John Morris Jones

John Morris Jones

found on Ancestry.com

written by bdbowen67

John Morris Jones was born 3 Mar 1858 in Willard, B-Elder, UT known as Pawn town. He was the 3rd child and oldest son of John David Jones and Mary Jones. Jones was also his mother's maiden name. He was one of ten children born to this couple. They had four boys and six girls: Mary Jane, Elizabeth, John Sarah Ann, David "W", Morris Henry, Brigham, Rose Anne, Margaret Ellen and Charlotte. They lived many years in Willard. John was educated inWillard, UT. John started freighting at 13 years old. He was a dry farmer and ran range cattle.They lived in Polygamy and on the 10th Feb 1857 his father John David Jones married Sarah James. They had 10 children also. Which gave John half brothers and sisters. Namely Benjamin David, Catherine Ann, William Henry, Evan George, Rachel, Joseph Alonzo, Ester Jane, Hannah, Annie Elizabeth, and Hyrum John. John and Ben were really close, they both got the burnt of things and had to take care of their families.

John was educated and probably got his education in Willard, Utah. When he was eleven years old in April 1869, John's father moved his 1st family to Cherry Creek, Idaho to homestead. Cherry Creek was a desolate, sage brush flat with lots of snakes, coyote and wolves. They went there with two other families. They took with them cattle, sheep and chickens.He moved his second family to Cherry Creek sometime later. John was 11 years old when they made the move. I am sure at this young age, he helped his father clear the land.

In the spring of 1870 another family: William Jenkins Williams and his wife Rachel Vaughan and family moved to Cherry Creek, Idaho. They had a daughter named Gwen. John and Gwen were married 13 March 1888. They had a church wedding ,which was a double wedding because John G Evans and Sarah Ann Jones being the other couple being married. John Morris and Sarah's father, who was the Bishop of the Cherry Creek Ward performed the ceremony. John started freighting when he was 13 years old. John and Gwen lived in one of the rooms of Grandma Williams, across from where Verl Moon lived. Someone asked why John waited so long to get married, He was 30. He said he had to take care of his family, his brothers and sisters. Uncle Ben took care of his family too. John and Gwen raised 9 children in a 2 room house and a shanty.

 In 1908 they moved into their new home, which was about a block of their old one.While they were there they had another child. They had 10 children, this was a little girl, Edna Maurine. Edna was 9 months old when she died from the fumes of fumigating the house. John and Gwen's children are: Rachel Cecelia, Morris Henry, John Benjamin, William James, Walter Davis, Mary Elizabeth, Verl Dives, Mildred, Winnie, Edna Maurine. William James died of a lingering illness at the age 11.

John started freighting when he was 13 years old and continued doing it most of life. He would go from Corrine, Utah to Butte, Montana. It would take him about six weeks to make a trip. He would make 2 or 3 trips each summer. John was also a dry farmer and ran range cattle. John had many interesting stories to tell about his freighting adventures. Everyone young and old liked to listen to them. He said one night he had hobbled his horses for the night (the horses learned to hobble in them). When he went to look for them, he went around the bend, suddenly there in front of him was standing a big bear. The hair on his neck stood up. His ax and everything was in the wagon. He said he looked at the bear and the bear looked at him. He said he put his hand down the bears throat, got hold of his tail and pulled the bear inside out.

 He said the Indians would roll rocks on the freight wagons as they would go through the narrows around Blackfoot and Pocatello. One time a rock hit him on the hip and left a big scar. He said one time he and some other freighters were on the road, but had camped for the night. He said an army officer stopped at their camp. He told them to unload their wagons, he was commandeering their wagons. He needed them and would be back in the morning for them. He wanted them to haul dead soldiers bodies back from where they had been fighting. The whole freighting camp moved out in the night so they wouldn't lose all the things they were hauling. When they went freighting, they went in wagon trains. When they would meet another train on the wagon trail, the best fighter from each train would get out and they would have a fist fight to find out which train would pull to the side and let the other train pass.

John was a gentle and a kind man and his word was his bond. He was a very honest man. He didn't feel he had to sign a contract. He had a nice personality. Aunt Mildred said Uncle Verl's personality is a lot like his dad's. His daughter in law, Estella said he was a very kind man. Everyone remembers him sitting in the rocking chair in the corner. I remember him getting up and stoking the fire. He loved his cigar. He had light brown curly hair which he never lost. DeLone said he liked to dress up and when he did, he'd stay dressed up all day.

When his son Morris' wife died, Morris and his 5 children moved in with John and Gwen, so they could help raise the children. There were: Maurice, LaMar, Jink, DeLone and Elda. Elda died soon after. One time when Maurice was a teenager, he got upset about something while working. He came in and said that he was going to run away. Some of the family were worried about it. John said, "don't worry, he'll be back." Sure enough that evening he came back.

When John got sick in Jul 1931, He had kidney disease, he would not let anyone except his wife and daughter-n-law Estelle take care of him. When he was sick, he said to his wife, "Gwen, I love you, but I've always been a Mormon." (Gwen was a Josephite). John died 24 Jul 1931 in Cherry Creek, Idaho and is buried in Cherry Creek.

Gwen joined the Mormon church 22 Jul 1933 and was sealed to John 23 Jul 1933 in the Logan Temple.

He married Winnifred Williams 13 Mar 1888 in Cherry Creek, Oneida, ID. He died 24 Jul 1931in Cherry Creek, ID of kidney disease.