Hiram M. Jones ^{1 2 3 4 5 6}

  General Notes:

His birth location was different on each census record: either Michigan, Ohio, or Indiana. It is believed to be Indiana because that is where his parents were buried. However, a marriage license issued to his youngest son, Noah, indicated that Noah thought his father's birth location was in Ohio.

His wife, Rebecca Lightfoot, was born in Ohio and had never left that state prior to her marriage. Therefore it seems logical that she and Hiram met each other in Ohio where they were married which adds more to the belief that Hiram's birth location was also Ohio.
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Lacking any other definitive information about what happened to Hiram Jones after the census of 1870, the following Voter Registration record from California lists a similar Hiram Jones that was born in Indiana. The age given of 49 would provide a birth year of 1827-1830 which is not the expected year of 1820.

Name: Hiram Jones
Event Type: Voter Registration
Event Year Range: 1876-1879
Event Place: Cedarville, Modoc, California, United States
Age: 49
Birthplace: Indiana
Page: 6
GS Film number: 976938
Digital Folder Number: 005028160
Image Number: 00147

Citing this Record
"California, Great Registers, 1866-1910," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNNQ-Y9T : accessed 29 Mar 2013), Hiram Jones, 1879.

The 1880 US Census confirms that this Hiram Jones was born in 1832 in Indiana and had a wife named Maggie and one son named Charles born in 1873. There were additional Voter Registration records in California for this Hiram Jones who seemed to never give his correct age but always indicated that he was born in Indiana. Unless the original Hiram Jones abandoned his wife, moved to California, and was remarried, then it is unlikely that any of these Voter Registration records apply to the correct Hiram Jones.
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  Death Notes:

Name: Hiram M. Jones
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 28 Aug 1899
Event Place: South Bend, Indiana
Gender: Male
Race: W
Affiliate Repository Place: County Health Office, South Bend
Source Reference: The source of this record is the book H-18 on page 131 within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration.


Citing this Record
"Indiana Death Index, 1882-1920," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZ7B-LLM : 3 December 2014), Hiram M. Jones, 28 Aug 1899, South Bend, Indiana; from "Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2003); citing "The source of this record is the book CSS-2 on page 113 within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration." County Health Office, South Bend.

NOTE - Given such a common name as Jones, I don't see any positive connection that this is the same Hiram Jones. The only common connection seems to be the place of death given as South Bend, Indiana which is in Saint Joseph county, the county immediately to the east of LaPorte County, his last known area of residence.
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He appeared on the 1850 US Census in Clinton Township, Wayne, OH on 19 September 1850. ³

1850 US Census
Page 8B, Dwelling 121, Family 121, Roll 739
Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio
Hiram Jones..30..MI..Day Laborer

(Living with wife and 3 daughters.)
.

• He appeared on the 1860 US Census in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, MI on 30 June 1860. ⁴

1860 US Census
Page 80, 81, Dwelling 693, Family 688
Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, Michigan
Hiram Jones..39..OH..Farmer

(Living with wife and 7 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1870 US Census in Kankakee Township, LaPorte County, IN on 4 June 1870. ⁵

1870 US Census
Page 6, Dwelling 45, Family 45, Roll 334
Kankakee Township, La Porte County, Indiana
Hiriam Jones..50..IN..Day Laborer

(Living with wife and 11 children.)

NOTE - Ohio is believed to be his birth place instead of Indiana.
.

Hiram married Rebecca Lightfoot, daughter of Daniel Lightfoot and Annie Weir, on 26 August 1844 in , Holmes County, OH.^{1 2} (Rebecca Lightfoot was born in 1827 in Ohio,^{3 5 7 8} died on 5 April 1902 in Lakeville, IN ^{2 9} and was buried after 5 April 1902 in Lakeville, IN ⁷.). The cause of her death was Apoplexy (4 days).

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 26 August 1844, in , Holmes County, OH. ¹

• They appeared on the 1850 US Census in Clinton Township, Wayne, OH on 19 September 1850. ³

1850 US Census
Page 8B, Dwelling 121, Family 121, Roll 739
Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio
Hiram Jones..30..MI..Day Laborer
Rebecca Jones..22..OH
Mary A. Jones..4..IN
Sarah E. Jones..2..IN
Harriet Jones..4m..IN

NOTE - If they were married in 1844 in Holmes County, Ohio, and if their first three daughters were born in Indiana beginning in 1846 through 1850, then why would they have moved later in 1850 to Wayne County, Michigan?
.

• They appeared on the 1860 US Census in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, MI on 30 June 1860. ⁴

1860 US Census
Page 80, 81, Dwelling 693, Family 688
Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, Michigan
Hiram Jones..39..OH..Farmer
Rebecca Jones..34..OH
Mary A. Jones..14..OH
Sarah E. Jones..12..OH
W. H. Jones..7..OH
Isaiah Jones..5..OH
Jacob Jones..4..OH
Phebe C. Jones...1..IN
Harriet Jones..10..IN
.

