Thomas J. Jones Biography This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography, including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 874-877 Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm THOMAS J. JONES. Among the self made men of Aurora county who have achieved success in life through their own energy and well-directed efforts may be numbered the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He is a resident of Dudley township, where he owns a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres on section 23, and where he is engaged in general farming and stock raising, meeting with most excellent success in his chosen calling. Mr. Jones was born in Wales, in 1850, but when only two years old was brought to the New World by his parents, who settled in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where the father worked as a laborer for sixteen years and then engaged in farming. As our subject was only three years old when his mother died, he was reared by his uncle upon a farm and attended the country school of the neighborhood at intervals until eighteen. At the age of sixteen he started out to make his own way in the world by working as a farm hand by the month, and was thus employed for twenty years, during which time he saved from his wages all that he could. In 1879, Mr. Jones was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ellen Morris, who was born in this country, of Welsh parentage. At different times her father followed the occupations of shoemaking, carpentering and farming. Mr. and Mrs. Jones now have an interesting family of four children, namely: David John, Evan, Thomas Morgan and William. After his marriage, Mr. Jones operated a rented farm in Wisconsin for three years, and in 1883 came to Aurora county, South Dakota, where he took up the west half of section ,3, Dudley township, buying the relinquishment of these claims. He now has two hundred and fifty acres under a high state of cultivation, and ten acres planted in trees, while the remainder is pasture and meadow land. Upon his place he has erected a good house, barn and other buildings, so that it is now well improved, and in connection with its operation he runs a feed mill and corn sheller. He has made a specialty of stock raising, and now has fifty four head of hogs and cattle, and is becoming extensively engaged in sheep raising. He has plenty of good water upon his farm, derived from shallow wells. He is one of the most successful farmers in his part of the county, being a man of good sound judgment, and good business ability and a systematic and skillful agriculturist. In his political affiliations, he is a stanch Republican, and in his church relations he and his family are Evangelical Lutherans. In connection with this sketch will be found portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.