Chipping Away

 Mother often spoke to me about how it feels when someone whom you love just keeps doing/saying things that are hurtful. (oh, how I loved that wise, common-sense person I called Mother), and they seem unwilling to help you understand or to bring you into the fold. Time and time again, you are left either in the dark or not being heard or valued...and soon you become numb to the fact that you feel you don't matter. You don't want to accept that...but you must.

Mother called it, CHIP, CHIP, CHIPPING AWAY" AT THE BRICKS IN THE WALL, UNTIL IT COMES CRUBLING DOWN, yes, I see it Mother, my best friend, ever so clearly now. There's not much more I can do...not many more hands that I can extend....as I always still walk away in the dark with no communication or anyone who calls and says Hey how are you doing today. So I pick up the pieces and stitch the cup together" and move on.

                                    

I've spent years giving it my all to my side of the family, what's left of it. And when they needed me the most, I had my "hands chopped off" when I was trying to help my sister with memory loss....and was actually told, I'm not part of the family. And then came the revelation that I was making everyone uncomfortable because they couldn't do what they want to do, i.e. imbibe in the drink. I will never back down from my stance of not using alcohol. And then it was turned on me, as if it was my fault. I've seen it time and again affect lives, and how families fall apart because of it. I most recently conducted a memorial service for my best friend's husband who lost his life at age 62 because of alcoholism. It was brutal. 

But every now and then you find a piece that speaks to you, as in the case of this Irene Wachira posted of FB, Feb 21, 2025. (I back dated this so that I could save it. It's kind of my story right now.)

"When you hurt someone with a good heart, the reaction isn't always immediate or obvious. They won’t shout, won’t make accusations, and won’t cause a scene. They are the kind of people who carry their pain quietly, letting it settle within them like a shadow, while still showing kindness and compassion to everyone around them. It’s almost as if they continue on as if nothing has changed.

But deep inside, something shifts. The way they once trusted and valued you starts to erode, not through any dramatic event, but through a slow, silent realization that their trust has been broken. They begin to distance themselves, not out of anger or vengeance, but simply because they’ve accepted the painful truth—that they can no longer give the same love and trust they once did.

These are the people who have loved you without reservation, who have given you their time, their energy, and their heart. When that trust is betrayed, it doesn’t explode into chaos. It simply fades, quietly and inevitably, because they know that they can’t sacrifice their inner peace for someone who cannot value them the way they deserve.

They may still be kind, they may still be compassionate, but they will never look at you the same way again. The connection will no longer be the same. The loss of someone like this isn’t something that can be undone—it’s an irreversible change. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, and the space they leave is not easily filled.

So, if you have someone like this in your life, cherish them. Appreciate them. Because once their trust in you has been shattered, there’s no turning back. They will walk away, and they won’t look back."

I never wanted to give up.....

Martin Ewin Brooks Jones loved Mission Work

MEB settled in Vernon for a short time, and Martin Frank (my uncle) told me that MEB (my grandfather's great-grandfather) knew my Papa McNair (my grandmother's father).  Papa was the District Missionary for Foard and Hardeman Counties. I think that MEB was associated with Mission work in Quanah, Texas and Marietta, Okla.

In his belongings, I found a letter from the chairwoman of Circle no. 4 from the First Baptist Church in McKinney, Texas. They were remembering MEB in the Baptist Standard in the month of March. I have scoured the online Baylor University collection of the Baptist Standard for this article to no avail. 

https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/religious-collections/the-baptist-standard

 
As a child I remember the Baptist Standard being mailed to us and always visible somewhere in the house.
 
The physical archive is accessible in two places—Baylor University Libraries and the Texas Baptist Historical Collection—both in Waco, Texas, with the Texas Baptist Historical Collection holding the only complete record.
 
The beginning of the Baptist Standard dates back to about 1888, though it was published under that masthead for the first time on March 3, 1892. J.B. Cranfill, who once ran as a Prohibition Party candidate for vice president of the United States, was editor of the privately-owned paper. The Standard was to be a “peace paper” to further the work of Texas Baptists, namely the Baptist General Convention.
 
Prior to 1915, when the Baptist General Convention of Texas incorporated the Baptist Standard as a nonprofit, various owners consisted of individuals and groups—one of which included George W. Truett. During its first 100 years, editors included persons of note in Baptist history, such as J.B. Gambrell, J. Frank Norris, J.M. Dawson, and E.S. James.
 
