived. She died
there around 1984. I think that she was about 90 years old.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 4
His Blog - His Words
GRANDDADS LIFE PART 4 Posted on October 8, 2012 by Martin Jones
Grandmother was a
really demanding person. Granddaddy pampered her and did most of the housework. I always considered her to be a hypochondriac. She seemed to always have
something the matter with her. It is a good thing that she had granddaddy
because no other man would have put up with her. She however had a lot of
friends among the women of the community. She always managed to have one in
particular who lived in a nice brick house on a farm at the edge of town. Her
name was Maggie Hammonds, and she was real good to grandmother. They regularly
went pea picking at various farms. My sisters called her a trapester. (Someone
who is always running around taking care of others business).
My sisters did not
get along too well with Grandmother. But they always tried to get by her house
when she had made tea cakes. She was the tea cake making queen. I remember
there was a strict limit of one per kid. She seemed to have her favorites. One
reason for this I think was that the other grandkids did not have as much as we
always had. But I think that I was one of her favorites, and she was extra nice
to me. If I needed a little petting, she was the one.
Daddy had built a little barn and
corral (lot) on the back of the lot, and granddaddy continued keeping a milk
cow there. I came to know my granddaddy and was real fond of him. He was not an
outgoing man, but he loved his family and he loved me. I do not ever recall him
having a car. I don’t think he ever even drove one. He must have either walked
or used horses and a wagon for transportation. But that was before I knew much
about him.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 3
His Blog - His Words
GRANDAD’S LIFE PART 3 Posted on October 3, 2012 by Martin Jones
FOURTH & FIFTH
GENERATIONS OF MARTIN JONES
Martin Harmon
Jones, my grandfather, fourth generation, was born April 12, 1874. I refer to
him as the fourth generation with reservations. I have never found any evidence
that there was a Martin Jones ahead of the one’s that I have named. He married
Mattie Bell Bridges, born May 5, 1878. They lived for some time around the area
of Denton, Texas which is just south of the Red River from Oklahoma. They had
four boys and one girl. The boys were: William Albert, Joe Carroll, Hugh
Springfield, and George Truitt. The girl’s name was Lucy Catherine It is
interesting to note that my grandfather did not name any of his sons Martin. I
know that this had not happened since the early 1800’s. I know that my father
was born somewhere around Denton. So it is fair to assume that William Albert
was also born there. I am not sure about Hugh, George, and Lucy. I do know that
Lucy was not much older than me.
My grandfather
always seemed old to me. I am sure that I seem old to my grandkids also. When
we were kids 40 seemed old. I don’t ever remember my grandfather having teeth.
He had the toughest gums I ever saw. My grandmother did have some store-bought
teeth. I do remember one time later in granddaddy’s life, he got some what he
called store bought teeth, but he hated them and never wore them. He was the
hardest working man I ever knew. I have no idea how much schooling he had, but
he had a little, because I know that he was not illiterate. He probably got
what schooling he had back where he was born. His nick name was “Farmer Jones”.
In his younger days, he was a sharecropper. Always working someone else’s land.
Most of the farms were north of Thalia in what we called the sandy land. South
of Thalia, a little ways east, and west all the way to Crowell, was what we
called tight land. It was covered with mesquite. Most of it in the early 1900’s
probably sold for around two dollars per acre. I say all this to illustrate the
environment that my grandfather came into.
The Thalia
community, when I came along, was really quite a bustling little town. I
remember it that way. There were three thriving churches. There was a nice
school. I remember that at one time there were three grocery stores. There were
three gas stations. There was 2 barber shops. (no beauty shops in those days).
There was a dry goods store, a large mechanics garage, a lumber yard, and two
cotton gins, and more. When highway 70 became paved, Thalia really began to
thrive.
But my grandfather never took
advantage of the thriving economy. He kept sharecropping. He worked himself to
death working for $1.00 a day grubbing out the mesquite trees on land that
enterprising men were buying for $2.00 per acre. I know this because my dad
talked about his frustration over why his father never took any chances and was
content working like he did. My dad bought a two-room house in Thalia that our
family lived in for several years. After we moved out, Granddaddy and
Grandmother lived in it. This is about the period of time that I really begin
to remember my grandparents. By this time Granddaddy got a job as janitor at
the school. The school was about two hundred yards from his house. I remember
helping him after school sweep and clean up the school. It was not a daily
thing, but I liked to do it occasionally.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog Part 2
His Blog - His Words
GRANDDAD’S ROOTS PART2 Posted on September 12,
2012 by Martin Jones
My great
grandfather’s name was Martin E.B. Jones. He was the son of a Martin Jones who
was born in 1816, who also was the son of a Martin Jones born sometime in the
Late 1700’s. My great grandfather’s mother was Keziah Busby. She was born 1812.
