Fred Newton Jones and Emma Selena Samuelson

PART SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

FRED NEWTON JONES and EMMA SELENA SAMUELSON

12 November 2016

Fred Newton Jones was born on 16 May 1877, in Knoxville Township, Marion County, Iowa, the son of 25 year old Silas William Jones and his young wife 18 year old Josie Cronkhite. He was the first grandchild on both sides of the Joneses and Cronkhite families. He was raised on his father’s farm near White Breast Creek in Knoxville Township only a few miles north of the town of Knoxville.

The United States census of 1880 listed him as “Freddie”, age 3 years old and living with his parents in Knoxville Township. His mother was pregnant at the time of the census and delivered a son in September 1880 who was named Don Weaver Jones, Marion County, Iowa. Another brother Augustus Abraham Jones was born in June 1882.

When Fred was 7 years old his father’s oldest brother Albert Jones died at the age of 33. He probably did not know his uncle well or the cousin born to his uncle, as they had moved out of state to Arkansas. The death of Albert Jones made Fred’s cousin Franklin Fred Jones an orphan, a fate that would happen to him in 1894. His paternal aunt Mary Jane Jones Antle had four children between 1880 and 1887 but these Antle cousins were raised in the neighboring county of Jasper. All of his other aunts and uncles had children born 10 years or more after Fred and therefore he did not have many cousins to play with. In fact two uncles were closer to him in age then most of his cousins. Uncle Jesse Rufus Jones was just three years older than Fred and his mother’s youngest brother Abram Cronkhite was just 11 months older than him. It is most likely he was boyhood friends with these uncles than any of his cousins.

The 1885 State Census showed three children in his parents household although their birth ages where all wrong. In December 1888, Fred’s baby sister was born when he was 11 years.

In 1892 Fred Newton Jones at the age of 15 moved with his family to a farm that his father bought in the north east corner of Dallas Township. He had grown up for most of his life within a mile of all his Jones and Cronkhite relatives.

When the financial Panic of 1893 hit, Fred Jones was 16 years old and may have been aware of how his folks were struggling with debt. He knew his great uncle John M Jones and grandfather Isaac Jones were ruined by the crisis and in 1894 at the age of 17 years old he knew that the drought that was hitting the county was going to devastate his folks income. He may have even hear them argue over bills that kept accruing.

On 19 October 1894 his parents took Fred and his siblings to relatives in Knoxville Township to spend the weekend with their grandparents. It was the last time Fred saw his mother and father alive. The next day he heard the tragic news that his parents were dead in a fire but would soon learn that his parents had died in a murder suicide committed by his own mother.

It is hard to imagine the loss of one’s parents but to have it be the sensational scandal of the surrounding countryside must have been devastating. What must have even been harder was that his remaining family was split up. He and his siblings were 17, 14, 10 and 5 years old when they became orphans. Their mother’s sister Augusta Cronkhite Nace obtained a lawyer to act as guardians of the children’s financial interest in their parent’s estate while their uncle George Jehu Jones was appointed administer of the probate. As their parents were deeply in debt and owed thousands in creditors the family farm as well as all their possessions had to be sold. Fred’s mother had taken out a $2000 life insurance policy which was contested. Finally the Insurance company agreed to pay about $1200 as a final settlement which was about $300 to each sibling. How much of that they actually got to keep is unclear.

The 1895 Iowa State Census of Marion County showed that 17 year old Fred was living with his grandfather Isaac Jones. who was 69 years old and his grandmother was 65 years old. They also had four of their adult children still living with them. His uncle Charley Jones was 37 years old, his aunt Louisa was 30 years old while John and Jesse Jones were 23 and 20 years old and closer to Fred’s age.

Fred’s siblings were placed with their mother’s family the Cronkhites. Augusta Nace took in her nephew , 14 year old Don Jones, while Fred’s grandfather Abraham Cronkhite took in 10 year old Augustus and 6 year old Ruth Jones. Abraham was 71 years old and his wife Phoebe was his 3rd wife but not a blood relative.

Between 1895 and 1900 Fred Jones struck out on his own. He turned 21 in 1898 and would have reached the age of maturity to be an independent person without a guardian. He must has journeyed to Minnesota perhaps looking for work but by 6 June 1900, when he was 23 years old, he was living back in Iowa and married.

