urn:taro:utexas.cah.01215 A Guide to the John Rice Jones, Jr. Papers, 1835-1887, 1931 Original EAD encoding by Amy Armstrong according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. January 2009 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Jones, John Rice, Jr., 1792-1845 John Rice Jones, Jr. Papers, 1835-1887, 1931 Materials are written in English. AR 62-35 6 inches Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin John Rice Jones, Jr., (1792-1845), son of John Rice and Mary (Barger) Jones, was born in Vincennes, Indiana, on January 8, 1792. Jones, Jr., served in the War of 1812 under Gen. Henry Dodge and held several civil positions before he moved to Texas in 1831, the first of three brothers to immigrate to the future republic. On December 11, 1835, the General Council elected him postmaster general. John Rice Jones III, (ca. 1815-1850), the son of John Rice Jones, Jr., was born about 1815, possibly in Missouri. He moved to Texas with his father in 1831 and lived with his family at Fairland Farm in Fayette County and at Spanish Camp in Wharton County. Papers include personal and business correspondence, postal records documenting postal accounts and routes, and other legal documents of John Rice Jones, Jr. and his son, John Rice Jones III. Biographical Note

John Rice Jones, Jr., (1792-1845), son of John Rice and Mary (Barger) Jones, was born in Vincennes, Indiana, on January 8, 1792. He and Stephen F. Austin were boyhood friends in Missouri, where their fathers were partners in a lead-mining operation. When the partnership was dissolved, the Jones family moved to St. Louis. Jones, Jr., served in the War of 1812 under Gen. Henry Dodge and held several civil positions before he moved to Texas in 1831, the first of three brothers to immigrate to the future republic. He received a grant of a league of land on Cummins Creek, now in eastern Fayette County, where he established a plantation known variously as Fairland or Fairyland Farm. He lived for a time at San Felipe and in October 1835 joined the Texas army. On December 11, 1835, the General Council elected him postmaster general. He held the position until December 22, 1836, when Robert Barr succeeded him. Jones was reappointed postmaster general by Mirabeau B. Lamar on December 14, 1839, and served throughout Lamar's term. Jones was first married to Ruth Mary Hawkins. After her death on September 5, 1837, he married Sarah Fidelia Heard. He died in 1845 at his home on Cummins Creek and is buried in the family cemetery.

John Rice Jones III, (ca. 1815-1850), the son of John Rice Jones, Jr., was born about 1815, possibly in Missouri. He moved to Texas with his father in 1831 and lived with his family at Fairland Farm in Fayette County and at Spanish Camp in Wharton County. On April 25, 1843, with his uncle, M. F. Jones, he left Georgetown as a member of the Snively expedition. When the expedition was captured by a detachment of the United States Army on the Arkansas River, John Rice Jones III, with some other members of the party, returned to Texas via St. Louis, where he arrived about September 20, 1843. He was a clerk in the General Land Office at the time of his death on August 21, 1850.

Sources: Jones, John Rice, Jr. and Jones, John Rice III, Handbook of Texas Online.

 Scope and Contents

Papers include personal and business correspondence, postal records documenting postal accounts and routes, and other legal documents of John Rice Jones, Jr. and his son, John Rice Jones III. One tintype photograph of [A?] Jones is also contained in the papers. In addition, there are three historical journals containing articles about members of the Jones Family.

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Unrestricted access.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Jones, John Rice, Jr., 1792-1845—Archives. Jones, John Rice III, circa 1815-1850—Archives. Subjects Frontier and pioneer life. Postal service—Texas—History. Texas—History—19th century. Texas—History—Republic, 1836-1846. Places Texas. Preferred Citation

John Rice Jones, Jr. Papers, 1835-1887, 1931, the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Related Material

See also Jones (George Wallace) Papers, circa 1787-1840, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2N262 Letters: 2N262 1836-1840 2N262 1840-1845 2N262 1847 2N262 1848 2N262 1849 2N262 1850 2N262 Photographs, undated 2N262 Assorted Typescripts, letters, legal documents, 1835-1850 2N262 Postal Records, 1835-1840 2N262 Journals (containing biographical articles about the Jones family), 1887, 1931 2N262 Bound volume: "Letters of John Rice Jones, 1836-1843, and John Rice Jones II, 1843-1850," typed transcripts