James Franklin Jones1

Male, #47911, (28 Jun 1856 - 13 Mar 1930)

Birth*28 Jun 1856 He was born on 28 Jun 1856 at Taliaferro Co., Georgia.2 
Marriage*14 Mar 1891 He married Carolyn Louise Harris at Orlando, Orange Co., Florida, on 14 Mar 1891.1,2,3 
1900 Census*1 Jun 1900 James was listed as the head of a family on the 1900 Census at Orange Co., Florida.4 
1910 Census*15 Apr 1910 James was listed as the head of a family on the 1910 Census at Geneva, Seminole Co., Florida.5 
1920 Census*1 Jan 1920 James was listed as a boarder living with an unknown person 's household on the 1920 Census at Holly Hill, Volusia Co., Florida.6 
Death*13 Mar 1930 He died at Sanford, Seminole Co., Florida, on 13 Mar 1930.2 
Burial*15 Mar 1930 His body was interred on 15 Mar 1930 at Geneva Cemetery, Geneva, Seminole Co., Florida.2 
Biography* After James Franklin Jones' wife, Della E. Hines Jones, died after child birth, in November of 1890, he was very sad and lonely. He was living in his log cabin alone.
In 1890 James went to spend Christmas with Wesley Berry Culpepper, his daughter-in-law, Carolyn Louise Culpepper, and her son, Carroll Wesley. James discovered that Wesley Culpepper wanted to break up house keeping and move to Georgia to live with his other daughter, Emmie Rudisill, her husband, Will Rudisill and their two daughters.
As much as Carolyn loved all her family she wanted her own home. James Jones needed a wife to bless his life, so they decided to marry and live in Geneva, Florida.
James Franklin Jones and Carolyn Louise Harris Culpepper were married on March 14, 1891 in Orlando, Orange county, Florida. They were married by James W. Thompkins, Florida Conference, and witnessed by J.L.Bryon, county judge. This can be found in book 1 - 4/ 216. Linda Crompton has a copy of their marriage license from the state.
For awhile Carolyn, James, and Carroll Wesley Culpepper lived in a log cabin, but soon they bought four acres of land and built a large, two story, colonial home in Geneva, Florida.
In this house in 1893, William Jones was born, but died six months later. Four years later, on October 28, 1897, Della Jones was born in this same house. Della was named after James' first wife, Della Hines Jones. Then two years later, on June 6, 1900, a baby girl was still born. This colonial home burned down in 1911.
Della Jones remembers at the turn of the century (1900) there was a New Years Eve party at James and Carolyn's colonial home in Geneva, Florida. Before midnight everyone went out on the front porch and around it. Della was sitting on the swing on the front porch listening to the adults talking about the old century going out and the new one coming in.
They talked of the two bad freezes that came in 1895 and spring of 1896. They killed the orange trees back to the roots. A terrible disaster to those living on income from the orange groves. For a few years there was no money. Many had to even use fat, long light wood splinters that they would light and put in a can for lights. Their coffee was grated sweet potatoes, parched. and they practicely lived on biscuits and syrup, given to them by a neighbor. who grew cane. James and Carolyn helped work, chop, and grind the cane and make the syrup. They were paid in syrup.
They always had a good garden with corn, black eyed peas, and watermelon in season and occasionaly bunches of bananas from the banana trees. Black berries and blue berries more plentiful and in that way they got along till ornage crops were bearing again. There would be more work at that time. A days work was from sun rise to sun set and the wages were 50 cents to 75 cents a day.

"Early Life in Geneva", (c) 2005, article 'Orange Industry in Geneva', page 11:
The Chase and Company packinghouse, on the west side of the orange grove, was facing north on the Old Sanford Road and was near the Cochran pond. The packers slept upstairs and cooked outdoors ot took their meals with Mrs. Frank Jones, who then lived in a large Colonial type home on the site of the house which now stands at the junction of Osceola and old Sanford road. Carroll Culpepper was among the packers.
One of the packing houses that had the new roller type sizers in 1908 was the Huddleston at the old Rudisill grove near the turpentine still.