The printed paper ceased in December 2012, at which time the Standard became fully digital and Baptist Standard Publishing began CommonCall Magazine, a publication carrying special features and human-interest stories.

 

Part of a SCAM-Alpine, Brewster County, Texas

I have no idea why MEB Jones would have purchased property for a place that would have been called Progress City. The location was near Alpine, Texas...way out west. Did he have dreams of building there? I know that in his notes, he was researching the proper grasses that would grow in that environment. This venture was to scam people of their money. It was taken to court. Unfortunately, MEB was part of this scam.

Below are postcards from the past...of what Alpine, Texas, looked like in 1920. 

Alpine Street Scene 1920s

https://www.txgenweb.org/postcards/Towns/Alpine/AlpineTxStreetScene.jpg

Looking west from Alpine.

https://historicalpine.org/historic-photos-of-alpine/

https://www.txgenweb.org/postcards/Towns/Alpine/AlpineWestView.jpg

MEB Paid Taxes in Brewster County, TX

Brewster County Taxes for Proper City  

Lot 7 Block 123

Property assesed at $10 

9 Mar 1911

County Taxes for 1910 

Alpine Independent School District

Progress City

3 March 1911

MEB Jones Swindled in 1909

                                 M.E.B. Jones Is Swindled Dec. 1909

Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long

Feb 2016

Paper work was located in an old trunk that belonged to M.E.B. Jones.

These papers were giving to Nancy Quillin Long by Martin Frank Jones. M.E.B. was Martin Frank Jones's great-grandfather.   M.E.B. Jones is my g-great grandfather.

Found among the papers was an old abstract of title to lots in Progress City, being part of THE WM. POOLE SURVEY of 1280 acres in Brewster Co., Texas.  Also found among these papers were two receipts of tax payments to Brewster County in 1911.

It didn't take long with a Google search to find that Progress City was a nonexistent town in Brewster County, Texas.  M.E.B. had been scammed, along with others.

M.E.B. Jones was forever taking notes in small memo books.  An interesting find among the pages that I have, M.E.B. wrote down the words,  "Alfilerea, Ariz., good for grazing."  When I googled Alfilerea, my best guess would be that he misspelled Alfilaria defined as a weed grown for forage in the dry regions of the southwestern U.S. —called also pin grass. This makes sense because he was planning and hoping to use this desolate land in far west Texas.

 

Brewster County, Texas - Wikipedia

Texas History, Genealogy, Old Photos, Postcards, Maps, and Information.

Progress City, Texas     Brewster County

Here is the article found at: http://www.historictexas.net/brewster-county/progress-city-texas

Progress City, a nonexistent town in Brewster County, was invented by swindlers to dupe residents of other parts of Texas into buying town lots. On February 8, 1910, the Brewster County grand jury, with Joseph D. Jackson as foreman, called the plot to the attention of Judge W. C. Douglas of the Brewster County District Court in Alpine. The grand jury reported "with deep regret" the presence of an outfit called Progress City Town Site Company, "which seems to be an organization having for its purpose the swindling of unsuspecting citizens of the State by a sale of so-called town lots in an imaginary town in our county." The putative site of Progress City was on "San Diego" (Santiago) Mountain, forty miles southeast of Alpine. It would have been, according to the grand jury, "accessible only by horseback and then along a difficult and little used trail," and was "totally uninhabited and uninhabitable, and wholly unfit for the situs of a town. In fact, the land is susceptible of no use whatever except that of grazing livestock."

The Progress City Town Site Company consisted of John L. Mauk as president and Lee R. Davis of Waco, who had acquired the title to the land from the original grantee, William Poole, as owner and secretary, respectively. By the time of the grand jury report, the three had already sold more than 1,000 lots, usually for $1.50 apiece. Though the price was of little concern to an individual buyer, the grand jury pointed out, in the aggregate it could add up to a substantial amount; "but even this is small in comparison with the great injury that will result to this section of Texas from the perpetration of such swindles upon the people when those who have been duped discover the fraud." The report admitted that prosecution of Mauk and Davis was probably pointless, because each swindle constituted a separate offense and because the perpetrators almost certainly acted through agents to avoid legal entanglements. The grand jury did, however, recommend making clear to the public the innocence of the people of Brewster County in the matter and sending a copy of its report to each district court in McLennan County, in which Waco is located.

https://historicalpine.org/historic-photos-of-alpine/

https://www.txgenweb.org/postcards/Towns/Alpine/AlpineTxStreetScene.jpg

Abstract of Title - Scam in Brewster Co TX

 This paperwork was found in MEB's old dusty trunk. 

