O is for Olivia Jones Johnston

I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2016), where we write 26 blog posts featuring each letter of the alphabet.

O is for Olivia Jones Johnston

When I discovered that my second great grandfather, Reuben Mack Johnston had married Olivia Jane Jones, I had about cried.  Johnston was hard enough to research but now I had a Jones. Would I ever find her parents?

Question: Who were the parents of Olivia Jones Johnston?

R.M. Johnston married Miss Olivia Jones on 23 Dec 1879 in Erath County, Texas.[1]

1879 Marriage R.M. Johnston to Olivia J. Jones

What I learned about Olivia and her family came from an article in the Comanche Chief about her son, O.D. Johnston, nicknamed “Pig.” [2] He was interviewed by the newspaper when he was 81 years old and the paper printed photographs of the family.

Reuben & Olivia

Olivia Jane Jones was Reuben’s second wife, his first wife dying between 1877 and 1879.  She helped raise the three daughters, and she and Reuben had thirteen of their own. My great grandfather, Thomas Johnston was their fourth child.

But finding Olivia’s parents was not easy and I’m still not sure I have them. Olivia and Reuben were living in Comanche County in 1880 and their neighbors included his brother Marion J. Johnston; Henry Wright; George Knox, whose household included Amanda A. Jones (his mother-in-law), Laura C Jones (his sister-in-law) and Mattie M Jones (sister-in-law); and Thomas W. Jones.[3]

1880 U.S. census, Comanche Co., Texas: for Jones, Wright, Knox, & Johnston families

Analyzing the birthplaces, Amanda was born in Mississippi and her parents in Virginia and Mississippi. Looking at the Jones members in the George Knox household, the two sister-in-laws were also born in Mississippi with parents born in Virginia and Mississippi, as well as George’s wife, Bettie.  Thomas W. Jones’ birthplace was the same, as was Henry Wright’s wife, Mary F. These families were likely kin.

So a possible family:

Amanda A. Jones, b. 1827, MS, age 53 in 1880

Mary F. Jones Wright, b. 1847, MS, age 33 in 1880

Thomas W. Jones, b. 1850, MS, age 30 in 1880

Bettie E. Jones Knox, b. 1856, MS, age 24 in 1880

Olivia J. Jones Johnston, b. 1859, MS, age 21 in 1880

Laura C. Jones, b. 1863, MS, age 17 in 1880

Mattie M. Jones, b. 1864, MS, age 14 in 1880

So if this is the hypothesis of the Jones family, then search for them in the 1870 census. A possible family was found in Hays County, Texas.[4]

             Jones, Amanda, 43, F, W, keeping house, $200 personal, MS;

           Walter A, 21, M, W, farm laborer, MS;

           Thomas W, 19, M, W, farm laborer, MS;

           Bettie E 13, F, W, at home, MS; 

           Oliva J,  11, F, W, at home, MS;

           Columbus 9, M, W, MS; 

           Laura C, 7, F, W, MS;

           Ellen S, 7, F, W, MS;

           Mattie M, 5, F, W, MS.  at bottom a note that Laura C and Ellen S were twins.

Comparing this census to the 1880:

1870	1880
Amanda Jones, 43, MS	Amanda A. Jones, age 53
Walter A, 21, M, W, farm laborer, MS;
Thomas W, 19, M, W, farm laborer, MS;	Thomas W. Jones, age 30
Bettie E, 13, F, W, at home, MS	Bettie E. Jones, age 24
Olivia J,  11, F, W, at home, MS;	Olivia J. Jones, age 21
Columbus 9, M, W, MS;
Laura C, 7, F, W, MS;	Laura C. Jones, age 17
Ellen S, 7, F, W, MS;
Mattie M, 5, F, W, MS	Mattie M. Jones, age 14

There is a good case that this is the same family. So let’s find them in 1860. Likely to be found in Mississippi where all of the children were born. A family was found in Rankin County, Mississippi.[5] This one is more difficult to analyze because everyone was listed with their initials only.