The first transportation Della Jones remembers them having was a little donkey named, "Jack" and a two wheeled cart.
All the roads in Geneva were sandy ones. Della was a big girl before the first clay road was made from Jones corner through Geneva and part way to Oviedo. These were later replaced by marl and still later a brick road from the river, through Geneva.
James and Carolyn later got a gray mare and a wagon and buggy. The mare bought them two mare colts named Dolly and Helen. These were traded for a big red horse and later James bought another red horse to make a double team.

"Early Life in Geneva", (c) 2005, article 'History of Telephone Service in Geneva', page 18:
In 1910, the telephone switchboard was moved to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jones (parents of Della Jones Starling. Mrs. Jones was Carolyn Louise Harris Culpepper Jones, mother of Carroll Wesley Culpepper, and grandmother of Khadra Culpepper Ward and Margaret Culpepper Wolcott - members or our Genealogical Society.) The Jones lived in the Culpepper home at the intersection of the old Sanford and Cook's Ferry Road. Their lovely old colonial home burned in 1911 and a new one was built on the site. (now owned by Sue Jones Norton and Dolly Jones House, nieces of Mr. Frank Jones.) Mrs. Jones died in 1916 and Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Wesley Culpepper (Kitty Wells Sieg-Allen) moved to the Jones home and operated the switchboard there until 1918 when the telephone office was moved to the Carroll Culpepper home on the Oviedo Road next to the Community Hall where it remained until 1941 when the dial system was installed in a small block building built by W. G. Kilbee (just south of the Culpepper home) and enlarged in 1959 to its present size, April 1964.
Besides the members of these mentioned families as operators of the switchboard at various times were the following operators: Della Jones Starling (Mrs. Ira. C.), Khadra Ann Mercer Sieg (Mrs. George Harrison), Khadra Culpepper Ward (Mrs. Ernest Marvin), and others.

James, Carolyn and Della Jones attended the wedding of their son Carroll Wesley Jones and Miss Kitty Wells Sieg on January 21, 1912, at the Sieg residence in Geneva, Florida.
Ella Mary Starling, his grand daughter, said she used to love to sit on the front porch of this house and comb her granpa, James Franklin Jones, beard, while he sat in his rocking chair on the front porch of his house. Ella Mary said she always wanted to stay with her granpa Jones during the summers when she was out of school.
Martha Jones, James' grand daughter, used to like to sit on the front porch with her grandpa and scratch his head for him.
James and Carolyn's house was in an orange grove of many acres. James worked in these groves. James' family owned it, Billy Jones, and they told him he could live there as long as he lived.
Just down the end of the street where James lived was a building that was the post office, gas station, and grocery store, all in one.
This house burned down in 1911 and was rebuilt. Martha Carolyn Starling Russell, James grand daughter, and Ira Carroll Starling, James grand son, were born in this house.
The wooden building on the side of the house, near the road, was closed in for living quarters.
In 1906, James was very sick. Carolyn insisted that James go to visit his relatives. James consented to go provided he could take Della with him. Carolyn and her friends had a new wardrobe made and James and Della were on their way.
Their first stop was in Greensboro, Georgia. Benjamin Jones, James' brother, met them and took them to his farm. Benjamin's wife, Evie, two sons, John and Henry, daughters, Florrie, and Lois, and grand children were there.
From Ben's they went to visit James' sister, Lillie Amos, husband, and two young daughters, Eula and Lillian, and son, Paul.
Then on to Bermuda to visit James' brother Wiley Jones. Wiley lived in his father, Henry Burnley Jones', old home.
Next they went to vist Seaborn Gerald Jones at his home near Wiley's. Seaborn is Henry Burnley Jones; brother.
Finally they went on to Augusta, Georgia to see James' brother, William H. Jones, his wife, Julia Estelle, daughters, Sue, Dolly, married son Harry and his daughter, Julia.
There was a grocery store, gas station, post office combination at the other end of the street where James' house was. It has been there since the late 1800's. The Coke Cola company filmed a commerical here in 1987. This store was a deli, feed and grain store, and had one gas pump at the time of the filming. Ed Sieg was the former owner of this store.
The floors in the community center, next door to the museum in Geneva, used to be a dance floor.
There were many nationalities in Geneva. There were French, Russian, Germans, and Jews.
The people made their living by taking in washing and ironing, terpentine, fishing, three citrus packing houses, cattle, and a coke cola factory.
There used to be a big, two story train depot in Geneva with "Geneva" on it, right off Avenue C. The station is gone and so are the tracks. In 1996 there was just a big open space where this stood.
Oseola had the largest cypress milling company in the U.S. When all the cypress trees were cut down they left. Oseola died. Geneva almost died.
They started having May Day picnic's in Geneva at Fort Lane on Lake Harney on May Day starting in 1946. They still have them every May Day. They say that you could wade half way across the lake at one time. Geneva has a lot of water around it and this helped the peolpe get their supplies by boat.
Geneva had one of the very first Coke Cola plants. The bottle was empressed with "Geneva, Florida" on it. The musuem had one of these bottles at one time but has been lost. When the Coke Cola company filmed the commerical at the corner store they did not know that there was a bottling plant in Geneva at one time.
Carolyn died in November of 1916 of a heart attack. When Della's son Ira Starling woke up in the middle of the night crying, Carolyn got to rock him. She died that night.