The 1900 census of Marion County listed Fred Jones as living in Franklin Township as a 23 year old farmer working a rented farm. He was shown to be married to an 18 year old Swede named Emma who said she was born July 1881 in Sweden. This record stated that she immigrated to America in 1885 and that she had been in the U.S. for 15 years. Emma Jones no doubt spoke English but as that Swedish was her native language certainly she spoke with an accent.

Records that listed emigrants registered in Sweden Church Books, showed that Emma full name was named Emma Selina “Jonasdotter” and departed from Torp Parish in the county of Västernorrland on 12 May 1886 with her father, mother, and younger sister. This same record stated she was born 30 July 1881 in Torp Parish, Västernorrland the “dotter” [daughter] of Jonas Martin Samuelson and Kristina Jonsdotter Samuelsson. Her younger sister was named Anna Matilda. In America Emma adopted her father’s surname Samuelsson instead of using Swedish patronymics of adopting a father’s first name as their last.

By the time of the 1900 census , Fred had just gotten married as the census showed they were married less than a year and had no children. Where and how they met is a mystery. There is not a marriage record for them in Iowa but they probably were married in Minnesota where Emma had immigrated to from Sweden with her family. Where ever they were married by 6 June 1900 they were living in Marion County, Iowa.

A later 1910 Census stated that Emma was the mother of four children but only three were listed which suggests that Fred and Emma had a baby who died between 6 June 1900 and 1910. There doesn’t appear to be a record of this baby anywhere. There is a 4 year gap between Emma’s 2nd child born in 1903 and her youngest child born in 1907 so the possibility a child was born in 1905 is highly likely.

On 4 January 1902 the couple had their first son named Lloyd Louis Jones. He was born in Dallas Township, in Marion County, the same Township where Fred’s parents were living at the time of their deaths. However by the time of their second son’s birth the couple had moved to the community of Long Prairie, in Todd County, Minnesota. Todd County is situated in the geographical center of Minnesota. It is part of the transitional area where "the eastern forest meets the western prairie".

Fred’s second son, Donald Augustus Jones, was born 9 August 1903 and was named for Fred’s two younger brothers Don Weaver Jones and Abraham Augustus Jones who later went by the name Jack. Also living in Todd County, Minnesota was Fred’s sister in law Lydia Baker.

Emma Jones’s sister. Lydia Paulina Samuelson. had married a man named Jay Eugene Baker and was living in Todd County which may account for the family why Fred moved there to be close to his wife’s sister. Lydia Baker had a son named Frank Baker who was born 7 May 1904 in Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota when she was 17 years old.

The next year, in the 1905 State Census, the family of Jay Baker, his wife, and son Frank were living in the Township of Browerville in Todd County were he worked as a day laborer. Fred Jones was found in the same census in neighboring county of Wadena in Thomastown Township as a laborer. He gave as his residence Lone Prairie in Todd County. He was enumerated next to a 28 year old man named Charles Scoles also from Lone Prairie and was a laborer. Fred gave his age as 26 where when the census was taken 7 June 1905 he should have been 28 years old also. Fred Jones stated he had been in Minnesota three years and six months so must have moved to the state shortly after the birth of his son Lloyd who was born in January 1902 in Iowa. For some reason, Emma and her two children Lloyd and Donald are not enumerated in the census. Thomastown Township was on the northern boundary of Todd County and is in the southeast corner of Wadena County joining Staples Township in the northeast section of Todd County.

In 1906 Emma and Lydia’s younger brother Edward Samuelson passed away in Waseca County, Minnesota at the young age of 17 which left the sisters the remaining children of Jonas Martin Samuelson the Swedish emigrant. The Jones family remained in Minnesota until after 1907 as their youngest son Earl D Jones was born 14 June 1907 in Todd County, Minnesota.

However by the time of the 1910 Census Fred Jones had moved his family back to Knoxville Township in Marion County, Iowa where he was located 22 April 1910 on farm in Knoxville Township. His brother in law however moved from Minnesota to the town of Castleton in Cass County, South Dakota where he was working as a Stone Mason. The History of the Jones family is that they never remained in one area more than a couple of years before settling down until after the separated and divorced. Even then while in the same city they would move residences almost yearly without putting down roots anywhere.

