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The Town:
Jonesville
was the second of Angelina County’s four county seats, sandwiched between Marion
and Angelina (aka Homer). It served in this capacity
from 1854-1858. Jonesville never grew and in its short reign as county seat the
people never got around to building a courthouse. County offices were rented.
The 1858 election that made Angelina the county seat spelled the end of Jonesville.
Ballots were said to have been burned and the resulting vote was recorded as 221
to Angelina while Jonesville got a mere 130. Jonesville residents fought with
an opposing group from Angelina and some 40-50 people were indicted for the fracas.
After the election Jonesville started into a decline from which it never recovered.
Texas Escapes publishes corrections furnished by Betty Benton Lyle
of Heraldton, Oklahoma: |
The Life of Martin
William “Gobbler” Jones
Founder
of Angelina County’s Jonesville |
| Imagine the frustration
of finding published errors about an ancestor and then trying six times without
success to have that information corrected. Several renowned resources had dates,
locations and even individuals misidentified in their histories of Mr. Jones and
Jonesville. Upon hearing from Mr. Jones’ great, great, great granddaughter and
reading her detailed research, we have removed the previous history and replaced
it with well-documented fact. The following is written by Betty Benton Lyle of
Heraldton, Oklahoma. - Editor - |
“Martin William
“Gobbler” Jones was born in North Carolina on 4 Aug 1784 and married Rhoda Hodges
in Jefferson County, Tennessee on 12 July 1804. They moved to Jackson Co., Alabama
between 1824 and 1826, then moved to White County, Arkansas by May 1831 when their
11th child was born. He was the first State Representative from White Co., when
Arkansas became a state. The family moved to Texas two or three months after the
death of their daughter Phetna Mariah (Jones) Burks (died 18 Nov 1845).
Martin
William "Gobbler" Jones was not the first person buried in Jonesville Cemetery,
despite published accounts that he was. The first buried there was his great grandson,
son of William Burks and Amanda Nite (the first woman on record to go up the Chisholm
Trail and she was inducted into The Texas Trail Of Fame in October 2000). Martin's
wife, Rhoda (Hodges) Jones died 11 April 1861 and was buried in Jonesville Cemetery.
Martin William "Gobbler" Jones died at the age of 95 on 8 August 1879 and was
buried beside his wife. Martin Jones has hundreds of descendants in and around
Angelina Co.”
Betty Benton Lyle
Healdton,
Oklahoma
Great, great, great granddaughter of Martin William “Gobbler” Jones
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