B.W. Jones, 38, male, farmer, VA, $2842, $8323;

AA Jones, 31, F, MS;

MF Jones, 13 F, MS; school

WA Jones, 11, male, MS; school

TW Jones, 9, male, MS;

EB Jones, 5, F, MS;

OJ Jones, 1, F, MS;

David T. Gillman, 20 male, dressier, MS.

Everyone except B.W. Jones was born in Mississippi and he was born in Virginia, which matches the census entries in 1880. Now create the chart with all three census records:

1860 Rankin Co, Mississippi	1870 Hays Co, Texas	1880 Comanche Co, Texas
B.W. Jones, 38, VA
A.A. Jones, 31, MS	Amanda Jones, 43, MS	Amanda A. Jones, age 53
M.F. Jones, 13, MS		Mary F. Jones Wright, age 33
W.A. Jones, 11, MS	Walter A, 21, MS;
T.W. Jones, 9, MS	Thomas W, 19, MS;	Thomas W. Jones, age 30
E.B. Jones, 5, MS	Bettie E, 13,  MS	Bettie E. Jones, age 24
O.J. Jones, 1, MS	Olivia J,  11, MS;	Olivia J. Jones, age 21
	Columbus 9, MS;
	Laura C, 7, MS;	Laura C. Jones, age 17
	Ellen S, 7, MS;
	Mattie M, 5, MS	Mattie M. Jones, age 14

The family was also found in the 1850 Rankin County census.[6]  Everyone was approximately ten years younger and Benj. W. Jones was listed as born in Virginia. It looked like a surname of Haley was written next to Amanda and then crossed out.

480/480

Jones, Benj W. 28, male, farmer, $300, VA.

Amanda Haley [crossed out], 25, F, Miss;

Mary, 4, F, Miss;

Walter, 2, male, Miss."

And next door was this family:

479/479

Thomas Haley, 61 NC

Elizabeth, 58, SC

Thomas, 27, physician, Miss

John, 17, student, Miss, school

This family was named Haley. Amanda’s age of 25 would fit right between brothers, Thomas and John.

Next I checked for the marriage for Amanda and Benjamin.  A marriage was found between B.W. Jones and Amanda Haley in Rankin County, Mississippi on 26 June 1845. I do not yet have this record, this is from an index, which points to FHL film 879737.

Now to look at the previous census (1840) to see if a female at the age of 15 was living in the household of Thomas Haley.  Thomas Hailey was found with a total of 22 members in his household.[7]

Name: Thomas Haley. Home in 1840 (City, County, State): Rankin, Mississippi
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49: 1
Slaves - Males - Under 10: 1
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23: 5
Slaves - Males - 36 thru 54: 1
Slaves - Females - Under 10: 6
Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23: 1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35: 1
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 12
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write: 2
Free White Persons - Under 20: 4
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 7
Total Slaves: 15
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 22

There was a female in the age bracket of 10-14, so this could have been Amanda.

Conclusion:

So my current thinking is this: Olivia J. Jones’ parents were Benjamin W. Jones and Amanda A. Haley, who was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Haley.

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[1] Comanche County, Texas Marriage Records, Comanche County Clerk, Marriage Bk B1 p 299, Johnston-Jones, 1879; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org).

[2] “Wagon Wheels Keep on Turnin’: O.D. (Pig) Johnston of Gustine,” Jewell Dukes Huddleston, Comanche Chief, 29 Nov 1979 & 6 Dec 1979.

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Comanche Co, Texas, ED 30, p 95a, fam 173, M. Reubin Johnston; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Apr 2016), citing National Archives and Records Administration, T9, roll 1297.

[4] 1870 U.S. census, Hays Co, Texas, Precinct No. 2, San Marcos P.O., p. 215, dwelling 40, family 23, Amanda Jones.digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: ), citing NARA M593, roll 1590.

[5] 1860 U.S. census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, Brandon, p 74, household 482, fam 501, BW Jones, digital images,   Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com: National Archives and Records Administration, M653, roll 590.

[6] 1850 U.S. census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, p 237b, household 480, fam 480, Benj W Jones, digital image,  Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives and Records Administration, M432, roll 380.

[7] 1840 U.S. census, Rankin Co, Mississippi, p 191, Thomas Haley, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration, M704.

Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.