Fred and Emma had had 4 children according to the 1910 Census however only three of them were still living in 1910. He and Emma had been married 10 years according to the census. He was working a rented farm not very far from his half Uncle Abram Cronkhite which reinforces that idea that these two men were close to each other. Fred’s three children were listed as “Loid Louis” Jones age 8, “Don A” Jones age 5, and “Erl D” Jones age 3. On this census all the children are listed as being born in Iowa when in fact the younger siblings were born in Minnesota. Fred gave his age as 31 [1879] when he would have been 33 and Emma’s age was listed as 28 [1882] when she would have been 29 in July.

By 1915 Fred and Emma’s marriage had soured and according to the State Census for that year they were divorced. Both were still living in Dallas Township but in different communities. Fred was living in the town of Dallas and Emma with the three boys was in the community of Melcher just a few miles south of Dallas where Fred gave as his post office address. The community of Melcher is located in section 11, township 74, range 21, immediately south of and adjoining the Town of Dallas. He stated he was divorced and gave as being a miner as his occupation. He made $500 in 1914, and that was with him being unemployed for two months that year. The Red Rock Coal Company's mine near Melcher was the third largest coal mine in the state of Iowa and the mine produced 187,427 tons of coal in 1919 and employed 345 men.

Emma Samuelson Jones was listed in the 1915 census as Mrs. Emma Jones age 33 and living in Melcher as were her sons Lloyd, Donald A, and Earl. Melcher was the outgrowth of the building of the branch line of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railway system through the White Breast Valley. It is situated on a high ridge, and three miles from the creek. A public school building was erected in the summer of 1914, and in November of that year a telephone exchange was opened. Melcher had two banks, the usual number of mercantile establishments for a town of its size, important coal mining interests, and a number of minor business enterprises in 1915.

In Melcher Emma supported herself and her children working as a housekeeper from which she earned $300 in 1914. She would have been extremely poor making less than a dollar a day for the entire year. She gave her religious affiliation as being a member of the Christian Union Church while Fred Jones had no religious affiliation. This may have caused strife in the home leading to divorce especially if Fred was a drinker as most men of this time period were especially miners. Christian churches led by women at this time were part of the temperance movement which would in 1919 lead to Prohibition being the law of the land.

Fred’s former brother in law, Jay Baker, had moved from Cass County, South Dakota with his two sons and was also living in Melcher in 1915. His wife Lydia Samuelson Baker was not enumerated in Marion County and may have left him to live in Des Moines. The two Samuelson sisters were divorced from their 1st husbands by 1915.

Jay Baker listed his occupation as a Mason and had made $1000 in 1914. He stated his religious affiliation was Methodist and that he was divorced. Interestingly his registration card listed him as deaf. His two boys Frank and Clarence were both attending school and living with their father.

Three years after this census was taken Emma Jones remarried. On 2 November 1918 in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa she married a miner named Ed Goyen. The marriage license, recorded in Polk County, Iowa, stated that Ed Goyen was 33 [1885] years old who was also a resident of Melcher, Iowa and was a miner by occupation. It was his 1st marriage. The record gave his birth place as Michigan and his parents as William Goyen and Kate Foreman. Emma Jones stated that this was her 2nd marriage and that she was 37 [1881] and gave Melcher as her residence. Her parents were listed as Jonas Samuelson and Kristina no last name given. Ed and Emma were married by a Justice of the Peace Judge Lawrence De Graff and their witnesses were “Mr and Mrs Broduer”. This couple was no other than her sister Lydia, who had married as her second husband a man named Frederick Joseph Brodeur.

Fred Brodeur registered for the World War I draft on 5 June 1917 in Des Moines, Iowa. He stated he was 29 years old born 18 October 1887 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He stated he was married and had a child. This would suggest that Lydia Samuelson had married prior to 1917 unless he meant his stepsons. His occupation was a “houseman” for a private family named G F Everett. His residency was 635 Hardwood Drive in Des Moines and claimed exemption from the draft because of “chronic ear troubles, varicose veins, and supported dependents.” He was described as tall with a medium build, brown eyes and black hair. In 1942 he was required to register for the draft in WWII and his registry card said he was born 16 October 1887 in Chicago.

Emma’s 2nd husband Edward Goyen had registered for the draft while living in Fulton County, Illinois in 1917 along with his brothers Albert, Thomas and Frederick who were all coal miners. All but Edward worked for the Monmouth Coal Company while Edward worked for the Breredon Coal Company while living in Farmington. He stated he was born 19 May 1886 in Michigan and all his brothers said they were born in Negaunee, Marquette, Michigan so it can be safely assumed that so was he. He listed his mother Catherine Sampson as his nearest relative and her residence was in Negaunee. Evidently she was remarried to a Mr. Sampson. Negaunee is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Edward was the son of an English miner from Cornwall named William H Goyen and his American wife Catherine “Kate” Foreman.