Obit in Geneva Newspaper:
"Geneva News.
Thursday morning the residents of Geneva were shocked and grieved to hear of the sudden death of Mrs. F. L. Jones, which occurred Wednesday night at 11:30. The cause was heart failure. Mrs. Jones has had more or less heart trouble for a number of years, but her most intimate friends did not realize that she was in immediate danger.
Besides a host of friends who will miss her cheery voice at the telephone.
Mrs. Jones was telephone operator at Geneva "central". She leaves to mourn her loss her husband, Mr. F. L. Jones, who is in very poor health and who has the sympathy of the entire community and one son, Mr. Carol Culpepper and one daughter, Mrs. Starling. Also three dear little grand children who will never know how much they have lost. Geneva has indeed lost a kind and generous friend."

James continued on living at their home.
James used to visit Della Starling's family every Christmas and bring them a sack of oranges. This was a real treat to them and they loved to have him visit.
James became blind in one eye later in life.

James Jones wrote the following letter, from Geneva, on January 27, 1930, about one and a half months before he died, to his grand daughter, Ella Mary Starling, who was age 9 at the time:
"My dear Ella Mary, Youe sweet letter received several days ago. I sure glad. I sure was proud that you could write such a good letter. And I do wish that I could write you good letter, but have nothing new to write about. I am just about the same old thing as ever. I am still here and doing my cooking. I see a lot of people passing but do not go but little. I was busy last week the oranges. They are about gone now, all that is any good. The cold (//) the tangerines. So bad that are still on the trees. Harry has not come you I do not when he will come. I was lonely after you left me and when ever I think of you all being so far from me it makes me more so. I wish I could see you in your new home. I am going to try and come after a while. Tell mother and bro that I will them here from me before long. You must wait on me. Some of you write me every week. You must study hard and learn fast. Ane be a good girl. Good by for this time. Write. Lots of love for all, as ever, your grandpa, J. F. Jones."
James hand writting in this letter was very good. But the letter was written with a pebcil and time has faded it quite a bit. Linda had this letter in her family book.

