My Genealogy Hound

Dr. Samuel J. Jones. This is a name readily recognized by all, and one which stands out prominently in the annals of Jefferson County. Dr. Jones was born in Limestone County, Ala., December 6, 1822, and died August 3, 1881. He was a son of Hardaman Jones, a merchant of Huntsville, Ala., and Jane (Jordan) Jones, of Virginia nativity, both of whom went to Alabama when children, with their parents. Grandfather Jones lived to be very old, and died in Florida. The father of our subject died in middle life at Huntsville, his wife having preceded him several years. After his parents’ death, Dr. Jones was reared by his grandparents, Capt. Samuel Jordan and wife, old pioneers in Alabama. Samuel, the only son of wealthy parents, was kept in school in early life in Virginia, subsequently being sent to Yale College, and in 1851 graduated from the Medical College of Baltimore, Md. He practiced his profession at Paint Rock, Jackson County, till 1860, when he removed to Arkansas, reaching Rob Roy steamboat landing on December 9 of that year. From that time until his death, Dr. Jones devoted himself to his family and professional duties, in which latter he was acknowledged to be one of the most prominent as he was one of the most successful in the county. He was a member of the Episcopal Church. Personally of a kind and affectionate disposition, and very charitable, he was be loved by a large circle of friends. He was active in the church and Sunday-school, and when the owner of 150 slaves provided them with a minister and gave them the privilege to attend church regularly. During the war he sympathized with the South, though not in favor of secession, but owing to ill health took no active part in that controversy. He was not very pronounced in politics, but was a member of the A. F. & A. M. December 20, 1847, Dr. Jones married his cousin, Virginia A. Jones, of Quincy, Fla., daughter of Dr. S. F. Jones, builder of the first house, and one of the first settlers in that city. Mrs. Jones father was a prominent physician and much esteemed as a friend, knowing no difference between rich or poor. He was a noble-hearted man, and while not a church member, he believed in the Bible and in the Christian religion. He died at Key West, Fla., November 1, 1856. To Dr. Samuel J. Jones and his wife were born two children: Samuel (who died in infancy), and Edna J. (now the wife of Thomas H. Collier, one of the leading planters of this county). Mrs. Jones still lives on the home place, where she superintends a farm of over 1,400 acres, about 500 of which are under cultivation. She has been a member of the Episcopal Church since the age of fourteen years, and is a lady of refined and educated tastes, having attended school in Baltimore, Md. She was born December 20, 1829.