By 5 January 1920 Edward Goyen and Emma had moved to Sioux City, in Woodbury County, Iowa some 240 miles northwest of Melcher, Iowa perhaps to join her sister Lydia there. The 1920 United States Census had them living at 114 South Virginia Street. Emma probably furnished the census taker the information as none of the information about Edward is correct. “Edd” was listed as 33 years old [1887] born in Illinois and she stated so were his parents. Most of Edward’s brothers were living in Fulton County, Illinois, two having been veterans of World War I. His occupation was given as coal miner.

Emma stated she was 38 years old which she would have been in January 1920 and born in Sweden. She gave the correct year of 1886 when she immigrated to America and that she could speak Swedish and English. She stated she had no occupation but that she was running a rooming house which would have kept her plenty busy. Her three sons “Loyd”, Donald, and Earl were all listed under their step-father’s last name of Goyen. Lloyd Jones was listed as 18 years old born in Iowa and Donald Jones was listed as 16 years old born in Minnesota. Earl Jones was 13 years old and also born in Minnesota. Lloyd and Donald were already working as laborers in Sioux City’s meat packing slaughter houses. Earl at only 13 was not yet put to work.

Besides her own family listed at the address of 114 South Virginia, there were three roomers living with them, a 38 year old Coal company teamster named Ben Roe and Emma’s former brother in law, 46 year old Jay Baker who listed his occupation as a Brickmason. He is also listed as a widower. His 15 year old son Frank Baker was also living with his Aunt Emma and his Jones cousins. Only a few houses down from Edward Goyen’s address lived Wallace McPherson at 106 South Virginia Street. In his household was his 14 year old stepdaughter Daisy Mae Bishop whom later would become Emma’s daughter in law. Both Daisy and Fred became the great grandparents of Kenneth Thomas Paines Jones.

The 1920 Polk Company City Directory for Sioux City misspelled Edward Goyen’s last name as Gowan but he is listed at the address 114 South Virginia with Emma. He is listed as a laborer and they are renting the house or are renters.

The family of G.F Everett had moved to Sioux City by 1920 and Fred Brodeur evidently moved with his employer. The Everetts lived at 2810 Nebraska Street and the Brodeur were listed at the same address. Fred Brodeur listed his occupation as “janitor” for a private family and Lydia listed her occupation as “servant”. F rank and Clarence were listed as step sons of Fred Brodeur although Frank was also enumerated in his fathers household at his aunt Emma’s address. Fred Brodeur stated his parents were French Canadians and spoke French while Lydia stated her parents were Swedish and spoke that language.

In the 1920 census Fred Jones was listed as a “widowed” which was often used as a euphemism for being divorced. He was living with his half uncle Abe Cronkhite and his family in Marion County. He was listed as 42 years old [1878] and a laborer “working out” most likely meaning he wasn’t a farm laborer. His relation to Abe Cronkhite, the head of household, was given as “laborer” rather than that of nephew although Fred’s cousin Fay Crossen was listed as Abe’s niece within this household. It is doubtful however that Fred was still working as a coal miner.

Between 1920 and 1921 Fred and Emma Jones must have temporarily reconciled as they are listed as living together in 1921 according to the Sioux City directory . They loved at 1009 Iowa Street. He is listed as a laborer in the Cudahy Meat Packing Company. Whether Edward Goyen left Emma, or she divorce him or he had died is unknown. No more records concerning him have been located. Living at this address also is son Lloyd who at the age of 19 years old was still working for Cudahy Meat Packing [Slaughter house]. The directory however had him as Floyd not Lloyd but 1009 Iowa was given as his address. 17 year old Donald was also “boarding” at 1009 Iowa. He was listed as a “seaman” which raises the possibility that he had joined the navy. He must have just enlisted as he not heard from again until four years later in 1925.

The Sioux City directory for 1922 does not list any of the family of Fred Jones. Where they may have gone is pure speculative. Lloyd Lewis Jones appears to have join the army in 1922 and Donald A. Jones was probably in the Navy. Fred Jones had taken off again and the whereabouts of Emma and 15 year old Earl is unknown. Fred and Lydia Brodeur whowever ere still in Sioux City living at 1112 12th Street.

