At the time of the Civil War, Dr. Jones espoused the cause of the Confederacy, becoming a member of a Texas Cavalry regiment, commanded by Colonel J. B. Liken, and he was a charter member of Denison Camp No. 885, United Confederate Veterans, in the work and aims of which he ever took an active and helpful interest. He was likewise a member of the Denison Medical Society, which he joined on its organization, and he was ever interested in whatever tended to promote the efficiency of the medical fraternity and broaden their knowledge and skill.  He seemed to have learned medicine as an apprentice to Dr. T.N. Cutler.  In addition to farming, Dr. James traveled all along the Red River when called upon to treat the sick, deliver babies, and bind up wounds.  Living in an area under constant threat from wild animals, weather, outlaws, accidents and disease, he helped catch horse thieves, found dead men on his property, shot a rabid dog, and in 1879 saved the lives of Dr. Alex W. Acheson, Mrs. Helena Beattie, and 3 children who while crossing the Red River in a carriage on a ferry, when the boat's guard broke, pitching the carriage and passengers into the water.   Dr. Jones quickly rescued them. (Denison Daily News, 1879)

Dr. Jones was twice married. He first wedded Sarah Berry Lankford, daughter of William and Martha (Clark) Lankford, and her death occurred in 1879. By this marriage there were two daughters and a son. One daughter, Lillie H., a graduate of St. Xavier's Academy, now deceased, was the wife of Edward Ringer, and had one child, Thelma, born November 27, 1894. The other daughter was Rosalie M. Jones. Dr. Jones and Sarah made their home near the Lankford homestead where Sarah grew up.  He continued to live in the Shiloh community until his death in 1903.  "In fact, newspapers would come to call Shiloh, "the Dr. Jones neighborhood."

For his second wife Dr. Jones chose Miss Sophia A. O'Dell, a daughter of the late Enoch O'Dell, who was one of the prominent farmers of Desvoignes, Texas, and one of the substantial citizens of Grayson County.

He came to this state at an early day before the town of Denison was founded and he accumulated considerable land and other property interests in the county. He was always an enterprising and businesslike farmer and a man of most excellent character and of sterling honesty and integrity, so that all who knew him were his friends. He reared a large family of children, who have become prosperous, energetic and valued residents of this section of the state.

By his second marriage Dr. Jones had one daughter, Miss Frances S. Jones. Rosalie M., the elder daughter by his first marriage, died July 5, 1909, at the age of twenty-four years and eight months. She was reared in Grayson County, about four miles east of Denison, and was a young lady of superior intellectual and aesthetic culture.

The surviving daughter of the second marriage of Dr. Jones was Miss Fannie Seay Jones, who was born in Denison, October 24, 1885. She graduated in 1903 in St. Xavier's Academy, in both the literary and musical departments, and was awarded a gold medal by the faculty. She was particularly proficient in music and is a young lady of much local renown in musical circles.

Many of the boarding school were from Indian Territory and became close friends of the Jones family members.  Lillie was one of 2 graduates of the Academy in the Class of 1890.  In February 1894 she married Edward Ringer (1868-1949) of the "Holmes dry goods house" on Main street.  Lillie gave birth to her child, Lily Thelma on November 27, 1894 but died 3 days later of complications. The infant was cared for by the Jones family, at least until Edward, a traveling salesman, remarried and moved to Indian Territory.

Fannie was 9 years old when Lillie died and 12 when her sister Rose died.  Fannie graduated from St. Xavier's Academy in 1904.  She  married John Mallory Webb, Jr. (1885-1947).  The marriage was blessed with the birth of a son and a daughter.  John's grandparents were Kemps and Colberts, leading Chickasaw families in Bryan Co., Oklahoma.  John worked in Kemp, Durant and McAlester as a farmer, rural mail carrier and deputy sheriff.

Dr. Jones invested in a drug store.   In 1892 he was appointed by a court as Executor of the estate of Ed F. Wallace, a druggist at
215 W. Main St. in Denison.  Dr. Jones found partners to help him operate the store.  In July 1894 the Gazetteer mentioned Jones & Howard drug store.  Two years later the partnership was Jones & Simmons.  Around 1901 Dr, Winston B. Markham became a partner in J.L. Jones & Co.; A.A. Nilson, an experienced jeweler and watchmaker, was given space in the drug store.

The death of Dr. Jones occurred December 30, 1903, when he was 63 years of age. His memory is enshrined in the hearts of those who knew him and they cherish the record of his noble life, his kindly deeds and lofty purposes. His name is inseparably interwoven with the history of Denison and this section of the state and it stands as a synonym for business integrity, professional skill and for the highest traits of manhood.  He left a large estate.  The drug store was sold in the summer of 1905.  In early 1909  Sophie left the farm for Oklahoma to live with Fannie and her family.  All are buried in Lankford Cemetery, Denison, Grayson Co., Texas.

Source:
B. B. Paddock, History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1906), Vol. I, pp. 627-628.]
Bryant, Mavis Anne.  Health and Death: Denison, Texas, in 1900, c2017, pg. 92-96.