A Dusty Old Trunk

 I did not see the trunk. Martin Frank Jones's children cleared his belongings when he moved to assisted living. They gave me the remnants of items left from the old trunk. These pictures are taken from the website listed below.

            

When Grandpa Dies, His Grandson Finds A Forgotten Family Heirloom Hidden In The Garage

A Dusty Old Trunk

Belonged to MEB Jones 

Many of us have found ourselves in the position of clearing out the old family homestead where we discovered a dusty old trunk buried deep in the recesses of the home.  If only the trunk could speak, we could learn so much history of its being. We eagerly open it to find the treasures within and then the guessing game begins as we search for clues to family history.  Most of the time these trunks have fallen into the hands of the nearest relatives and continue to be passed down to someone who “cares” for it. Along the way, things are discarded or given away. Such is the case of MEB’s old dusty trunk.

I had been told for years by my uncle Martin Frank Jones that he had in his possession an old trunk belonging to MEB Jones. Martin Frank had received it from Martin Harmon Jones, probably found in JC Jones’ (son of Martin Harmon) belongings when JC passed away.
 
Martin Frank had always told me that he had this trunk but it was buried deep in the back of his shed. He said that it held old papers, including a few very old slips of paper belonging to Martin Jones (b 1816) and Keziah which would date back to 1842. These slips of paper would be the reason that Martin Frank believed there was even another Martin Jones beyond our Martin Jones 1816. (However, I don’t find any clues from those papers that suggest this.) When Martin Frank was eventually placed in assisted living, his children cleared his home and cleaned out that old shed in his backyard. They were quick to turn over the remaining items to me. 
 
I have no idea what the actual trunk looked like (they did not take a picture), but I can only imagine that it would be a flat top trunk because during the Victorian age somewhere around 1870, people began to travel by carriage, wagon, ships or trains. The most common of those trunks during that age would be the flat top trunk. MEB and Minerva used this trunk to move their family westward from Alabama to Texas in 1884. 
 
Things deteriorate over the years, much of which is discarded, but I received what survived in this old trunk. It is a very few items that I feel honored to have in my possession. In the next few posts in this blog, I will share these items with you.

Gone to TEXAS

 When M.E.B. and Minerva moved to Texas from Shelby County Alabama, it was documented in the Shelby Chronicle. 

7 Feb 1884

Minerva Jane Seale Jones and MEB Jones gravesite

 

Manerva Jane Seales

 

Manerva Jane Seales was born on 06 Mar 1840 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA as the eleventh child of Abraham Seales and Clarissa. She had ten siblings, namely: Stephen Harmon, John Robert, Nancy Pinckney, Joshua, Martha, Amelia, Green Berry, Louisa, David, and Mahala. She died on 03 Jun 1909 in Crowell, Foard, Texas, USA. When she was 25, She married Martin Ervin Brooks Jones on 03 Jan 1866 in Shelby, Alabama.

 Manerva Jane Seales lived in Shelby, Alabama, United States in 1860. She lived in Beat 12, Shelby, Alabama, United States in 1870. She lived in Columbiana, Shelby, Alabama, United States in 1880. She lived in Tom Bean Town, Grayson, Texas in 1900.

 Martin Erwin Brooks Jones and Manerva Jane Seales had the following children:

 

1.    John Ervin Jones was born on 01 May 1869 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. He died on 21 Dec 1871 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA.

2.    Martin Harmon Jones was born on 12 Apr 1874 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. He died on 05 Jan 1950 in Crowell, Foard, Texas, USA.

3.    Mahala Elizabeth Jones was born on 28 Nov 1876 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. She died on 12 Aug 1966 in Wilbarger, Texas. She married Joseph T. Skipworth in 1896.

4.    Mary Keziah Jones was born on 30 Mar 1868 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. She died on 14 Dec 1885 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA.

5.    Nancy Jane Jones was born on 20 Feb 1879 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. She died on 10 Oct 1966 in Taylor, Texas. She married Hugh Springfield Bridges in 1896.

6.    Martha Catherine Jones was born on 07 Jul 1872 in Alabama. She died on 09 Mar 1961 in Vernon, Wilbarger, Texas, USA. She married James Crawford in 1891.

7.    Burwell Walter Jones was born on 01 Jul 1881 in Shelby County, Alabama, USA. He died on 22 Apr 1952 in Marietta, Love, Oklahoma, USA.