The 1923 directory showed that Emma and her son Earl had returned to Sioux City. They are listed as Mrs. Emma Jones and Earl Jones living at 515 Jones Street. Earl Jones was listed as a laborer. No Fred Jones, Lloyd Jones, or Donald A Jones are listed in the city which suggests that they were gone to parts unknown. Emma and Earl were living with Lydia and Fred Brodeur who were also listed at that address. Fred Brodeur is listed as laborer and probably stopped working as a servant. Fred and Lydia Brodeur would live out the remainder of their lives in Sioux City while Emma’s family was about to scatter again.

After 1923 the family of Fred Jones and Emma Jones was entire gone from Iowa until their son Donald A. Jones returned in 1925. Why he returned to Sioux City may have been because he still had an aunt and cousin there and that also he may have been romantically involved with Daisy Bishop.

The family of Fred Jones, and his ex wife Emma Samuelson had scattered after leaving Iowa, with Lloyd and his father Fred heading to the Pacific Northwest while Emma and Earl Jones finding themselves in Southern California.

Lloyd Jones probably got out of the army in 1926 and was living in Grant County, Washington at least by the beginning 1929 when he married Lucy Leona Hull the daughter of the water commissioner. They were married 30 January 1929 at Ephrata the county seat of Grant County which was the heart of apple country. It is not clear what happened with this marriage. When the 1930 census was taken on April 22, Lucy L Jones is listed as living with her parents Charles and Myrtle Smith Hull and not with her husband. His location in 1930 had not been found. He may have been off looking for work as that the Great Depression had begun with the Stock Market Crash of October 1929. Lucy Jones died 24 May 1932 in Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington. Her death certificate mentioned Myrtle Smith, Charles Hull, and Loyd Jones as members of her household but whether Lloyd Jones was living with her at the time is unknown. What is known is that he moved from Washington to Southern California to find work. Lucy was buried under her maiden name of Hull.

The 1930 United States census listed Emma Jones in Long Beach, Los Angeles California. The family probably located there directly from Sioux City about 1924. It is interesting that she still was using “Jones” as a surname instead of her second husband Goyen. This suggests that Edward and hers was a troubled marriage. Emma Jones lived at 133 Chestnut Avenue in 1930 where she was renting a room for $20 a month. She gave her age as 46 [1884] when she would have been 48 years old; 49 in April. She stated she was divorced but that she was 18 years old at the time of her first marriage. She said that she spoke Swedish in the home of her parents and had immigrated in 1888. She gave her occupation as being a practical nurse and was supporting herself by nursing. She lived at a house that was occupied by three other women who all seemed to be renting rooms.

They were a 60 year old real estate broker named Virginia Drummond a native of Virginia, a 63 year old unemployed Ohio native named Laura Stratton and a 45 year old Café waitress Kansas native named Maybelle Salman. Chestnut Avenue is located in the heart of downtown Long Beach but this home no longer remains.

Emma Jones’ son, Earl Jones was rooming at 1338 Linden Avenue in Long Beach only a few blocks from his mother according to the 1930 Census. He listed his age as 22 years old [1908] and born in Minnesota. He found work in the Long Beach and Huntington Beach oild fields as he gave his occupation as working laying pipe line in the oil fields of Long Beach. He was the youngest of the four single men who lived at the address and all were working in the oil fields.

Lloyd Jones and Fred Jones have not been located in the 1930 Census and may have been moving about as the Great Depression threw so many men out of work. They no doubt couild have been among the millions of men who were trying to find work or even surviving in hobo camps. Lloyd eventually made his way down to Long Beach, California where his brother was working but his father Fred probably found work in Benton County Oregon where the weather was reasonably good.

Fred and Emma Jones’s son Donald A Jones had left his wife Daisy Bishop Jones behind in Sioux City about 1928. In the 1930 census he is found in Wichita, Kansas some 400 miles away. There on 19 April 1930 he was listed as rooming with the Ford family at 241 Green Street. He gave his age as 26 years old [1904] and born in Minnesota with his father born in Iowa and mother in Sweden. His occupation was a radio operator for airplane communications, perhaps a skill he learned as a “seaman”. He stated he was single so he had left his family behind in Sioux City who never was in contact with him again. His son Kenneth Delbert Jones grew up in a fatherless home never knowing his Jones’ heritage.

