John Pride Jones was born on February 27, 1828, in North Carolina to Tignal and Amelia Jones. His father was a county magistrate. The family lived in Wake County, North Carolina, and by 1850, they owned $1,250 of real estate. His father died on March 31, 1850, and the family moved to Texas by the mid-1850s. He reportedly “merchandised at Webberville [Texas]” from 1859 until 1860, and by 1860, he was living in Bastrop County, Texas. He married Angelina Clanton on July 16, 1861, and their son John was born around 1866. His wife died in February 1867, and he married Talitha Redding on December 10, 1868. They had at least four children, including Tignal and Vinkler. He worked as a merchant in Bastrop County, and by 1870, he owned $300 of personal property. He became a prominent member of local society. He was elected sheriff around 1866, and he received an appointment as postmaster of Smithville, Texas, in 1876. He died in Smithville on January 3, 1879.

SOURCES