 

 

 

MEB Jones 1880 Census AL

 MEB and Minerva Jones

Living in Shelby Co Alabama on 10 June 1880

Living nearby are Stephen Harmon Seale, Minerva's brother,

James Jones, William Jones, John Jones

MEB Jones Sources Report

 Sources Report: Martin Ervin Brooks Jones

Dodd, Jordan R., comp.. Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920 (Selected Counties) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969. (Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Center for Health   Statistics) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original information: Hunting For Bears, comp. Alabama marriage information taken from county courthouse records.

1850 United States Federal Census. "Martin Jones." (Shelby, Alabama, 1850) Roll: M432_14; Page: 251A; Image: 765; National Archives, Washington, D.C. <Ancestry.com> accessed 2010.

1860 United States Federal Census.  "M.E.B. Jones." (Shelby, Alabama, 1860) Roll: M653_23; Page: 304; Image: 304; Family History Library Film: 803023; National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. <Ancestry.com> accessed 2010.

1870 United States Federal Census.  "M.E.M. Jones." (Beat 12, Shelby, Alabama, 1870) Roll:      M593_39; Page: 510A; Image: 466; Family History Library Film: 545538; [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

1880; Census Place: Columbiana, Shelby, Alabama; Roll: 31; Family History Film:1254031; Page: 162D; Enumeration District: 122; Image: 0011

1900 United States Federal Census.  "Martin Jones." (Tom Bean, Grayson, Texas) Roll: 1640; Page: 30A; Enumeration District: 0103; FHL microfilm: 1241640; 1241640 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

1910 United States Federal Census.  "Martin B. Jones." (Justice Precinct 2, Foard, Texas) Roll:    T624_1551; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0110; FHL microfilm: 1375564; [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

1920 United states Federal Census.  "Martin E. B. Jones."  (Justice Precinct 2, Foard, Texas) Roll: T625_1804; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 88; Image: 74; [database on-line].   Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-      bin/fg.cgi; accessed 2012.

Personal information below:

Personal interview: Carolita Quillin, 1993.

Personal family photo album: compiled by Carolita Quillin. 1990s

Personal interview: Martin Frank Jones many phone calls, extensive visits 2013-2016

Blog by Martin Frank Jones, Family Memoirs, “Hopping on the Media Train,”  2012.

Correspondence with: Katherine Elizabeth Mead, descendant of Martha Catherine Jones (married James Robert Crawford), sister of MEB Jones

Bible pages sent by Katherine Mead Bibles in possession of the James Grady Crawford family

Letters by Dorothy Modelle (Jones) Autry, daughter of Burwell Jones.

Letters from Burwell Jones to his father, MEB Jones.

Letters from and to Ella Mae, wife of Grady Crawford, grandson of Martha Catherine Jones.

Letters from to Bob Milton Jones, brother to Dorothy Autry.

Family groups sheets by Dorothy Autry

M.E.B. Jones’ OLD TRUNK. Paperwork from the early 1900s

 

Martin Erwin Brooks Jones - Group Sheets

 

The first group sheet, a working copy, as I was figuring out MEB's descendants. 

Below are the pages I created in FTM.

Martin Erwin Brooks Jones History Sheet

 

The only candid photo I have of him. Taken by a family member and was found in my mother's (Carolita Jones Quillin) 

family photo album that she compiled in 1990.

Martin E.B. Jones

History Sheet 

Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long

Feb. 22, 2013

 

Sources:  Census Reports, interview with Martin Frank Jones, interview with Carolita Jones Quillin, letter from Dorothy Jones Autrey to Lucy Jones Day, letter from Robert “Bob” Jones to Lucy Jones Day

 

1845 --  Martin Erwin Brooks Jones was born on 21 Jan 1845 to Martin Jones and Keziah Busby in Shelby County, Alabama.  He was only 1 years old when his father died.  That meant that Martin Jones left Keziah with 2 small children so she returned home with her children, MEB and Charles, to live with her parents, Meredith (Marady) Hampton Busby and Mary Polly Brooks. 

 

Meredith Busby was listed as a preacher in the 1850 census when MEB was just 5 years old, so MEB found him to be a father figure and followed in his footsteps.   MEB became a Reverend also and farmed at certain intervals.  Martin Frank Jones (my uncle) remembers MEB as a very learned man.

 

1860 --  Keziah and her children, MEB and Charles, are found in the census living with her parents in Shelby County, Alabama.  Oddly, Charles is listed as insane.  I’m not sure what that means.  Later in some documents, Dorothy Autrey has him married to Mary Kelly.