In the early evening hours on 10 March 1933, the Newport-Inglewood fault ruptured, jolting Californians just as their evening meals were being prepared. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit causing extensive damage throughout Southern California. Especially hit hard was Long Beach where buildings collapsed, water tanks fell through roofs, and houses were tossed off their foundations. Broken gas lines caused fires in Long Beach. Several areas were without water due to broken pipes. Oil derricks were shaken out of the ground in Huntington Beach. School buildings were among the structures that incurred the most severe damage. Within a few seconds, 120 schools in and around the Long Beach area were damaged, of which 70 were destroyed. Experts concluded that if children and their teachers were in school at the time of the earthquake, casualties would have been in the thousands. An estimated two-thirds of the 120 deaths, including 52 in Long Beach and 17 in Compton occurred as people ran out of buildings and were hit by falling debris. There were more than 500 injuries reported in Long Beach alone. .

The Long Beach earthquake may have been the reason that prompted Emma Jones to move to Chicago, Illinois temporarily. In the 1940 census Emma stated that in 1935 she was living in Chicago, Illinois where her sister Lydia Brodeur had recently moved there temporarily. However after experiencing Chicago winters she returned to Long Beach, California where her two sons Lloyd and Earl were still living. The 1936 Long Beach City directory listed Emma Jones as rooming at 30 Amor Place. She listed herself as the widow of Fred Jones even though he was alive but she might not have known where. There does not seem to be a street called Amor Place now in Long Beach. She was living with her son Earl D Jones at the same address and he is shown with a wife named Mary. He is listed as an auto mechanic. Lloyd Jones is also at 30 Amor Place and listed as a factory work but no wife is listed for him.

All of the sons of Emma Jones was located in the 1940 United States census. Fred Jones cannot be located but is certainly still in Oregon. with limited contact with his sons. Emma Jones and her sons Lloyd and Earl were listed as living in Long Beach while Donald A. Jones was living in Los Angeles.

By 1940 Emma had moved from Amor Place to 643 Walnut Street, a house that is still standing on the corner of 7th Ave and Walnut. The census showed that it was in block 9. The census was taken on 11 April 1940 and she listed her age as 57 years old [1883] when she would have been 59 in July. She stated she was a “widow” again perhaps believing her husband was dead, but more than likely, being a widow was more respectable than being a divorcee. She stated she was born in Sweden and had 2 years of high school education. She had given up on nursing and she listed that she had no occupation but more than likely she was housekeeping for 3 male lodgers who was living at the same address.

The 1940 census asked where people were living as of 1 April 1935 and Emma stated she was in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. The 1933 earthquake might have frightened her into leaving but the Southern California weather may have drawn her back. The 3 lodgers at 643 Walnut Street living under Emma Jones roof were all educated people, one having 4 years of college. Elmer Cambert was a 46 year old divorced accountant for a airplane manufacturer. Lois Hickey was a 26 year old widow from Shawnee, Oklahoma. She had 3 years of college but was unemployed. John T Phipps was a 31 year old Canadian with 4 years of college who was a sales engineer for Diesel engines.

Lloyd and his brother Earl were living together at 40 Kern Place in Long Beach when enumerated for the 1940 census on April 25. Lloyd Jones was the head of the household and Earl listed as his brother. Lloyd stated he was a 38 year old single man rather than saying he was divorced or a widower even though his wife had died in 1940. Earl was a 32 year old divorced man. The 1936 city directory stated he had a wife named Mary but by April 1940 they were divorced. Her maiden name has not been researched nor is it known if he had issue by her.

Lloyd was born in Iowa while Earl gave his birthplace as Minnesota. Lloyd had only 1 year of high school while Earl had 4 years and was probably a high school graduate from Sioux City. They stated they both lived in the same place in 1935 but mostly that meant the same city as in 1936 they were at Amor Place with their mother Emma. Lloyd worked as a box maker in a cannery and made $1400 in 1939 while Earl worked as a machinist in the oil field and made $1750 in 1939.

On 2 April 1940, Donald Jones was enumerated as living in a hotel at 430 Kingsley Drive in Los Angles. Why he chose not to live near his mother and brothers in Long beach is unclear. The building where he lived has since been torn down but he lived between 5th and 4th Street in what is now known as Korea Town and not far from McArthur Park. He lived in the 58th Assembly District and was listed as a 35 year old divorced lodger born in Minnesota. He had only 1 year of high school but worked as a Radio Telegrapher for the Municipal Water and Power as a “wage or salary worker in Government work.” He made $1,980 in 1939. He said he was living in Boulder City, Clarke County, Nevada in 1935 probably having been involved with the construction of Boulder Dam [Hoover] that was constructed from 1931 until its completion in 1935. In 1940 he was sharing a room with another man as he and another individuals were listed under the same household number. Louis H. Lothridge was a 50 year old, out of work native New Yorker. He was listed as having made no money in 1939 which could have meant he had an undisclosured source of income. In 1935 he had lived in Tampa, Florida.

