Military Monday - Draft Cards for Edgar Jones

Before locating my great-grandfather, Edgar Jones, in the 1940 Census, I found him in the World War I and World War II Draft Cards. These were helpful records and can be found on Ancestry.com.

World War I Draft Card

This card shows Edgar Lawrence Jones was born on 15 March 1896 in Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana. He was a farmer at this time in June 1917, recently married on 3 September 1916 to Alma Maude Oyler, daughter of Charles John Oyler and Agnes Lydia Allman.

World War II Draft Card

This is a great card as well. It shows Edgar and family had left Boone County and relocated to Indianapolis. The address, 102 North Kealing Avenue, is located on the near east side of Indianapolis.

The personal details are nice here: height, weight, eye color, complexion and clear signature.

Recapping the Jones Line

One of the consequences of writing the family history out of order is occasionally overlooking individuals and their stories. It is helpful to see who has already been covered and which stories may be missing.

My Jones line was in the East Tennessee area before it became a state, possibly as early as the late 1780s and certainly by the early to middle 1790s. I previously covered Thomas Jones as a founding member of Dumplin Creek Baptist Church in Dandridge, Tennessee. Based on what I currently know, here is the direct male line on my Jones side:

- Thomas Jones (born approximately 1760, died about 1836), 6xgreat-grandfather
- Thomas Jones (born in 1778, died 1857), 5xgreat-grandfather
- Robert Thomas Jones Sr (born 1808, died 22 July 1848), 4xgreat-grandfather
- Joseph Thomas Jones (born April 1837, died 21 January 1910), 3xgreat-grandfather
- Thomas Robert Jones (born 23 March 1860, died 1 November 1937), 2xgreat-grandfather
- Edgar Lawrence Jones (born 15 March 1896, died 12 February 1965), great-grandfather
- Keith D. Jones, my Gumpy, still hanging tough at 92
- Keith D. Jones (Dad)
- Patrick L. Jones (me)
- Silas Patrick Jones (my little guy)

The Jones family was in the Jefferson County, Tennessee area from the late 1780s/early 1790s until migrating to Boone County, Indiana between 1872-1879. My 3xgreat-grandfather Joseph Jones returned to Jefferson County sometime before 1897. He married second wife Martha Cordelia Hart on 1 December 1897 in Jefferson County.

Once in Indiana, the family lived primarily in Boone County, but also in neighboring Montgomery County. It bugs me a bit that I spent four years of college in Montgomery County without knowing the history of my family in that part of the state.

Source: stats.indiana.edu county & township map

Edgar Jones and family moved from Boone County to Indianapolis in the late 1930s, leaving behind the farm life of Thorntown.

In more recent decades, including moves made by my parents, our Jones family has lived in Morgan County and Johnson County, Indiana, El Paso and Houston, Texas, Northern and Southern California, Germany, and Northern Virginia. My family and I have lived in Alexandria twice, from 2001-2006, and currently since 2010.

Upcoming Stories
Now that I have recapped the Jones line, I can see I am missing stories on my 2nd-great-grandfather and great-grandfather, so this will be updated in July. I have some additional writings from my Gumpy's collection of short stories coming, along with photos of his artwork. I will continue to mix in photos from my travels.

Since these stories are not just for me, but a record for the kids and others in the family, I will soon begin to introduce some branches from my wife's side of the family.

Last Collegiate Race

The London Olympics are three weeks away. I can't wait to watch the events with our kids, particularly sports not typically shown such as swimming. In my day I wasn't anywhere near the caliber of Michael Phelps, or Michael Gross, "The Albatross". I was average for Division III at best, but swam the 200 Fly, 400 IM and various other events, all four years of college. The picture below is from my last race in college, at our rivals DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

Photo by Keith D Jones, February 1996

Friday Photo - Camping

This undated photo is from a fishing and camping trip that my Dad took with his parents, Keith D Jones and Blanche O'Brien Jones. This is probably around 1950.

Great Barbados Hurricane of 1831

In mid-June I wrote about an arrival record for the Brig Callao in Norfolk and Portsmouth, with John O'Brien listed as a seaman in March 1826. While I was in Europe at the end of June, a researcher at the Phillips Library in Searsport, Maine sent me copies of several newspaper articles from 1831 mentioning a hurricane that hit Aux Cayes, Haiti, sinking the Brig Callao. I do not know if John O'Brien was still part of the crew for the Callao at this time, but I do know that he ended his sailing career in 1831 and returned to America.

Apparently the hurricane that sunk the Callao was one of the strongest storms to hit Barbados. The storm struck Barbados on 10 August 1831 as a Category 4 hurricane, killing 1,500 people. The storm moved on to Puerto Rico, Haiti and Cuba before turning north into the Gulf. It struck Louisiana on 17 August 1831, flooding parts of New Orleans.

The first article comes from the Hagerstown (MD) Torch Light and Public Advertiser from 15 September 1831.

The second set of articles appeared in the Sandusky (Ohio) Clarion on 5 October 1831.

This article notes that the Captain, mate and two seamen of the Callao were saved at Aux Cayes. If John O'Brien was one of the two seamen on the Callao, the storm pushed him into retirement from sailing and into land ownership in Illinois. His obituary states in 1831 he was "tired of the sea".

I am looking for more records that may shed light on John O'Brien's sailing days in the early 1800s. These newspaper articles show the impact of the storm and the delay in the spread of news.