 

In the letter written by Dorothy Autrey, it was stated that MEB was first married to M.C. Sadler and then divorced.  (I have not found any documentation of this.)

 

1867 --  MEB married Manerva Jane Seale on 3 Jan 1867 in Shelby County, Alabama.  Manerva is 5 years older than MEB.  They are found in the 1870 census with a 2 year old daughter, Mary K, and a 1 year old son, John Ervin.   Keziah is living with them as well as MEB’s older brother, Charles McLeod Jones.  Also in the household is a 14 year old nephew and Manerva’s 76 year old father Abraham Seale.   MEB was farming and the value of his real estate was 440, about double that of his neighbors.

 

1880 --  MEB and Manerva are still living in Columbiana, Shelby County, Alabama.  He is 35 years old and they now have 5 children.  Keziah is still living with them.  It appears that Manerva’s brother, Steven, lives next door with his wife and their 7 children.

 

1900 – MEB is 55 years old and living with Manerva (59 years old) in Tom Bean, Grayson County, Texas.   Their son, Burwell (18 years old) is still living with them.  MEB’s occupation is listed as minister.   He owns a home for which there is a mortgage.

 

MEB settled in Vernon for a short time, and Martin Frank told me that MEB knew my Papa McNair.  Papa was the District Missionary for Foard and Hardeman Counties.

 

1910 – MEB is 66 and living with Martin Harmon Jones and Mattie Bell in Foard County, Texas. His wife, Manerva, died in 1909.  Martin Harmon and Mattie Bell have 4 children: Albert (12), Joe C (8), Hugh (5), George (1).  MEB  is listed as a farmer on a general farm.

 

1920 – MEB is 75 and still living with Martin Harmon and Mattie Bell.  Children living with them are Joe C (17), Hugh (14), George (11), Lucy (1), Albert (21) and his wife Joicy (19).  Census says Martin Harmon is renting.   He is the employer; my guess is that he has a lease. 

 

Pappy (Joe Carroll Jones) put up Minerva and MEB’s tombstone.  Martin Frank remembers visiting MEB on the farm and a rooster flogged Martin Frank.  MEB knocked the rooster off…and that is the only memory that Martin has of MEB.   Martin Frank recalled that MEB and Minerva were missionaries to the Indians in Oklahoma (possibly to Indians in Alabama as well.)

 

Martin Frank said there was another Martin Jones after the Martin Jones who married Keziah Busby.  That older Martin was born in the 1700’s.  (I have not found anything to document this.)  Neither of those Martin’s could read and write.  Martin Frank said that he has an old trunk somewhere with a slip of paper with a payment for Keziah.   On that slip of paper there is mention of Martin Jones (her husband) and his father, another Martin Jones.  There is some sort of signature on that paper relating those two Martin’s. 

 

 

A New Year -- 2025

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

We have turned the page to a new year. I pray for the courage and stamina to face whatever lies before me. Things change so rapidly the older you get, but there is still beauty and happiness to be found. The words below are not mine. They are from a beautiful cowgirl, Cheyenne Greub, who I was fortunate to meet on our mountain property. Each fall the cattle are driven across our property getting them off of the mountain in preparation for the winter season. Cheyenne has an abiding faith in God. Ellie has been saved by the grace of God. They are connected with the natural world and understand the natural order of God's plan.

 

"The New Year will be here tomorrow morning, like a fresh blanket of snow on the ground awaiting the new tracks we will make in it.

Sometimes, our tracks will go through hard, deep drifts that take more effort to come through, whereas other tracks will be through mere skifts of snow, barely there or causing much concern or trouble.

Then, as the sun shines the snow will melt into mud and your tracks take care to avoid and find your way through until from it grows the green grass and flowers of Spring.

It is then that the snow and mud are a mere memory.

Every season brings a new adventure, opportunity, obstacles, lessons, growth and change ... and as you've come through the hard, deep drifts to the lush green grass tickling your toes and the warm summer sun on your face, you too will grow from all you have and will continue to experience and endure.

If you go in harmony with the seasons and appreciate all they teach you, it can be the best teacher, therapist and friend that the good Lord has gifted you.

Appreciate His gift, because not every day or season is guaranteed ❤

Happy New Year - blessings to everyone and may the next 365 days bring 365 opportunities, lessons and adventures!

Have Faith, Hope, appreciate good health and live life to the fullest!

Musing by Cheyenne Greub ❤