William Troy Jones, a veteran of World War I

William Troy Jones

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “military.”

William “Troy” Jones, son of Henry Clayborn Jones Jr. and Martha B. McCarthy, was born on July 11, 1891 near Monroe in Walton County, Georgia. Troy was the third child of six—Henry Allen Jones, James Marshall Jones, William Troy Jones, Pearl Elizabeth Jones, Charles Wesley Jones, and Mary Etta Jones. He was my 1st cousin 2x removed with our nearest common relatives being Henry Clayborn Jones Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Tuck, “former prominent and highly respected Walton county citizens.”

On June 21, 1900, Troy lived with his family in the Vinegar Hill District of Walton County. His father was a farmer with sons Henry and James helping on the farm. Troy’s mother had five children, all of which were living.

On April 15, 1910, Troy and his family continued to live in the Vinegar Hill District of Walton County, in the town of Between. Troy’s father, a general farmer, owned the family farm free and clear. Troy, Pearl, and Charles were living at home. Troy’s brother Henry Allen (enumerated as Allen H. Jones) lived next door. At age 18, Troy was working on the home farm, along with his brother Charles. Everyone in the house could read and write. His sister Mary was not living with the family. His parents had been married for 27 years.

Troy served as a private in the U.S. Army during World War I. He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 at the age of 25. He lived in Monroe and worked for H. A. Jones as a laborer on a farm nearby. Henry Allen Jones was the registrar that day. I assume both were the same person—his brother. Troy was tall and of medium build. He had blue eyes and light hair. Troy was inducted at Monroe on July 16, 1918. His birth year was recorded as 1892 instead of 1891. The Army sent him to Medical Officers’ Training Camp at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia at Fort Oglethorpe, Chickamauga Park, Georgia. It appears that he stayed there until August 1, 1918 and was then sent to Medical Detachment at Camp McClellan near Anniston, Alabama until October 29, 1918. From there he served in the depot brigade until he was discharged on January 3, 1919. Troy, a private, never served overseas.

Dora, Troy, and son William

On January 2, 1920, Troy, now age 28, still lived at home on the Federal Highway in the Lindleys District of Walton County. Troy and Charles were both helping their father with the farm. Sisters Pearl and Mary, were not working so were most likely helping their mother with the household chores. The year 1921 was full of sorrow for the Jones family. Troy’s father died at home of acute indigestion contributed by gall stones on February 9 and his sister Pearl died on August 30 of pellagra and appendicitis at the age of 26. Both were buried at New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery in Between.

On April 5, 1930, Troy, his widowed mother, brother Charles, and sister Mary lived on State Highway No. 10 in Between. He and his mother were farmers on a general farm, assisted by Charles and Mary. Troy had a sixth-grade education while everyone else made it through the seventh grade.

By April 2, 1940 when the census enumerator came around again, not much had changed—Troy, Charles, and Mary were still living on the farm with their mother. Troy, now 45 years old, was still single, as was Charles and Mary. Troy was the primary worker on the farm having worked 48 weeks prior to the census being taken. His brother Charles had only worked for 20 weeks.

Troy, Dora holding Barbara, and William

Troy married Dora E. Palmer, daughter of Andrew Jackson Palmer and Lula Carter, in Monroe on April 27, 1946. Together they had two children, William Randolph Jones and Barbara Ann Jones.

On September 3, 1946, his brother Henry died in Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia and was buried at Hardeman Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Decatur. Troy’s mother died in Loganville, Walton County on July 6, 1948. She was buried at New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery in Between. Years would pass before the Jones family suffered another death in the family and then they lost three members in three years. The first to pass away was Troy’s brother Charles in Loganville on May 15, 1972. Troy’s sister Mary died in Gwinnett County, Georgia on May 14, 1973. Charles and Mary were both buried at New Hope Methodist Church in Between with their parents. And then Troy himself died in Gwinnett County on January 2, 1974 at the age of 83. His funeral was held two days later on January 4 at New Hope Methodist Church with Revs. Lockridge and Lancaster officiating. Troy was buried in the church cemetery where many other Jones family members rest in eternity. He was survived by his wife Dora (who lived to be 93 years old), his son William, and daughter Barbara.