My great grandfather was born in 1845. His father died young in his 30’s. I
also know that Keziah Jones borrowed money after her husband died. They lived
somewhere around Tennessee, Georgia, or Alabama. I do know that he married a
woman named Manerva Busby in Tennessee in 1867. I also know that after he
married Manerva that they went to Oklahoma to be missionaries to the Indians.
Martin E.B. Jones
and his wife Manerva started and raised a fairly large family. My Grandfather,
Martin Harmon Jones was born in 1874. There were two more sons. John E. Jones
and Burwell Walter Jones. There were also four daughters: Mary Keziah, Martha Catherine,
Nancy Jane, and Martha Elizabeth. I think that it is interesting to note that
one of their daughters was named after her grandmother, Keziah. I do not know
much about my great grandfather, Martin E.B. I was told by my father that my
grandfather was born in the area around Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. My dad
told me that he someday hoped to carry his father back to where he was born and
grew up. That opportunity never developed. I have a feeling that all of the
children of Martin E.B. were born in the area mentioned above. This is
information that I wish I had gotten from my grandfather when I had the chance.
Things of that nature have a tendency not to be important to young ones. One
thing that I do know is that my great grandfather came to the area of southern
Oklahoma to be a missionary to the Indians there. My dad told me that his wife
Minerva was half Indian. Her dad was white.
It is apparent that
when Martin E.B. came to Oklahoma that his wife and all his children came with
him. Piecing information together that I remember and have been told, I think
they were all grown. Most of them settled in the north central part of Texas just
across the Red River from Oklahoma. Evidently none of them were married when
they came west. At least two sets of brothers and sisters from the Joneses and
Bridgeses married. This resulted in a bunch of double cousins with Jones and
Bridges last names. I know that Burwell Jones settled and married and raised
his family in Oklahoma. He became County Judge for many years there. I wish I
knew the county and city. Martin Harmon, my grandfather, and one or two of the
sisters ended up in and around Vernon, Hardeman County, Texas. Martin Harmon
settled at Thalia, Foard County, Texas, which is about thirty miles west of
Vernon. I am not aware of where the others were. except one of the girls that
married one of the Bridges ended up at Rotan, Texas.
The main thing that I know about my
great grandfather is that he spent several years as missionary to the Indians.
I think that the family was fairly close knit as most families were in that
time of American History. They kept in contact with each other. Of course, my
knowledge of them was in the latter years of their lives. When I began to know
them, the automobile had come into wide use. Most of them were still within a
radius of what I would estimate 200 miles. I did not learn much about what each
family did for a living. But I remember thinking at the time they all seemed to
be well off compared to my grandfather. I will discuss my grandfather in more
detail later. I will also discuss more about my great grandfather after he was
no longer working with the Indians, and lived probably in Vernon, and later
around Thalia, with my grandfather. I wish I could remember which great
grandparent died first. They are buried in the Crowell, Texas cemetery. Their
death dates must be around 1928.
To be continued on the next blog.
Monday, March 11, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Blog
His Words...His Blog
Family Memoirs by Martin Jones
HOPPING ON THE MEDIA TRAIN Posted on August 26, 2012 by Martin Jones
Over nearly 87
years of living, I have had many ideas of how people and I should live.
Personally, I have made many mistakes that I don’t like to think about. I wish
foresight was as effective has hindsight. For over thirty years now I have had
a computer and have saved many of my thoughts as documents on my computer.
Some I sent to the editor, and had several things published. Many of course
were rejected.
I have opened the blog at the urging
of some of my grandchildren. They are really into Facebook so I will share most
of my blogs on Facebook. Stay tuned.
Granddad’s Roots part 1 Posted on September 5, 2012 by Martin Jones
ANCESTRY
I know that my great, great grandfather Martin Jones was born in 1816. He died
at a relative young age. I know that he was married to Keziah Busby, and I know
that they had one son named Martin E.B. Jones. Somewhere along the line I
learned that they were also raising another boy, adopted or otherwise, named
Charles McCloud. I have no idea what relation the boy was to them. Evidently
Martin E.B., my Great Grandfather considered him as his brother.
Getting to this point in trying to
trace my roots required putting pieces of the puzzle together. Man how I wish
that when my grandfather was alive I had gotten him to relate to me his roots
and I had put them down. I did not get to know my great grandfather. As a very
young child I remember one thing about him. My grandfather lived on a sandy
land farm north of Thalia, Foard County, Texas. As far back as I can remember
there was a whole nest full of Joneses living in and around Thalia. It seems
that a bunch of them had gathered at the farm one day. A very traumatic
experience causes me to remember it. I could not have been more than three or
four years old. There was a huge rooster around and he attacked me. Looking
back now I am glad that it happened. My great grandfather got that overgrown
bird off me. Had it not been for this attack I would not have ever been able to
say that I remember my great grandfather. It is the only thing I remember about
him. I can even almost see him in my mind.
