John L. Jones grew up on his father's ranch, working for his father as a cowboy. By his early teens he had accumulated a few cattle and registered his first brand. On June 4, 1874 he joined Company F, Frontier Battlion, Texas Rangers under Captain Neal Caldwell. The Muster roll of that date has the following description: John L. Jones, age 18, height six feet, blue eyes, light complexion, brown hair. He purchased a rife and pistol from the State for $37.50, the cost to be taken out of his pay. He did have his own horse. The age given must have been required when in fact he was only 16. He served until September 1874 when the Legislature once again failed to alloate the necessary funds for Company F. He is mentioned in the book "The Law Comes to Texas" written about the early days of the Texas Rangers by Frederick Wilkins.
After leaving the Rangers, he left Bandera County to join his brother, James I. Jones, who had settled in 1878 on Little Saline Creek, just over the Kimble Co. line in Menard County, and established a cattle and horse ranch. He came from Bandera with thirty head of cattle, two horses and mule. From this small nucleus he was to build one of the largest ranches in this part of the state. Following his arrival on the Saline Creek settlement in 1874, eight Comanche Indians made a raid on the Saline Creet settlement running off most of the horses in that valley. According to peace officer Dee Harkey, in his book "Mean as Hell", a party consisting of John L. Jones, Jim Ike Jones, Pete Weaver, Sam Weaver, Doug Brown, Henry Pearl, and Joe Harkey took to the trail of the Indians and horses. They caught up with them on the head of Little Devils River near the Kerr County line and in the ensuing fight killed the eight Indians and recovered all the horses without the loss of a man.
About the time of the Indian raid, Jim Ike and John L. both took out homestead pre-emptions south of the Main Llano River in Kimble County. This was the start of the Jones Ranch which was to grow in the next twenty-five years to over twenty-fine thousand acres of deeded land. At one time he and his brother controlled the grazing rights to over one hundred thousand acres. During the late 1870's they sent thousands of cattle up the trial. In one year alone, John L. drove or sent forty thousand cattle to Kansas. In the late 1880's John L. bought his brother Jim Ike's share of the ranch shortly before he married Lucy Elizabeth Stevens in Bandera whose family came to Bandera about 1840 and settled near his Dad's ranch in Bandera.
In 1896, answering the pleas of his fellow ranchmen, John L. ran for and was elected Sheriff of Kimble County. It was a very productive term of office for the county until 1898. He was credited with cleaning up the county of cattle rustlers and outlaws who were making life miserable for the ranchers and towns people alike. Among those stealing horses and cattle in the county, were the remnants of the Dalton Gang. On Feb. 6, 1897, Jones and a posse made up of John Turman, Tom Taylor, Oscar Latta, John Gardner, T. W. Frazer and Bob Owens caught up with the outlaws on the head of Bear Creek in northwestern Kimble County. In the ensuing fight that took place just over the Menard line, two of the rustlers were killed and a third wounded, captured and sent to the penitentiary. After this John L. refused to run for Sheriff again stating that during the two years as Sheriff it cost him over fifty thousand dollars through neglect of his livestock and ranch operations.
About this same time he was one of the organizers of the first bank in the county, known as the Kimble County State Bank, serving on the board of directors.
John L. Jones continued to operate his ranch and livestock operations until his death on March 28, 1912. After his death his wife and children managed the 35,000 acre ranch until the death of Lucy Eizabeth Stevens Jones in 1939.
After leaving the Rangers, he left Bandera County to join his brother, James I. Jones, who had settled in 1878 on Little Saline Creek, just over the Kimble Co. line in Menard County, and established a cattle and horse ranch. He came from Bandera with thirty head of cattle, two horses and mule. From this small nucleus he was to build one of the largest ranches in this part of the state. Following his arrival on the Saline Creek settlement in 1874, eight Comanche Indians made a raid on the Saline Creet settlement running off most of the horses in that valley. According to peace officer Dee Harkey, in his book "Mean as Hell", a party consisting of John L. Jones, Jim Ike Jones, Pete Weaver, Sam Weaver, Doug Brown, Henry Pearl, and Joe Harkey took to the trail of the Indians and horses. They caught up with them on the head of Little Devils River near the Kerr County line and in the ensuing fight killed the eight Indians and recovered all the horses without the loss of a man.