Dora and Troy Jones

References

• Georgia Deaths, 1919–98.
• Miss Martha J. Jones Buried on Wednesday, “Walton Tribune,” January 19, 1934.
• Personal visit to New Hope Methodist Church, Between, Walton County, Georgia.
• Standard Certificate of Death 24245, Pearl Jones, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
• Standard Certificate of Death 5161, H. C. Jones, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
• U.S. Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History, chapter II: Medical Officers’ Training Camps; https://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwi/VolVII/ch02part1.html.
• U.S. Federal Census, Between, Walton County, Georgia, 1930, 1940.
• U.S. Federal Census, Lindleys District, Walton, Georgia, 1920.
• U.S. Federal Census, Vinegar Hill, Walton, Georgia, 1900, 1910.
• William T. Jones, Georgia, World War I Service Cards, 1917–1919.
• William Troy Jones funeral notice, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, January 4, 1974.
• William Troy Jones military marker, New Hope Methodist Church, Between, Walton County, Georgia.
• William Troy Jones, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918.

Henry Clayborn Jones Jr.

Henry Clayborn Jones Jr.

Henry Clayborn Jones Jr., son of Henry Clayborn Jones Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Tuck, was born in Georgia, most likely Walton County, on February 19, 1855. He was the oldest child of 11—Henry Clayborn Jones Jr., Martha Jane Jones, Elizabeth A. Jones, Bartow Jones, Midda A. Jones, Susanna A. Jones, James William Jones, Scion Jones, Elizabeth Jones, Mary Jones, and an unknown child. Henry’s sister, Elizabeth Jones, was my great-grandmother so that makes him my great grand uncle.

On June 17, 1860, five-year-old Henry lived with his family in Monroe, the Northern Division of Walton County, Georgia. Henry’s father was a farmer with a personal estate valued at $110. They lived next door to his uncle Abraham Benjamin Jones and his family—wife Sarah, daughters Sarah E. and Martha, and son James D. Jones. His paternal grandparents lived two doors away. Before Henry’s sixth birthday, the Civil War began on April 12, 1861. It wasn’t long before his father enlisted as a private in Company C of the Georgia 9th Infantry Regiment on June 13, 1861 and left home for the war. His father took a gunshot in his left shoulder blade during the battle of The Wilderness in Virginia on May 6, 1864. He would muster out at Appomattox Court House in Virginia April 8, 1865. Pension records show that the bullet was never removed, rendering his shoulder and arm useless. I wonder how this affected his work on the farm after he returned home. Did little Henry and his siblings have to help their father with the crops? Henry’s father was barely home from Virginia when his grandfather, Henry P. Jones, died on June 13, 1865. Or perhaps he hadn’t made it home yet. And then a year later, the family suffered another loss when Henry’s grandmother, Sarah Lightfoot Vickers Jones died on June 8, 1866. Both of his grandparents were buried at what would become the Jones Family Cemetery in Between, Walton County, Georgia.

On July 22, 1870, Henry lived with his family in Monroe, the Lindley’s District of Walton County, Georgia. His father was a farmer with an estate valued at $200. At age 14, Henry was working on the farm and was unable to read or write. A 35-year-old female named A. Jones lived alone next door, keeping house. I have yet to figure out who she was but assume she’s a relative with Jones as her last name.

I can’t find Henry in the 1880 census. He wasn’t living with the rest of the family in the Lindley’s district of Walton County. He was still single at this point so could have been living alone somewhere or working and living on someone else’s farm. I would still expect to find him enumerated somewhere but so far, no luck. He apparently stayed in Walton County though because that’s where he married Martha B. McCarty, daughter of Allen McCarty and Elizabeth Janes Camp, on January 7, 1883. Together Henry and Martha had seven children—Henry Allen Jones, James Marshall Jones, William Troy Jones, Pearl Elizabeth Jones, Charles Wesley Jones, Mary Etta Jones, and one unknown child.

The photo above was taken from this photo of Henry
and his wife Martha

Henry and Martha were married in Walton County, Georgia in 1883

On June 21, 1900, Henry and his family lived in the Vinegar Hill District of Walton County which I believe is Between. Henry and Martha had been married for 17 years. Martha was the mother of five children, all of which were living and in the home. Henry was a farmer, able to read and write. His sons Henry Allen Jones and William Troy Jones were farm laborers.

About 1908, Henry and his family attended the Henry Jones family reunion in Walton County. He is number 6 in the family reunion photo taken that day.

Henry is number 6. My grandma, Floria Mae Burnette, is number 17.