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Martin Frank Jones - His Christianity
This is the completion of what Martin Frank Jones wrote about his convictions:
I find it
interesting and amazing to follow the way God used Abraham’s descendants
through Isaac, Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel), Moses, David (king of
the nation of Israel), all the way down to Jesus. Jesus was the son of God.
God’s Spirit came to a virgin named Mary, and she conceived by God’s spirit and
God’s son Jesus was born. Jesus proclaimed God’s plan and made the sacrifice to
pay for the sins of all who come to trust and believe that Jesus is the son of
God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ which to me is found in a nutshell Called John
3:16. We are told in more than one place in the Bible that Christ stood as a
lamb slain before the earth was created. To me that tells us that all people of
all time have been saved because they believed that somehow God would forgive
their sins through their faith that God would provide a sacrifice for their
sins.
To explain more fully what I believe
about the future of the church we will look again at what Jesus himself said
about it. When the time drew near for Jesus to be crucified and the soldiers
came to arrest he asked his disciples what the people were saying about Him.
They replied that people thought that he was one of the Old Testament prophets
who had come back. He then asked the disciples who they thought he was. Peter
replied and said that he was the Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus
indicated that God Himself had revealed that to Peter, and the other disciples.
I think that Jesus as the Christ declared that it was upon the fact that He was
the Son of the Living God that he would build his church, and the gates of hell
cannot prevail against the church. This means that it is important for the
world to understand that the devil nor any other force will be able to destroy
the church. I have already established that Christ’s Church is made up of
believers in him as savior. There are some people who believe that the
believers who are Christians are infidels and deserve to be exterminated. We
see evidence of this in many places of the world. But I have news for them. The
church will still be around when Jesus returns, every knee will bow and
confess him as King. I do not understand what the last days will be like, but I
believe that if we are believers in Jesus, we will be on the winning side. We
are told that Jesus will take the church as his bride to reign with Him for
eternity.
Life after death
Posted on August 10, 2012 by Martin Jones
I believe there is
life after this life. I base my belief upon the fact that I believe in a living
God.
The life that we
will experience after this life will be spiritual, much as God is spiritual. It
will be an eternal (never ending) life in Heaven with believers in God, or in
hell with those who do not believe in God, that the word of God describes as an
unending death that is described as a lake of fire.
There is no way for
me to understand what either of these lives will be like. But I place my faith
in a living God that forgives my sin that deserves an eternal death in hell,
and gives me Grace and Mercy because I believe that God is God and is able to deliver
me from the terrible death that I deserve.
I believe all this
is possible because God the Father sent his Son into this world to pay the
penalty for my sin through my faith in Him.
Martin Jones
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Honoring Martin Frank Jones - His Christianity Continued
I am breaking up his long post. This is a continuation from yesterday.
Christianity Here to Stay – Martin
Jones
Posted on August 10, 2012 by Martin Jones
It is impossible
for me to understand just what happened during the three days Christ’s body lay
in the grave, but I have put my faith and trust Christ’s ability to defeat
natural death, eternal death, the devil, hell, and arise in victory so that I
may have the same victory of eternal life in Heaven. Another thing that is
beyond my understanding is the fact that Christ paid even for the sins of those
who do not accept him as their savior. For me to pay for my sins on my own,
would require me to spend an eternity in hell, and Christ suffered and paid for
that penalty for not only me but for everyone who has ever lived. I do not
understand it but I believe it and have placed my faith in Christ as the Son of
God and believe that all things are possible for Him.
The New Testament
tells us that God has always had a plan for mankind even before ha created the
earth. Christ stood as a lamb slain before the foundation of the earth. We
learn in Genesis that God created man in his own image. That means that we have
a soul, which means that we are like God in that our spirit will never die. He
allowed Adam to choose his own destiny. Adam could choose to serve God and not
sin or listen to the devil and disobey God and be cast from the Garden of Eden.
God’s penalty for sinning has always been an eternity in hell. But again Gods
plan for man has always been for man to have forgiveness for his sin by
believing in Jesus. Again we see this in God’s plan in a nut shell, so to
speak, which is “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON
THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. I
believe that there comes a time in an individual's life called the age of
accountability when he must decide to either accept Jesus as his savior or not.