When Bud and Linda Crompton went to Geneva on May 30, 1996 they met a man named Joe Matheaux. His family is from France and he was about 76 years of age at the time. Joe volunteered to show them around the Geneva museum. He had to come from his house to open it up. He said he knew the Culpeppers for a long time. When he was 6 years old he moved to the station that was a grocery store, filling station, post office. The Culpeppers lived down the street.
When Joe Matheaux and his best friend, Buddy, were younger they hitchhiked from Geneva to Miami. (This friend of Joe's killed his self in the school yard in Geneva). They were going to Miami to see two of the Starling girls. One was Margaret and he could not remember who the other Starling girl was that they wanted to see. Joe said he should have been born earlier because he seemed to have more in common with Della Jones Starling, the girls mother, than the younger girls.
Joe and Buddy thumbed and thumbed for a ride. They got to Titusville and no one had picked them up. They went to see their friends, the Bronson family, regular old, country people. Joe and Buddy had not had anything to eat all day. The railroad runs right behind the Bronson house. The father would jump the train and go to Miami quite often. Joe and Buddy had never been on a train, but they decided to try jumping the train. So after dark when the train stopped right there, they made a mad dash for it. They knew nothing about a train and they ended up jumping into a gondolla car with rocks in it. They rode to Miami on top of rock's! When the train would stop they could hear the railroad men looking for hobo's, but they did not look in the car with rocks. Joe said he guessed they thought no one would ever ride on top of the rocks.
When Joe and Buddy got to Fort Lauderdale, Buddy decided he had to go to church, because it was Sunday. Buddy was Catholic and knew where the church was. It was quite a long way from the train tracks. He went into the church, did the sign of the cross and left.
By the time Joe and Buddy got to Miami they were full of black smut, dust and dirt. They found a filling station and washed their hands and faces.
Joe didn't remember how they got to the Starling house in Miami. The Starlings did not live right down town. They spent the night with the Starling's, and the next morning Della fixed them breakfast. Joe is a country kid and did not know what honey dew melon was. Della cut a honey dew melon in half and gave them each one with ice cream on top. Joe said it was the weidest thing he had ever had, but he did not waste any of it because he was hungry and it was delicious. At home he said he always had the same thing for breakfast; fried eggs, grits, bacon, coffee and toast. Sometimes they would have pancakes or waffles.
(Joe Matheaux)

In May of 1996 Linda and Bud Crompton went by the house in Geneva. It was completely empty. No one was living there and it was in need of a lot of repair. There were no orange trees around the house any more. Newer, bigger homes were being built around the Jones house. There was a paved two lane road in front of the house, where it had once been a one lane, brick road, with soft sand on the sides, that you could easily get stuck in.
Linda picked up four bricks from the ground. They had been used to hold up the front porch at time. Linda mailed one brick to each of the three living grand daughters, Martha Carolyn Starling Russell, Bessie Frances Starling Liebmann, and Ella Mary Starling Herring. The fourth brick she kept for her self. Everyone who received one of these bricks was thrilled because it brought so many happy memories of their childhood at that home. Linda also sent them pictures of the house.
In 1998 the house was still standing. The fancy work on the front porch had been added. It had been purchased recently and the people were going to remodel the house. This was the second house that was built on this site after the first one burned in 1911.
Ira Carroll Starling, James grand son, and Martha Carolyn Starling Russell, James' grand daughter, were both born in the second house.
The newspaper wanted Martie Russell to tell the story of the house for the paper and have her picture made in front of the house. But Martie never did this as she felt the trip was too much for her as her health was not very good at the time.

Linda and Bud Crompton went by James' house in Geneva on May 4, 2002. They were there for the 50th May Day picnic at Fort Lane. Linda thought the house might be gone because the last time she saw it it was in very bad shape. But to her surprise it was in very good shape.
They met Len and Sandy Berube, the people living in the house. The address of the house is 791 Old Geneva Road, legal discription is section16, township 20S, Range 32 E W 157 FT of E 854.5 FT of N 194 FT of NE 1/4 (Less Roads on N & W). The house was sold in October 1989 for $50,000, May 1997 for $45,000, and then in July 2001 for $169,000.
The Berube's said that the man they bought the house from had done a lot of remodeling. He gutted the inside because it was in very bad shape. It had been rented and they mistreated the house.
The Berube's fell in love with the house the first time they saw it. This was even before it was fixed up. They could not afford to buy it and spend the moneies to fix it up. When they saw it fixed up, they bought it right away.
The house now has two bathrooms and 5 bedrooms. Two of these bedrooms are in the second story attic. One of the bathrooms has an old fashioned bath tub and no shower. They are so proud of the tub that they don't take baths in there. They use the shower in the other bathroom. There is a wooden deck on one side, air conditioning and a satilight dish. In the yard they have an arch with a pretty flowering vine on it, stone steps leading up to the front door, a white picket fence around the front yard, pretty flower beds, a pretty green front door, and the house was painted yellow.
They had even added a two horse stall to the side of the yard, away from the house.
They have two children, one son and one daughter.
Linda has been told that the Berube's have had the house put on the historical registar because of the age of the house.
Linda Crompton made up a notebook on James Franklin Jones' life. The Historical Society has put it in the Geneva museum. There are pictures of James and Carolyn, the house, birth, death, and marriage certificates in the book as well as a history of the family.