It is not certain when Donald Jones moved to Southern California but the 1939 directory of Los Angeles showed two Donald A. Jones listed. One was living at 1168 Bellvue Ave. no occupation given and the other was a factory worker living at 2370 West 20th. Both men were listed without wives and renting so it cannot be certain which one or either was the son of Emma Jones. The 1940 directory does not even list a Donald A Jones at all.

On 7 December 1941, the United States entered World War II with Southern California being the home of the Pacific Fleet. Emma Jones was 60 years old at the start of the war and was 64 years old when the war in the Pacific ended in August 1945. Lloyd L Jones at the age of 40 years old enlistedon 20 Oct 1942 in Los Angeles as a Private. The terms of Enlistment were for “the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law.” He stated he had 1 year of high school and that his civil occupation was in canning and preserving of foods. He was listed as a widower or widow, without dependents. He was 5 feet 11 tall [71 inches] and weighed 184 pounds.

Earl Jones enlisted ten days later on 30 Oct 1942 at the age of 35 in Los Angeles, as a private. The terms of his enlistment were the same as his brother. His enlistment record showed that he had 4 years of high school and his “Civil Occupation” was “Semiskilled machine shop and related occupations”. His Marital Status was that he was separated, with dependents. His height was given as 6 feet 1 inch tall [73 inches] and he weighed 170 pounds. The units these brothers served in has not been researched.

In 1942 the first record of Fred Jones is found since 1921 when he lived in Sioux City. The 21 years in between is somewhat of a mystery. The government had men born between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1898 register for the draft during World War II. As that Fred was born 16 May 1877 he was required to register and a registration card for him stated that he was living in Kings Valley, Benton, Oregon. He gave his age as 64 and born 16 May 1877 in Knoxville, Marion, Iowa. He gave as the person who would always know his address, his son Earl D Jones. He gave his son’s address as 1061 Gaviata, Long Beach, California. This showed that he was in some contact with his family.

 He stated that he was employed by the Moser Brothers Lumber Company of Hoskins, Oregon, and the place of business as Kings Valley. His registration card said he was 6 foot 1 inch and weighed 185 pounds. He had gray eyes and gray hair but had no other physical features to distinguish him.

Hoskins was a lumber and sawmill town nestled in a hollow at the edge of the Oregon Coast Range where the mountains merge with the flood plain of the Willamette River. It is mostly a ghost town now with a few relics from the 1880s and a number of abandoned homes and cabins in the area. There’s no evidence of streets or how the town was laid out. As described by a former resident: “The place seems to be a thing of the past.”

At the end of the war Lloyd Lewis Jones returned to Long Beach and remarried. The 1945 directory showed him living at 643 Walnut Street with his wife “Elizabeth D”. Lloyd’s home had been his mother’s residence in 1940. The 1945 directory had “Mrs. Emma Jones” living at 32 Mermaid Place. Lloyd gave his occupation was “shipyard worker.” His 2nd wife DeRondes “Dee” Elizabeth Huffman was born 26 August 1901 in Arkansas City, Arkansas probably married Lloyd after he left the service. She was a divorced woman and her first husband was Ishmael Worth "Rusty" Rust was a bartender in 1940. Dee and her first husband moved to California during the Great Depression and were the parents of three children who became Lloyd’s step children. When Lloyd and DeRondes married, her three children were ages 20, 16, and 13. She died in 1975 leaving Lloyd a widower again.

The 1952 Directory of Long Beach revealed that Emma and her sons Lloyd and Earl were all living in the same residence at 1212 St. Louis which has since been torn down to make room for apartments. Lloyd was still married to DeRondes and worked as a sheet metal worker in the United States Navy’s shipyards. Earl D. Jones was an oil Worker and “Mrs. Emma S Jones” had no occupation given that at 70 years old she was retired.