About the time of the Indian raid, Jim Ike and John L. both took out homestead pre-emptions south of the Main Llano River in Kimble County. This was the start of the Jones Ranch which was to grow in the next twenty-five years to over twenty-fine thousand acres of deeded land. At one time he and his brother controlled the grazing rights to over one hundred thousand acres. During the late 1870's they sent thousands of cattle up the trial. In one year alone, John L. drove or sent forty thousand cattle to Kansas. In the late 1880's John L. bought his brother Jim Ike's share of the ranch shortly before he married Lucy Elizabeth Stevens in Bandera whose family came to Bandera about 1840 and settled near his Dad's ranch in Bandera.
In 1896, answering the pleas of his fellow ranchmen, John L. ran for and was elected Sheriff of Kimble County. It was a very productive term of office for the county until 1898. He was credited with cleaning up the county of cattle rustlers and outlaws who were making life miserable for the ranchers and towns people alike. Among those stealing horses and cattle in the county, were the remnants of the Dalton Gang. On Feb. 6, 1897, Jones and a posse made up of John Turman, Tom Taylor, Oscar Latta, John Gardner, T. W. Frazer and Bob Owens caught up with the outlaws on the head of Bear Creek in northwestern Kimble County. In the ensuing fight that took place just over the Menard line, two of the rustlers were killed and a third wounded, captured and sent to the penitentiary. After this John L. refused to run for Sheriff again stating that during the two years as Sheriff it cost him over fifty thousand dollars through neglect of his livestock and ranch operations.
About this same time he was one of the organizers of the first bank in the county, known as the Kimble County State Bank, serving on the board of directors.
John L. Jones continued to operate his ranch and livestock operations until his death on March 28, 1912. After his death his wife and children managed the 35,000 acre ranch until the death of Lucy Eizabeth Stevens Jones in 1939.
John L. Jones grew up on his father's ranch, working for his father as a cowboy. By his early teens he had accumulated a few cattle and registered his first brand. On June 4, 1874 he joined Company F, Frontier Battlion, Texas Rangers under Captain Neal Caldwell. The Muster roll of that date has the following description: John L. Jones, age 18, height six feet, blue eyes, light complexion, brown hair. He purchased a rife and pistol from the State for $37.50, the cost to be taken out of his pay. He did have his own horse. The age given must have been required when in fact he was only 16. He served until September 1874 when the Legislature once again failed to alloate the necessary funds for Company F. He is mentioned in the book "The Law Comes to Texas" written about the early days of the Texas Rangers by Frederick Wilkins.
After leaving the Rangers, he left Bandera County to join his brother, James I. Jones, who had settled in 1878 on Little Saline Creek, just over the Kimble Co. line in Menard County, and established a cattle and horse ranch. He came from Bandera with thirty head of cattle, two horses and mule. From this small nucleus he was to build one of the largest ranches in this part of the state. Following his arrival on the Saline Creek settlement in 1874, eight Comanche Indians made a raid on the Saline Creet settlement running off most of the horses in that valley. According to peace officer Dee Harkey, in his book "Mean as Hell", a party consisting of John L. Jones, Jim Ike Jones, Pete Weaver, Sam Weaver, Doug Brown, Henry Pearl, and Joe Harkey took to the trail of the Indians and horses. They caught up with them on the head of Little Devils River near the Kerr County line and in the ensuing fight killed the eight Indians and recovered all the horses without the loss of a man.
About the time of the Indian raid, Jim Ike and John L. both took out homestead pre-emptions south of the Main Llano River in Kimble County. This was the start of the Jones Ranch which was to grow in the next twenty-five years to over twenty-fine thousand acres of deeded land. At one time he and his brother controlled the grazing rights to over one hundred thousand acres. During the late 1870's they sent thousands of cattle up the trial. In one year alone, John L. drove or sent forty thousand cattle to Kansas. In the late 1880's John L. bought his brother Jim Ike's share of the ranch shortly before he married Lucy Elizabeth Stevens in Bandera whose family came to Bandera about 1840 and settled near his Dad's ranch in Bandera.