James Franklin Jones died on March 13, 1930, in Sanford, Florida, at the Fernald Laughter Hospital, at the age of 73.
His body was removed for burial to Geneva, Florida on March 15, 1930. James is buried in the Geneva Cemetery in lot 60C. On his tomb stone it states: " J. Frank Jones, born Taliaferro Co., Ga., June 28, 1856, Died, Geneva, Fla., March 13, 1930".
At the time of his death, James was retired and a widower.
James Franklin Jones was greatly loved by his children and his grand children. Every one seemed to love James.2 

Family

Carolyn Louise Harris (25 Aug 1863 - 16 Nov 1916)
Child

Last Edited 23 Jan 2008

Citations

  1. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    Page 102B, Family 178, Precinct 6, Orange Co., FL
    James Jones, Head, M Jun 1856, 43, md 11 yrs, GA/GA/GA, Orange Grove Farmer
    Carrie L. Jones, Wife, F, Aug 1864, 35, md 11 yrs, ch 4/2, GA/GA/GA
    Delia Jones, Daughter, F, Oct 1897, 2, S, FL/GA/GA
    Wesley Culpepper, Step-son, M, Oct 1888, 11, S, FL/GA/GA.
  2. E-mail from Linda Dianne Herring Crompton, e-mail address to Culpepper Connections, 2003-2008.
  3. E. C. Culpepper and J. F. Jones of Geneva on 14 Mar 1891 in Orange Co., FL, Book 1-4, p. 216.
  4. 1900 Federal Census, United States.
    Geneva, Seminole, Florida, Prect. 6, ED 121, page 7 (transcribed by Linda Crompton)
    Jones, James F., Head, White, Male, born June 1856, age 43, Married 11 years, born in Georgia, Father & Mother born in Ga., occupation-Farmer for Orange Grove, Can read, write and speak English, owned his farm, free of mortgage, farm #113.
    Carrie L., wife, white, female, born Aug. 1864, age 35, married 11 years, mother of 4 children - 2 living, born in Ga., Father & Mother born in Ga., occupation farmer, can read, write & speak English, owned farm, mortgaged, farm #114.
    Della, daughter, white, female, born Oct. 1897, age 2, single, born in Fla.
    Culpepper, Wesley C., step-son, white male, born Oct. 1888, age 11, single, born in Fla., at school for 6 months, can read, write and Speak English, Father & Mother born in Georgia.
  5. 1910 Federal Census, United States.
    Geneva, Seminole, Florida, Prect. 6, ED 115, pg 8A (Transcribed by Linda Crompton)
    Jones, James Frank, Head, male, white, age 52, married 23 years, born in Ga., Father & Mother born in Ga., Occupation farmer, Fruit farm, owned, not out of work, can read & write English, owned-free of mortgage-farm #131.
    Carrie L., wife, female, white, age 47, married 23 years, had 3 children-2 living, born in Ga., Father & Mother born in Ga., occupation "Hello Girl" for Telephone Ex. , working, can read & write English.
    Carroll, son, male, white, age 21, single, born in Fla., occupation packer of fruits & veg., can read & write English.
    Della, daughter, female, white, age 12, single, born in Fla., can read, write & speak English.
  6. 1920 Federal Census, United States.
    Holly Hill, Volusia, Florida, ED 191, Forest Avenue:
    Starling, Martha E., head, own, free of mortgage, female, white, age 67, widowed, can read, write & speak english, born in Ga., parents born in Ga.;
    Ira C., son, male, white, age 35, married, can read, write & speak english, born in Fla., father born in Fla., mother born in Ga.. flagman, FEC Railroad;
    Della, daughter-in-law, female, white, age 22, married, can read, write and speak english, born in Fla., parents born in Ga.;
    Ira C., grand son, male, white, age 4 ?/12, single, born in Fla.,
    Martha C., grand daughter, femalw, white, age 2 10/12, single, born in Fla.
    Calvin D., adopted son, male, white, age 5, single, born in Fla., parents born in US;
    Jones, James F., boarder, male, white, age 63, widowed, can read, write & speak english, born in Ga., parents born in Ga.