(this page is very much under construction — come back often.)

Our History

Brief history of the Valley

The first reunion was held in 1921 at Melinda & J.D. Cubage’s farm in Amity, Arkansas and all of the 11 brothers and sisters were present.  This overwhelmed Melinda & J.D., so the second Reunion, held in 1923, was at the Caddo Gap school.  The “Valley” began with the decision at the 2nd Reunion to purchase land to host future Reunions. Subsequently  the 200 acres that now comprise this little bit of heaven for the Clingman-Jones family were purchased.  The 1924 Reunion was the first held in Jones Valley.  Deed – Jones Valley – 1923. That deed was to named family members to be held for the benefit of the descendants of Dr. Alfred Jones and Jane Poindexter Clingman.

Of those 11, there are now eight of those lines of descendancy known and represented within the group of cousins who now attend the reunions and participate otherwise.

Financial Support

The Valley has no regular source of income. Family members contribute annually, or sporadically, or for special needs, according to their ability. We have a “Square” account whereby donations can be made to keep the valley going with upkeep, repairs, maintenance of the swimming hole, etc. Donations may be made online via the Store/Donation page, or in person at the reunion, or by sending a check to Treasurer Mike White at PO Box 1161, Fairhope, AL 36533-1161. The Donation Page has some suggestions of ways to think about your possible contribution.

Ownership and Governance

From the purchase of the property in 1923 until July 4, 2015, the Valley was held by a group of individual trustees for the benefit of all of the descendants of Dr. Alfred Jones and Jane Poindexter Clingman. In 2015, in faithfulness to the vision and intent of the ancestors, the trustees transferred the property into the Clingman-Jones Family Association (documents below).

All of the descendants are Members of the Association and it is managed by the Managing Members who are selected exactly as the successor trustees were selected in the past. They manage the Association and its property — the 200 acres — for the benefit of all the family and the intent is that the Association continues forever.

Governing documents

The following documents include the “Governing Principles” i.e. “Bylaws” of the Association which was organized pursuant to the Revised Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act (UNA) as found in Arkansas Code Sect. 4-28.601. Under that statute, the Governing Principles, in one document, constitute what you would find in a corporation in the Articles of Incorporation plus Bylaws.  The “UNA” is a law that was created by the Arkansas legislature for situations exactly like ours: to preserve a property in perpetuity for the benefit of a group — in this case our family being the descendants of Alfred and Jane. The other document is the deed that conveyed the real estate from the individual trustees to the Association.

Clingman-Jones Family Association Governing Principles July 4 2015 + Exh_A

Warranty Deed Jones Valley Executed & Filed 2015, August 11

Historical writings by family members

History as recounted by John Jones, great-grandson of John Jones (the 1st) who emigrated from Wales to the U.S.

Bio of Willis Jones, brother of Dr. Alfred Jones. In part, it discussed Choctaw lineage.

John Jones of Wales 1755-1811

(Gil Jones note: This is a copy and paste from our old website and I have not checked to see if the links are still good, nor have I edited for bad breaks, etc)

The family of John Jones, 1755-1811 : with a Ewing connection 

This book is in the Hot Springs (Garland County) library and others. See http://www.worldcat.org/title/family-of-john-jones-1755-1811-with-a-ewing-connection/oclc/52627494  for sources.  It also is available in the LDS  Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

In searching www.ancestry.com I found a family tree — Goodman and Allied Families — with a reference to Guilford (meaning my grandfather Guilford). In addition to his being noted as listed in the Dawes Commission/Choctaw Tribe, I found a reference to this book.

From there I found the attached document ( Family of John Jones-Wales-1750  239 pages – Adobe PDF format) about John Jones who appears to be the original family member emigrating here from Wales. Dr. Alfred Jones, M.D. and Jane Poindexter Clingman are mentioned on page 32 thereof. The entry there is as follows:

 

 

76. Dr. Alfred5 Jones, M. D. (Robert4, William Andrew3, John2, Unknown1) was born December 24, 1827

in Belvedere, Hardeman Co., TN, and died December 18, 1891 in Amity, Clark Co., AR. He married Jane

Poindexter Clingman380,381 January 01, 1854 in Clark Co., AR, daughter of Alexander Clingman and Ann

Unknown. She was born February 07, 1837 in AR, and died November 08, 1913 in Amity, Clark Co., AR.

Notes for Jane Poindexter Clingman:

Ancestry.com/Images Online/Census/1910/Clark Co., AR/Amity Twp:Date of Import 03/21/01:

Dwelling #54

Jones, Jane P…….WF….Head….73….Widow….AR….NC….SC

More About Jane Poindexter Clingman:

Burial: November 1913, Amity, Clark Co., AR (Jones Cemetery)382

Census: 1910, Clark Co., AR, Amity Twp

Children of Alfred Jones and Jane Clingman are:

+ 269 i. Malinda Ann6 Jones, born October 19, 1854 in Amity, Clark Co., AR; died WFT Est. 1900-1947.

