The descendants of Rev. William Robinson Jones had a reunion Sept. 10 in Martinsburg.
Jones was born in 1790 in Georgia, and died in 1862 in rural Wellsville. His wife, Mary French (Whiteside) Jones, was born in Kentucky in 1800 and died in 1872 in rural Wellsville. All relatives in attendance were descendants of their first child, John Henry Jones, born in 1820 in Missouri, and Susan J. (McCormack) Jones, born about 1829 in Missouri and died between 1870-80 near Dallas, Texas.
The host, Melvin Jones, led the group through activities throughout the reunion. All veterans introduced themselves and their branch of service. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the oldest veteran, Albert Folta Jr., holding the flag. Melvin Jones gave out various prizes throughout the day by number drawings. Bernice (Zwiefel) Struttman and Gene contributed some of the prizes.
A bountiful carry-in lunch was enjoyed by all.
Each person stood up and introduced themselves, telling of their ancestor and their own families. Margaret (Prior) Boyer painted a large oil-on-canvas picture of Melvin Jones when he served in the U.S. Navy and presented it to him in appreciation of all the years he has hosted the family reunion.
Margaret Boyer started the reunion in 1991. In later years, due to health problems, she asked Melvin Jones to host the reunion. He accepted and has done a great job. This year, she regretfully resigned from duties and nominated Melvin's sister, Dorothy (Jones) Wasson, to take over the announcements to newspapers and to relatives of when/where the reunions are held. The motion was seconded and carried, and she graciously accepted. Melvin Jones is in full control of the reunions, and he and his wife, Ruth, may be contacted for more information.
All who attended are from Missouri. They included Melvin and Ruth (Drainer) Jones, of Jefferson City; Margaret (Prior) Boyer, of Richland; Dorothy (Prior) Whitehead, Joe and Patty (Whitehead), Hannah Jones, of Mexico, and Jackson Olebeare, of Vandalia; Teresa (Horton) Wenzel, of Vandalia; Tom and Norma (Ward) Korman, of Gasconade; Pat and Diane (Korman) Zumwalt, of Montgomery City; Harold Thurman and Danny Thurman, of New Florence; Albert Jr. and Irene (Prior) Folta, of Wellsville; Delores "Babe" Aston and companion George McCune, Pamela Aston, Rose Corder, Bill Corder, of Warrenton; Gene and Bernice (Zwiefel) Struttman, of Louisiana; Larry and Barbara (Weischmeyer) Jones and Faye (Horton) Stone, of Fulton; Jim and Barbara (Higginbotham) Jones, of Laddonia; and John K. Stufflebean Jr., of Mexico, was a guest descended from a Harrell lineage. Some of the Jones family line are descended from James William and Martha L. (Harrell) Jones. The Harrell lineage so far doesn't seem to connect to John Stufflebean's lineage.
"It was so good to visit with those we hadn't seen for awhile. Thanks to all who attend our reunion to honor our ancestors," Margaret Prior Boyer said.
The next reunion will be Sept. 9, 2017 in Martinsburg, and all descendants of this line of Jones are welcome, as are their guests.