On 11 October 1952 at the age of 75, Fred Jones was admitted to the Oregon State Hospital, a residential facility in Salem, Oregon for the treatment of people with mental illness. His mental illness may have been brought on by dementia due to his age or even alcoholism. With no family to care for him, Fred Jones was a patient at the institution for almost 3 years before dying there of pneumonia and arteriosclerosis on 8 August 1955 at the age of 78.

Fred Jones’s cremated remains were never taken by family members after his death and are still available at the Oregon State Hospital to be claimed by anyone who is related to him. More information about unclaimed cremains is available at from the Oregon government web page.

The year Fred Newton Jones died his son Lloyd and his wife DeRondes was living at 1444 Coronado Street and he was listed as a “military smith” [metal worker] in the Long Beach Naval shipyards. Earl was living at 2735 Eucalyptus Avenue and working for the Oil Shell Company. Three years later on Valentines Day 1958 Earl D Jones was married for the 2nd time a widow named Lavonia Groom Miller.

Emma Jones continued to live in Long Beach and in the 1959 directory she is listed as “Jones, Emma S widow Fred N”. This time she was actually a widow whether she knew it or not. She was living at 41 Ximeno Avenue in Long Beach. This was a townhouse and about 5 dwellings from Ocean Boulevard in the Belmont section of Long Beach and within walking distance of the beachfront.

Emma Jones is not listed in the 1960 Long Beach Directory and may have been living with one of her sons. Lloyd Jones and “Dee” his wife were residents of 812 East Street 4th Avenue Apartment 3. His employer was the United States Navy’s navy shipyards. Don A Jones is living at East Ocean Boulevard apartment 4 and Earl D Jones and his wife Lavonia at residents of 2701 Eucalyptus and is employed by the Shell Oil Company.

Emma Selena Samuelson Jones died 17 April 1962 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California. Her death index record gave 29 July 1879 as her birthday instead of 30 July 1881. She was 80 years old at the time of her death nearly 5,500 miles from her birthplace. She may have been cremated as there is no burial recorded for her in Find A Grave nor that of her three sons who also were probably cremated.

FRED NEWTON JONES son of Silas William Jones and Mary Josephine Cronkhite

Born 16 May 1877, Knoxville Township, Marion, Iowa

Died 8 August 1955 Salem, Benton, Iowa age

Married circa 1900 perhaps Minnesota

EMMA SELINA SAMUELSON daughter of Jonas Martin Samuelson and Kristina Jonsdotter

Born 30 July 1881 Torp, Vasternorrland, Sweden

Died 17 APR. 1962 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

Children

1) Lloyd Lewis Jones

Birth 4 January 1902 • Dallas, Marion, Iowa, United States

Death 28 February 1981 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

Married twice 1st 30 Jan 1929 Grant County, Washington and circa 1945 Long Beach California

Lucy Leona Hull

• Born 1906 • Washington,

• Died 24 May 1932 • Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington

DeRondes Elizabeth Huffman

• Born 26 August 1901 • Arkansas City, Arkansas, Arkansas, United States

• Died 8 Aug 1975 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

No children

2) Donald Augustus Jones

Born 9 August 1903 • Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota, USA

Died 18 March 1970 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

Married 3 June 1924 Union County, South Dakota

Daisy Mae Bishop daughter of Jesse Bishop and Jennie Bowman

• Born 1905 • Souix City, Woodbury Iowa

• Died May 1940 • Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa,

Donald A Jones had but one son Kenneth Delbert Jones [1924–1980] who grew up not knowing his father’s family. He is the only known grandchild of Fred Newton Jones and Emma Selina Samuelsson

3) Earl David Jones

Born 14 June 1907 • Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota, USA

Died 12 March 1964 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

Married circa 1935 Long Beach California

Mary last name unknown

Married 14 February 1958 Long Beach California

Mrs. Lovinia Groom Miller

• Born 16 DEC 1902 • Nobles, Worthington, Minnesota, USA

• Died 23 AUG 1971 • Long Beach, Los Angeles, California

Information regarding Earl Jones’ first wife if from a Long Beach Directory. His enlisted papers stated that in 1942 he was “Separated, with dependents”. Whether this meant he had children by Mary or had step children or even whether Mary was the dependant is unknown. He did divorce her by the time he left the service and married a 55 year old widow named Lovinia Miller the wife of Orion Miller and daughter of Harry Groom and Myra Bartlett. She as Earl’s widow had she married once more but was soon divorced from him. She was buried beside her first husband in Arkansas City, Cowley County, Kansas.