Henry, his parents, and siblings

As the decade came to a close, Henry lost his father when he died in Walton County on January 7, 1909. They buried him beside his parents in the Jones family cemetery in Between.

The year 1910 started off with sadness when Henry’s mother died in Walton County on January 21. She was buried beside his father in the Jones family cemetery in Between. On April 15, 1910, Henry and his family lived in Between. He and Martha had been married for 27 years. This is the record where I discovered the unknown child. The census enumerator recorded Martha as having had six children, five of which were living. She would have another daughter, Mary Etta, in 1901. Henry was a farmer on a general farm. Three children were living in the home—Troy, Pearl, and Charlie. Son Henry Allen Jones lived next door with his two daughters, Eula and Clara. The census record shows he’s married, but his wife isn’t living in the home. There was a William J. Jones family living next door to Henry Allen Jones. They could be family but I haven’t connected them yet.

On January 2, 1920, Henry and his family lived on Federal Highway in Between. At the age of 64, Henry owned his own farm. Four adult children were still in the home—Troy, Pearl, Charley, and Mary. Like their father, the boys were enumerated as farmers on a general farm so I assume they were working the family farm. Henry’s son, Henry Allen Jones, lived next door with his family—wife Lena, daughters Clara Belle and Louise, and son Ralph. A year and a month after the census enumerator visited, Henry died at home in Between on February 9, 1921 of acute indigestion, contributed by gall stones. Henry, a member of New Hope Methodist Church in Between, was buried in the church cemetery.

52 Ancestors – Willie Marion George (week 47 – 2015)

Willie Marion George

Willie Marion George, daughter of James England George and Gussie Annette McCarty, was born May 21, 1899 in Georgia, most likely Greene County. She was the oldest child of six—Willie Marion George, Raleigh M. George, Mary Lou George, James Otis George, Gussie O. George, and Guy Walton George. She went by Marion.

On June 12, 1900, Marion and her family lived in the Branch District of Greene County with her widowed grandfather William Harris McCarty. The census enumerator recorded her as William’s grandson, William M. George, although he put an “F” in the “Sex” column.

On April 15, 1910, the family lived on Main Street in Penfield, Greene County, Georgia. Marion’s grandfather William and her uncle Hayden George lived in the home with them. Marion’s mother gave birth to a daughter, Gussie O. George, on May 12, 1910 in Greene County. Baby Gussie died on July 31, 1910 and was buried at Penfield Cemetery in Penfield. On September 19 that same year, Hayden married Lillie Della Lankford, sister to my great-grandmother Alice Beman Lankford.

Willie Marion George,
William Harris McCarthy,
and Mary Lou George
Penfield, Georgia
1910

On January 19, 1920, Marion and her family lived on Bowling Green Road in Stephens, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. She was enumerated as Willie M. George. Although Marion was 21 years old at the time, she was not working. Her father was an operator in an auto garage. Marion’s grandfather William McCarty, now 77 years old, was still living in the home with the family.

By April 25, 1930, Marion and her family had moved back to Penfield. Marion was 27 years old and not working. Three siblings were still in the home—Mary Lou, James, and Guy. Her father supported the family as a farmer with the help of James, a laborer on a farm.

Still at home at the age of 40, Marion and her family lived at Penfield and Woodville Roads in Penfield on April 13, 1940. The enumerator didn’t list an occupation for Marion. Her brother James and his wife Thelma lived in the home as well.

Marion’s father died in Greene County on August 18, 1960. Her mother died in Penfield on January 20, 1967. Both were buried at Penfield Cemetery in Penfield.


About 1972, Marion married John Wesley Herrington from Greshamville, Greene County, Georgia. She was 73 years old and this was her first marriage. I’ve been told John had been married several times before Marion but I only find a record for one wife—Willie Bea Strickland, who died in 1963. Willie must have been a common name for a woman in the late 1890’s as I see that both women had that as their first name. John died in Greene County on February 19, 1981 and was buried at Greshamville Cemetery in Greshamville with his previous wife Willie.

Marion died in Penfield on February 16, 1982. She was buried at Penfield Cemetery along with other family members. Her tombstone reads Willie Marion George and does not list her married name.

The group photo was taken on the steps of Penfield Baptist (old Mercer) Church. The third woman in the second row (center) is Marion George. Her mother Gussie is in the back row just above the left side of Marion's hat brim.