+ 270 ii. Frances Arvazena Jones, born September 03, 1856 in AR; died Unknown.

+ 271 iii. Mary Ledufsa Jones, born February 28, 1859 in Mt. Ida, Montgomery Co., AR; died Unknown.

+ 272 iv. Granville Whittington Jones, born April 22, 1861 in Mt. Ida, Montgomery Co., AR; died November

1929.

+ 273 v. Dr. Isaac Jarratt Jones, born November 23, 1863 in Mt. Ida, Montgomery Co., AR; died December 28,

1932.

274 vi. Robert Alexander Jones383, born March 11, 1866 in Amity, Clark Co., AR; died Abt. 1872.

+ 275 vii. Lee Julia Jones, born March 15, 1868 in Montgomery Co., AR; died October 19, 1959.

+ 276 viii. Martha Ida Jane Jones, born 1870 in AR; died Unknown.

+ 277 ix. Mattie B. Jones, born 1870 in AR; died Unknown.

+ 278 x. Alfred Willis Arthur Jones, born 1872 in Caddo Gap, Clark Co., AR; died Unknown.

279 xi. Clauselle Lanier Jones383,384, born August 1874 in Caddo Gap, Clark Co., AR; died Unknown. He

married Annie O. Stephens; born Abt. 1876; died Unknown.

+ 280 xii. Minnie Grace Jones, born November 02, 1876 in AR; died 1941 in Amity, Clark Co., AR.

281 xiii. Guilford Lavender Jones385,386, born November 25, 1877 in Montgomery Co., AR; died Unknown. He

married Marguerite McCall386; born Abt. 1880; died Unknown.

282 xiv. Delia Clingman Jones387, born January 21, 1880 in Amity, Clark Co., AR; died August 16, 1881 in

 

 

Amity, Clark Co., AR.

ancestry resources

U.S. Government Archives

Ancestry.com – Genealogy and Family History Records
Subscription based resource of worldwide census, marriage, newspaper and various
other records. Includes some free searchable databases, …

 Archival research tips from U.S. Archives

Here is a good online search for online genealogical research resources

FamilySearch.org – Family History and Genealogy Records
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides an online search of the
millions of names in its International Genealogical Index, …

Genealogy & Family History Databases. Genealogy Tree Software …
62, Sassytazzy’s Online Genealogy Research Library 600+ pages of Free on site
… 95, GeneaBios – Biographies for Genealogy Research Online biographies for …

RootsWeb.com Home Page
RootsWeb – the Internet’s oldest and largest FREE genealogical community. …
Genealogy Products. Contributing to RootsWeb Share Your Research …

Search Free Genealogy Biography Database to Find Ancestors and …
A free biography database with biographies, for your genealogy research. Links to
other online biography sites, to help find your ancestors and surnames.

If you are curious about the Poindexter family, check out this link to an exhaustive site.

resources gathered by Gil in 2005. Some may be way outdated.

While researching what genealogy program to use I found these websites to have a lot of information.  If anyone else is doing the research about doing the research, add to this thread. (hint: this page was created using a 3-column table).

(2017 update by Gil:) I have used ancestry.com’s Family Tree Maker for sometime and like it best of all. It was acquired by another company but is being maintained. I do all of my research and gathering from my PC and then update my online page at Ancestry.com.

Site	What I liked	Other Comments
Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter	Review of Roots Magic2 He likes it. Price $29.95. Family Tree Maker Review. Very extensive review. Noted: does not allow web page creation except on www.ancestry.com (current owner of FTM).	Eastman’s site is a daily blog on geneology matters.
Louis Kessler’s Genealogy Software Links	References to several programs and reviews of them. Also links to many other genealogical resources.
Cyndi’s List of Software	Not only software, but this site has a LOT of info on genealogy research. May be the single best source of info and links.
genhomepage	A huge list of commercial software.
The Master Genealogist	This program is consistently reviewed well. $59 download price.  Lot’s of current reviews here.	I’m trying the 30 day trial version.  Can create web pages. Has add-ons for Palm and Pocket-PC versions.
Legacy Family Tree	I’ve tried this one. Has a free version and a $19.95 (download) version. Looks to have good basic capability. The paid version has more features.	Found it easy to use.
Wilson’s Comparison	Extensive comparison, feature by feature, of the major programs. Further comparison of web pages created by various programs.