• They appeared on the 1870 US Census in Kankakee Township, LaPorte County, IN on 4 June 1870. ⁵

1870 US Census
Page 6, Dwelling 45, Family 45, Roll 334
Kankakee Township, La Porte County, Indiana
Hiriam Jones..50..IN..Day Laborer
Rebecca Jones..43..OH..Keeping House
Mary Ann Jones..23..IN..At Home
Sarah Jones..22..OH..At Home
Harriet Jones..20..OH..At Home
William H. Jones..17..IN..At Home
Isiah Jones..15..IN..At Home
Jacob Jones..12..IN..At School
Phoebe Jones..10..IN..At School
Lydia Jones..8..IN..At School
Orilla Jones..6..IN
Thomas Jones..3..IN
Noah Jones..1..IN
.

  Marriage Notes:

Name: Hiram Jones
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 26 Aug 1844
Event Place: Holmes, Ohio, United States
Spouse's Name: Rebecca Lightfoot

Citing this Record:
"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XDP1-YP8 : accessed 11 Jun 2014), Hiram Jones and Rebecca Lightfoot, 26 Aug 1844; citing Holmes, Ohio, United States, reference 374; FHL microfilm 477144.
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Something happened to the marriage of Hiram and Rebecca Jones after 1870 and I'm not sure if he and Rebecca were separated, divorced, or if Hiram had disappeared or died. Their family is not found together in the subsequent 1880 US Census with the exception of Isaiah Jones who was married just two years prior to the 1880 US Census. Living with Isaiah and his new wife were his youngest sister, Arilla, at age 17 and his younger brother, Thomas, at age 13.

Isaiah's younger sister, Phoebe, who was married in 1877, is found in the 1880 US Census living with her husband and has one child of her own by 1880.

This means that for the period of the 1880 US Census, the following family members were not to be found:
-- Hiram Jones..(husband)
-- Rebecca Jones..(wife)
-- Mary Ann Jones..(dau)
-- Sarah E. Jones..(dau)
-- Harriet Jones..(dau)
-- William H. Jones..(son)
-- Jacob Jones..(son)
-- Lydia Marie Jones..(dau)
-- Noah Jones..(son)

Of those names, the wife, Rebecca, reappeared later in the 1900 US Census along with Thomas and Noah. Harriet supposedly married about 1894, and Lydia married about 1883. On the 1900 US Census for Rebecca she indicated only 8 children of hers were still alive. The number written for her total children is ambiguous and looks like the number 19 or 17 but is probably 11 for that is all the names that can be accounted.

This 1900 US Census for Rebecca does indicate that her husband, Hiram, had died before 1900 and that she had already lost at least 3 of her children by that time. I have no specific information about any of those children, their names, or how they died.
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Not only is the birth location of Hiram in question (Ohio, Michigan, or Indiana) but the birth location of their first 3 daughters is also in question. There is little doubt that Hiram and Rebecca were married in Holmes County, Ohio but that is nearly in the center of the state. One might believe that if they lived near the junctions of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana that a change of residence of only a few miles would change the state of birth or residence, but the fact that Holmes County is in the middle of the state would seem to rule out any minor changes of residence.
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It is beginning to become apparent that Hiram and Rebecca moved around much during their married lives.

1844---married in Holmes County, Ohio
1846--daughter Mary born in Indiana
1848--daughter born in Indiana
1850--daughter born in Indiana
1850--US Census in Wayne County, Michigan
1853--son William born in Indiana
1855--son Isaiah born in Indiana
1856--son Jacob born in Indiana
1859--daughter Phoebe born in Indiana
1860--US Census in Berrien County, Michigan
1861--daughter Lydia born in Indiana
1863--daughter Arilla born in Indiana
1867--son Thomas born in Indiana
1869--son Noah born in Indiana
1870--US Census in La Porte County, Indiana

However, the 1860 US Census in Michigan shows all of their children except for the 2 youngest to be born in Ohio. Those 2 youngest are shown as being born in Indiana. I cannot explain why other than it would seem simple for the enumerator to write "ditto" below all the entries after the parents birth locations of Ohio. But when the enumerator had to start a new page to list the last three children, he wrote in Indiana on those entries.

As a result of the variances in all the documents, this entire family is nearly impossible to research. The very common surname of Jones makes it difficult. Every time one of the family members shows Indiana as a birth place, they later claim Ohio as their birth place.

After going through multiple documents and sources, it is my belief that soon after Hiram and Rebecca were married, they relocated to Indiana, probably somewhere near the Indiana-Michigan border such as La Porte County. In 1850, they had moved just across the border into Wayne County, Michigan but a short time later had moved back into Indiana. In 1860, they moved just across the border into Michigan where they were enumerated in Berrien County, Michigan. Once again, a short time later they moved back across the border into Indiana where they were enumerated in 1870 in La Porte County, Indiana.

This means that it is highly probable that all of their children were born in Indiana.
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