In 1896, answering the pleas of his fellow ranchmen, John L. ran for and was elected Sheriff of Kimble County. It was a very productive term of office for the county until 1898. He was credited with cleaning up the county of cattle rustlers and outlaws who were making life miserable for the ranchers and towns people alike. Among those stealing horses and cattle in the county, were the remnants of the Dalton Gang. On Feb. 6, 1897, Jones and a posse made up of John Turman, Tom Taylor, Oscar Latta, John Gardner, T. W. Frazer and Bob Owens caught up with the outlaws on the head of Bear Creek in northwestern Kimble County. In the ensuing fight that took place just over the Menard line, two of the rustlers were killed and a third wounded, captured and sent to the penitentiary. After this John L. refused to run for Sheriff again stating that during the two years as Sheriff it cost him over fifty thousand dollars through neglect of his livestock and ranch operations.
About this same time he was one of the organizers of the first bank in the county, known as the Kimble County State Bank, serving on the board of directors.
John L. Jones continued to operate his ranch and livestock operations until his death on March 28, 1912. After his death his wife and children managed the 35,000 acre ranch until the death of Lucy Eizabeth Stevens Jones in 1939.
After leaving the Rangers, he left Bandera County to join his brother, James I. Jones, who had settled in 1878 on Little Saline Creek, just over the Kimble Co. line in Menard County, and established a cattle and horse ranch. He came from Bandera with thirty head of cattle, two horses and mule. From this small nucleus he was to build one of the largest ranches in this part of the state. Following his arrival on the Saline Creek settlement in 1874, eight Comanche Indians made a raid on the Saline Creet settlement running off most of the horses in that valley. According to peace officer Dee Harkey, in his book "Mean as Hell", a party consisting of John L. Jones, Jim Ike Jones, Pete Weaver, Sam Weaver, Doug Brown, Henry Pearl, and Joe Harkey took to the trail of the Indians and horses. They caught up with them on the head of Little Devils River near the Kerr County line and in the ensuing fight killed the eight Indians and recovered all the horses without the loss of a man.
About the time of the Indian raid, Jim Ike and John L. both took out homestead pre-emptions south of the Main Llano River in Kimble County. This was the start of the Jones Ranch which was to grow in the next twenty-five years to over twenty-fine thousand acres of deeded land. At one time he and his brother controlled the grazing rights to over one hundred thousand acres. During the late 1870's they sent thousands of cattle up the trial. In one year alone, John L. drove or sent forty thousand cattle to Kansas. In the late 1880's John L. bought his brother Jim Ike's share of the ranch shortly before he married Lucy Elizabeth Stevens in Bandera whose family came to Bandera about 1840 and settled near his Dad's ranch in Bandera.
In 1896, answering the pleas of his fellow ranchmen, John L. ran for and was elected Sheriff of Kimble County. It was a very productive term of office for the county until 1898. He was credited with cleaning up the county of cattle rustlers and outlaws who were making life miserable for the ranchers and towns people alike. Among those stealing horses and cattle in the county, were the remnants of the Dalton Gang. On Feb. 6, 1897, Jones and a posse made up of John Turman, Tom Taylor, Oscar Latta, John Gardner, T. W. Frazer and Bob Owens caught up with the outlaws on the head of Bear Creek in northwestern Kimble County. In the ensuing fight that took place just over the Menard line, two of the rustlers were killed and a third wounded, captured and sent to the penitentiary. After this John L. refused to run for Sheriff again stating that during the two years as Sheriff it cost him over fifty thousand dollars through neglect of his livestock and ranch operations.
About this same time he was one of the organizers of the first bank in the county, known as the Kimble County State Bank, serving on the board of directors.
John L. Jones continued to operate his ranch and livestock operations until his death on March 28, 1912. After his death his wife and children managed the 35,000 acre ranch until the death of Lucy Eizabeth Stevens Jones in 1939.
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