When Adam sinned, it
is clear to me that the bible teaches that he became dead in his sins. It also
meant that the human side of Adam must die. We know this is true because we all
at some time will die physically. And to overcome the spiritual death we must
be born again. By some mysterious way God causes that to happen when we accept
Jesus as our savior.
We know from the
bible that sometime after God created man that mankind had become so involved
in sin that God even wished that he had not even created man. This happened in
the time of Noah. I have no idea of how long it was form Adam to Noah. But God decided
to save a remnant and he instructed Noah to build an ark in which Noah and his
family were saved from the flood that God sent upon the world and destroyed all
except those on the ark. A remnant was saved and God again started over to save
Himself a Kingdom. I have no idea how many were saved before God started over
again with Abraham. I understand more about God’s plan after Abraham because of
stories in the Old Testament. God promised Abraham descendants comparable of
the grains of sand. That’s a lot. We are still in that era of time.
Abraham and his
wife Sara were promised a son. In their old age they still did not have a son,
so they decided to help God along and they arranged for Abraham to have a son
by Sara’s maid Hagar. That son was named Ishmael. God rejected that son and
Sara conceived at an old age and had a son named Isaac.
Friday, March 8, 2024
Honoring Martin Frank Jones - His Christianity
At the urging of his children and grandchildren, Martin started a blog to share his knowledge of the family. He suffered from macular degeneration, so he didn't write for long. I was able to go back and make copies of his writings.
His faith in God was deep so I will share his post about that first...before his family memories. He wasn't "preachy"...he just lived by example.
Christianity Here to Stay – Martin
Jones
Posted on August 10, 2012 by Martin Jones
To begin my
feelings I must explain my thoughts about what I believe about God’s plan for
His relationship with man. I think that His plan existed before He created the
universe. I want to make it clear from the start that I will not be referring
to scripture to back up my thoughts. I intend to let you do that for yourself.
I think that anyone who happens to read this will understand that I don’t claim
to be a bible scholar. But I am now 84 years old and have been involved in
trying to understand God’s plan over the years.
God created man in
the image of God. Man was created and given the freedom to make his own
choices. This fact is somewhat a mystery to me. But I believe that God must
have wanted to have a kingdom of people who were devoted to Him. Our freedom is
one of our most treasured aspects of our relationship with God.
We are told that in
the time of Noah, mankind had retreated from God to the extent that God in his
relationship with man decided to destroy all those on the earth at that time.
He must have decided to start over with Noah. So God instructed Noah who evidently
was the only man living at the time who still was faithful to God., to build an
ark to save Noah and his family from the flood that destroyed the whole world.
We have the rainbow as a reminder that the world will never again be destroyed
by flood.
Jesus established
his church shortly before he was crucified. Peter had testified that he
believed that Jesus was the Son Of God. Jesus declared that he would build his
church upon that fact and that the gates of hell would not be able to prevail
against it. The church that Jesus established is not limited to any one
denomination but includes all the Old Testament saints and all who put their
faith and trust in Jesus for the redemption from their sins. Jesus also
promised his disciples that he would return someday to gather his church and
establish a kingdom and that every knee would bow to his authority at that
time.
We are told in the
New Testament that God provided a Savior in Jesus even before he created the
world. We are told that Christ stood as a Lamb slain before God created the
World. So, that leads me to believe that all men since God created Adam have
been added to God’s church by faith that God would provide a savior or
sacrifice for their sins. I do not understand why God created us with the
ability to sin. He created us in his image. We are free to either accept or
reject God’s salvation. God’s plan for man’s redemption is made clear in the
new testament. “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT
WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING Life.‘ (John
3-16). We also know that God’s penalty for sin is an eternal death in hell. God
told Adam that if he disobeyed Him that he would surely die. He and all mankind
since have been under sin. Adam was cast from the Garden of Eden, and had to
work for a living, and he surely did die. By the same token we live under the same
rules. But God in his Love and Grace sent his son to redeem us from our sin.
Just as Christ died and was buried and rose again, we will die and are assured
of resurrection when Christ returns. I believe that our trials and tribulations
in life, and natural death are the only penalty we will have to pay for our
sins. John 3-16 assures us that we will not have to pay the eternal death,
because Christ paid it for us.
Martin Frank Jones - Honoring the Past
My mother's brother, Martin Frank Jones, loved family history. He so wanted to know about the Jones line but proving before 1800 has been difficult because of the lack of documentation and confusion about names. I believe that a distant cousin is close to making a breakthrough on the Jones line. I began to visit with Martin, and from him I gleaned many family stories. When he turned 90 years old, I published all the information that I have of the Jones family history. I gave it to him as my gift. I couldn't be at the celebration, but I presented it to him weeks before the party.
I LOVED HIM DEARLY
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)