My Genealogy Hound

Capt. Alexander C. Jones was born in Caroline County, Va., March 8, 1831, and was there reared and educated, being an attendant, during his early youth, of the common schools. At the age of seventeen years he apprenticed himself to the carpenter’s trade, of which he soon became the master, and from that time until 1859 he followed his trade in Virginia. At this time his father died, and he moved with his mother and the rest of her family to Union County, Ark., and in this State he has devoted himself to his trade and farming, and by energy, good management and upright dealing he has become the owner of a fine farm comprising 360 acres, of which sixty are under cultivation. At the opening of the Rebellion he joined the Confederate army as first lieutenant of Company G, Third Arkansas Infantry, and in 1863 was promoted to the position of captain, in which capacity he served until the cessation of hostilities. He was in the battles of Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, and numerous other engagements of minor importance. At the battle of Wilderness he was wounded in the right arm, being partly disabled, and at the surrender of Appomattox Court House he was in Longstreet’s corps. After the war was practically over he returned to his home in Arkansas, and in the fall of 1865 he was united in marriage, his wife’s maiden name being M. Ophelia Newman, but at the time of their marriage she was a Mrs. Haynes, a widow, and a daughter of Dr. Newman, in Minden, La. Mr. Jones and his wife have four children: Mary C, Sallie, R. Courtney and Lamar, all of whom reside with their parents. Mr. Jones served on the Board of Registration under Baxter’s administration, and was magistrate for one term of Cornie Township. In 1878 he was elected by his numerous Democratic friends to a seat in the General Assembly of the State, and his main object during that session was the establishment of a lunatic asylum in Arkansas, which was successfully accomplished. He also introduced a bill prescribing terms for the admission of patients in the same. He proved himself a very capable official, and his intelligent views on all matters of interest showed that he possessed an intellect of no ordinary merit. He has long been a stanch member of the Missionary Baptist Church, and is a member of the following social organizations: A. F. & A. M. and the Agricultural Wheel. He was the sixth of nine children born to Hill and Mary (Courtney) Jones, native Virginians. The father was sheriff of King and Queen Counties, Va., during 1850, was a Whig, and very active, politically. The grandfather Courtney was a soldier during the War of 1812.