Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Jones, Hiram 
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Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com March 25, 2006, 7:36 pm

Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900

Hiram Jones, a veteran of the civil war and an intelligent and enterprising 
farmer of Greenfield township, Grundy county, was born in Somerset county, 
Maine, at the town of Athens, May 4, 1840, his parents being Thomas J. and 
Harriet (Small) Jones. The paternal grandparents were Samuel and Eleanor 
(Gray) Jones. The grandfather was a native of the Pine Tree state and served 
his country as a soldier during the war of 1812. By occupation he was a farmer 
and owned a valuable tract in Brighton, Maine. He was three times married, his 
first union being with Eleanor Gray. They had a son, Thomas J., and a daughter 
who lived to mature years. After the death of his first wife Mr. Jones was 
again married, and the children of the second union were Calvin, William and 
Eleanor. His third wife bore the maiden name of Olive Wiggins, and their 
children were Olive, Hannah, Orrin and Charles. The father died in Maine, 
after passing the ninetieth milestone on life's journey.

Thomas J. Jones, the father of our subject, was born in Somerset county, 
Maine, and became a farmer by occupation. In his native state he wedded 
Harriet Small, whose birth occurred in the Pine Tree state, and who was a 
daughter of Nathan and Susan (Corson) Small. Her father was a farmer by 
occupation, and, enlisting for service in the war of 1812, was stationed at 
Edgecomb, on the coast of Maine. Later he became a substantial farmer and 
respected citizen. He died on his farm in Somerset county, when more than 
eighty years of age. His children were: Alvin, Cushman, Nathan, Harrison, 
Franklin, Susan, Phoebe, Harriet and Lois. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Jones began their domestic life upon a farm in Somerset county, Maine, and for 
some years they lived near Athens, Somerset county, Maine, and there died aged 
about fifty-six years. His political support was given the Democracy, and he 
was a man whose sterling qualities gained him the respect and confidence of 
his fellow men. His children were: Freeman, Henry, Hiram, Frank, Jefferson, 
Mary, Ann and Paulina. Two of the sons, Henry and Hiram, were soldiers in the 
civil war. The former served for three years and was a corporal of Company G, 
Thirty-sixth Illinois Infantry. He participated in many battles, but escaped 
without injuries, and was honorably discharged at the close of his three-years 
term.

Hiram Jones, whose name introduces this review, was born May 4, 1840. He was 
also trained to habits of industry and economy on the home farm, and early 
became familiar with all the duties and labors of field and meadow. After the 
inauguration of the civil war, when it was found that the south was not easily 
quelled, he joined the Union army at Athens, Maine, when twenty-three years of 
age, enlisting on the 20th of July, 1863, as a private of Company E, 
Seventeenth Maine Infantry, under command of Captain Sawyer. With that 
regiment he served until honorably discharged at Augusta, Maine, July 10, 
1865, but on account of sickness was held until the 16th of October following. 
He served with the Army of the Potomac and participated in the battles of 
Locust Grove, Culpeper Court House, Bermuda, James River, North Ann River, 
Cold Harbor, the Wilderness, and the several engagements in front of 
Petersburg. This list includes some of the most hotly contested engagements of 
the war. On account of illness he was sent to City Point hospital, where he 
remained for about four weeks, being then sent to a hospital in Washington, 
where he continued for three weeks. For thirty days he remained at home on a 
furlough, and on the expiration of that time he received an extension of 
thirty days, continuing at home until discharged. He was always found at his 
post of duty and took part in all the campaigns, marches, battles and 
skirmishes of his regiment until illness prevented further duty. The hardships 
of war undermined his health, and he has never fully recovered.

Mr. Jones was married in Bingham, Maine, August 20, 1863, just before his 
enlistment, Miss Hannah Collins becoming his wife. She was born in Athens, 
Maine, October 28, 1839, and is a daughter of David and Abigail (Nichols) 
Collins. Her father belonged to an old New England family and was a son of 
Thomas and Nancy (Jewell) Collins, the former a native of New Hampshire. He 
served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. In the old Granite state 
he wedded Miss Jewell and they became the parents of six children, namely: 
Calvin, Johnson, Franklin, Phoebe, Lydia, and David. Thomas Collins was a 
farmer of Somerset county, Maine, where his father had located when the 
country was new and developed a farm in the midst of the forest. He died in 
the Pine Tree state when about sixty-three years of age. David Collins, the 
father of Mrs. Jones, was born in Somerset county, about 1812, and became a 
farmer and blacksmith. He married Abigail Nichols, whose birth occurred in 
Monmouth, Maine, in 1807. They then located on a farm in Athens, where they 
spent the remainder of their days. Their children were: Sarah, Hannah, 
Almatia, Phoebe and Darius. The father was a member of the Advent church and 
the mother of the Methodist church.

After his marriage Mr. Jones enlisted in the army, his wife remaining in 
Athens until his return. In December, 1867, they came to Illinois and rented 
land in the northern part of Highland township, Grundy county, for seven 
years, after which Mr. Jones purchased a tract of eighty acres in Greenfield 
township, in 1875. This was the nucleus of his present valuable property. As 
the result of his industry, economy and careful management he has year by year 
added to his possessions, and has now one of the valuable farms of the 
community. He owns two hundred acres of rich and arable land, upon which he 
has erected large and commodious farm buildings, his residence being a two-
story frame structure. The home of our subject and his wife has been blessed 
with six children: Leland E., a farmer of Grundy county, married Rose E. 
Bennett, and they have one child, Harley; Bertram P., an insurance agent of 
Kankakee, Illinois, married Minnie Petrow and they have two children, Eveline 
and Warner; Millie B. is the wife of William Lees, a farmer of Greenfield 
township, by whom she has one child, Alta; and Byron C., Luella M. and Annie 
E. are still at home.

In politics Mr. Jones is a stanch Republican, giving an invincible support to 
the principles of the party. The cause of education has always found in him a 
warm friend, and during fourteen years service as school director he has 
largely promoted the welfare and effectiveness of the schools through the 
employment of good teachers and has encouraged all progressive methods. He is 
a public-spirited man who gives a generous support to all measures which he 
believes will prove of public benefit. During the civil war he was a loyal and 
faithful soldier, has reared an excellent family and has worked his way upward 
to a place among the prosperous farmers of his neighborhood.

Additional Comments:
Source:  Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy County, 
Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, p695-697

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