Siskiyou
County
Biographies
WALTER D. JONES
Walter
D. Jones, who is managing a well improved ranch of fourteen hundred acres, well
situated in the Quartz valley, near Ft. Jones, is a member of one of the old
families of this locality and has done his full share in the development of
this section of the state. He was born
in the valley, on the 8th of May, 1877, a son of David W. and Susie
E. (Howard) Jones. The father was a
native of Vermont, where he was reared to young manhood, and in 1864 he crossed
the plains by ox team to California, settling in Quartz valley, where he
followed agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, which occurred in
1918. The mother who was born in
Illinois on the 25th of November, 1852, was brought across the
plains when six months of age by her parents, Asa and Eliza (Fink) Howard. They went first to Portland, Oregon, thence
to Sacramento, California, where they remained a short time, and in 1854 came
to Weed, locating on the ranch now owned by Abner and Horace Weed, of
Dunsmuir. Their home was but a short
distance from the present home of Walter D. Jones, in the Quartz valley. After occupying the ranch for a few years, they
purchased it and it has since remained in the family, being now operated by
Walter D. Jones. The family made all of
the improvements on the ranch, which, under their judicious management, has
become one of the best farms in the locality.
Mrs. Susie E. Jones, who is now about seventy-eight years of age, lives
but a few yards from her son’s home, and thus they are in constant touch with
each other. She and her son Walter were
made executors of the estate. Mr. and
Mrs. Jones became the parents of six children, as follows: Lydia, who died at the age of thirteen years;
Walter D.; Edna, the wife of Frank Burton, a rancher in the Quartz valley;
Alva, who was employed in oil operations, and died about thirty years ago; Gladys,
who is the wife of Robert Burton, a miner in Quartz valley; and Lucy, the wife
of Orland Walker, cashier of the Scott Valley Bank, of Ft. Jones.
Walter
D. Jones was reared at home and acquired his education in the grade schools and
in a business college in Medford, Oregon.
For about six months after finishing his studies he was identified with
business affairs in that city, and then returned to the ranch in Quartz valley
and he and his father engaged in the stock business, shipping to local
markets. Of the estate consisting of
fourteen hundred acres of land, seven hundred acres are under cultivation. Mr. Jones owns water rights from the creek
and has been very successful as a farmer, raising bountiful crops and
maintaining the land in good condition.
He keeps Holstein and Durham cattle and buys bulls frequently to keep
the herds pure. He is running a large number
of cattle and has been very successful in this business. He was formerly engaged in dairy farming,
having from fifteen to twenty milk cows, but now leased out that branch of the
business. The cream is sold to the Yreka
Creamery, which picks up the milk cans at the gate.
In
1899, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Delma
Smith, who was born in Nebraska and is a daughter of John Smith, a veteran of
the Civil war, who died in Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of three children,
namely: Bernice, the widow of Burton Meamber, who died in 1930; Beatrice, who is in the employ
of the American Automobile Association at Yreka; and Marion, who is in
school. Politically Mr. Jones is a
republican and has always shown a deep interest in public affairs, though not
aspiring to office. He has devoted his
attention closely to his home interests, is an excellent manager, an
industrious worker and a man of splendid personal qualities, and is held in
high regard throughout the valley.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 Pages 190-191. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Siskiyou County Biographies