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Elizabeth A. Jones, the third child of William A. Jones and Sarah (or Sally) (Martin) Jones, was born 30 August 1856 in Fremont County, Iowa. Then, when Elizabeth was less than 2 years old, her father reportedly hanged himself. (See the Sally Martin bio page for further details.) The 1860 Federal census shows 3-year-old Elizabeth in Fremont County with her mother and two older brothers but without her father, William. The Fremont County marriage records, show that Elizabeth’s mother had married Thomas Pierce on 5 September 1859, and the census lists an unnamed infant in the household, who is shown in later records to be Elizabeth’s half-brother Charles Pierce. Nevertheless, her mother’s name is still shown as Sarah Jones in this census and in subsequent censuses. The 1870 census shows Elizabeth still in her mother’s household in Fremont County, Iowa. Her age is shown as 14, though it should have been 13 (since her birthday fell after the official census date of June 1). Soon afterwards, the family moved to Macon County, Illinois, where Elizabeth’s parents had lived before moving to Iowa and where both of her older brothers had been born. There in Macon County, at age 18, Elizabeth married William H. Kuns on 27 May 1875. He had been born about 1857 in or near Oakley, Macon County, Illinois,* and he was the son of Daniel and Maria (Leslie) Kuns. After only 3 years of marriage, Elizabeth passed away in Macon County on 13 June 1878. I have found no cause of death reported for her, and I know of no children she might have borne. She is buried at the West Frantz Cemetery in Oakley.  I have very little information about William’s life
following Elizabeth’s death. I’ve been unable to find him in
the 1880, 1900, 1910, or 1920 censuses, and I don’t know if he
ever remarried or if he had any children either with Elizabeth or
with a subsequent wife. All that is known for sure is that
he died on 20 December 1921 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The
Decatur Daily Review printed a brief obituary for him (shown at
right), which stated that he had lived in Cerro Gordo, Illinois,
until he moved to Arkansas “35 years ago” (=1886), and that his
body was returned to Macon County for burial at the West Frantz
Cemetery (where Elizabeth is also buried). As of 2020, his
gravesite has not been documented in any on-line posting.
If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about the lives of Elizabeth, William, and their descendants (if any), please contact me at the address shown in the image below:
Thanks,
Return
to the Sally Martin bio page. * Some researchers show William’s place of birth as Cerro Gordo, which is in Piatt County, just 3 miles east of Oakley. However, they provide no documentation for this birthplace. The census taken in 1860, when William was 3 years old, shows his family in Macon County. |
