WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON JONES

 

 

SRUNAMES: JONES, TOMLINSON, RIPLEY, EAKIN, ALLEN, SMITH, HOLDEN.

     William Henry Harrison Jones, b August 13, 1842 in Conecuh County, Alabama, d September 12, 1912 in St. Louis, Missouri and buried in Calvary Cemetery in Marlin, Texas - was a son of Churchill Jones (1805- 1869) and his wife, Susan (Tomlinson) Jones (1811- 1862). William Henry Harrison Jones married first to Isanora Tomlinson, and they had one child who died; and Isanora also died.

     On June 8,1870 in Marlin, Falls County, Texas, William married second to Octavia Ripley, b February 15, 1847 in Botetourt County, Virginia, d February 8, 1938 in Marlin, Falls County, Texas and buried in Calvary Cemetery there - a daughter of Hillary Ripley (1801-1864) and his wife, Rebecca M. (Eakin) Ripley (1803-1886).

     In 1853, William came from Alabama to Falls County, Texas with his father, Churchill Jones, to join his brother, James Sandford Jones, who had come earlier with slaves to build the slave houses, a family dwelling, and he begin working the 28,000 acres of land his father had purchased in 1850. William Henry grew up at the family plantation, located about three miles west of the "Falls on the Brazos."

     In September 1861, William Henry Harrison Jones enlisted in Falls County in the Confederate States Army, being elected Second Lieutenant, and serving with Harrison's Company, Terry's Texas Rangers, Eighth Texas Calvary. He fought with that unit for over two years, and was wounded at Mossy Creek, Tennessee, in December 1863. He was sent to his grandfather's in Alabama to recover, and was surrendered at Selma, Alabama in June 1865. Many years later, the minnie ball that had wounded him at Mossy Creek worked its way out of his shoulder.

     After his second marriage in 1870, William Henry settled in Marlin, Texas, where he and Octavia lived the remainder of their lives. He was involved in agriculture, and was active in community affairs. William Henry Harrison and Octavia (Ripley) Jones were the parents of two children:

     Irene Irma Jones, b June 3, 1873 in Marlin, Falls County, Texas, d May 24, 1954 and buried in Calvary Cemetery - married November 10, 1897 to Lea Ernest Allen.

     Anna Paul Jones, March 23, 1883 in Marlin, Falls County, Texas, d March 20, 1950 and buried in Calvary Cemetery - married Earl C. Smith, b February 4, 1881, d December 31, 1937. Their daughter, Virginia Earl Smith, married Thomas Holden.

 

 

Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical Commission, page 259 column 1 and 2.  
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.