Vital Information
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 February 1832, Tennessee |
| Died | 18 January 1904 (Monday night) |
| Known as | "Kenny Jones" |
| Father | Jonathan_Jones |
| Mother | Anna Beets (b. ~1807, TN; d. 2 Apr 1881) |
| Wife | Marinda_Wrightsman_Jones (b. 28 Apr 1838, Clay County, MO; d. 23 May 1905) |
| Married | 1 May 1864 |
| Children | William_Arthur_Jones (1865-1927), Jonathan_R_Jones (1867-1945), Charles_F_Jones (1870-1949), Claude_M_Jones_Lynch (1873-1911), Maudie E. Jones (later Coldsnow) |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Land | 290 acres (1881); ~400 acres at time of death (1904) |
| Post Office | Blue Mills |
| Residence | 1.5 miles NE of Salem church, Salem neighborhood, eastern Jackson County |
| Burial | Salem Cemetery, Independence, MO |
| Find a Grave | #14518930 |
Biography
W. Kenneth Jones, known as "Kenny Jones," was born 2 February 1832 in Hawkins County, Tennessee to Jonathan_Jones and Anna Beets, both Tennessee natives. In the spring of 1843, the family moved first to St. Charles County, Missouri, where they stayed one year, then on to Jackson County around 1844, when Kenneth was about 11 or 12 years old. His father Jonathan died 14 October 1865 in Jackson County; his mother Anna Beets died 2 April 1881.
In 1860, Kenneth was in Colorado (likely during the Pikes Peak gold rush), which explains his absence from the 1860 Jackson County census. He returned to Jackson County, and on 1 May 1864 he married Marinda_Wrightsman_Jones, born 28 April 1838 in Clay County, Missouri. They had five children: William_Arthur_Jones (1865), Jonathan_R_Jones (1867), Charles_F_Jones (1870), Claude_M_Jones_Lynch (1873), and Maudie E. Jones (later Coldsnow). By 1881, Kenneth farmed 290 acres in the Salem neighborhood of eastern Jackson County, with his post office at Blue Mills. He accumulated approximately 400 acres by the time of his death, living on the same farm for the last thirty years of his life, located one and a half miles northeast of Salem church.
He died Monday night, 18 January 1904. His funeral was held Wednesday morning at 11 o'clock at Salem church. His obituary in the Jackson Examiner (22 Jan 1904) noted that "few men were better known in eastern Jackson county than Mr. Jones and none more highly respected by all who knew him." Marinda survived him by about 16 months, dying 23 May 1905. Both are buried at Salem Cemetery, Independence, Missouri.
Birth Year Analysis
The 2 February 1832 birth date is supported by multiple sources: Find a Grave (likely from gravestone), daughter Claude M. Jones Lynch's Missouri death certificate (#6278), and consistent listing across all four known children's Find a Grave memorials.
The Jackson Examiner obituary gives his age as 78, which would imply a birth year of ~1826. However, newspaper obituaries frequently contained age errors, and the weight of family records favors 1832. If born in 1832, he was 71 at death. The 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, or 1900 federal census for Jackson County would resolve this definitively, as each would record his age independently.
Open Questions
- Fifth child (RESOLVED 2026-03-27): The 1881 county history names all five: "Wm. A., Jonathan R., Charley F., Claudie M. and Maudie E." This is Maudie E. Jones, later Maude Coldsnow, per Jonathan R. Jones's 1945 obituary.
- Census verification: Federal census records (particularly 1900, which recorded birth month and year) would confirm the birth year. These records are behind paywalls (Ancestry, FamilySearch).