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Rev MARTIN ALONZO EAST
(1839-1913)
ELIZA HARRIET JONES (1842-1925) Married 3 Feb 1862 Sebastian County, Ark PIONEER SETTLERS OF
SEBASTIAN COUNTY, ARKANSAS
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These notes were compiled from material gathered since 1980 by personal research & correspondence. Other than my mother, grandmother, aunts etc, I am especially grateful to several distant "cousins" whose records, photographs, stories & oral traditions, along with my own, helped us all gain a better understanding of our East/Jones family heritage. - - - - - - - - - - - ********************************************************************* MARTIN ALONZO EAST, the son of Joseph & Permelia (Cason) East, was born 10 Jan 1839 near Highland, Madison County, Illinois. In 1817, Martin's father Joseph settled in Illinois as a youth with his parents James & Mary "Polly" (Edwards) East who left the Red River area of Robertson County, Tennessee, their farm lying very close to the Kentucky/Tennessee border. Prior to that, they resided in Oglethorpe County, GA where Martin's father was born about 1807. Martin's ancestors were all farmers. Martin's paternal grandparents, James & Polly East left Henry County, Virginia during the late 1780's & settled in Georgia along with James' parents James & Eushan East Sr. Mary "Polly" was the daughter of Edmund & Elizabeth Edwards who also settled in Oglethorpe Co GA, but later traveled to Robertson County, TN about 1812 with James & Polly. Martin's mother Permelia was born about 1812 in Screven County, GA and came to Illinois during the 1820's with her parents Hillery & Mary (Smith) Cason. Hillery and his father Hillery Sr came from the Pitt County, NC area before settling in Georgia during the 1790's. During the 1840's after his father Joseph died, young Martin, his twin sister Mary & older brother Calvin left Illinois & accompanied their mother, Cason grandparents & other relatives to the Batesville area of Independence County, Arkansas. Martin's mother Permelia married Dr John Morris in 1850, who became the step-father. Family tradition & other evidence suggests they held their step-father in high regard. Their family farm was located east of Batesville in the Gainsboro area of Independence County. In 1859, when he was a young 20 year old man, Martin was ordained a Methodist minister, becoming a "circuit rider", traveling throughout various areas of Arkansas performing his ministorial duties. His mother Permelia passed away in 1860. While with the Greenwood Circuit which was headquartered in Sebastian County, Arkansas, he met his future wife Miss Eliza Harriet Jones, the daughter of Sebastian County pioneer settlers, John & Narcissa (Rutherford) Jones. On 3 Feb 1862, shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, Martin married Eliza at the home of her parents in Sebastian County. Eliza was born 3 Feb 1842 in Greene County, Tennessee. Eliza’s parents left Tennessee when she was an infant and settled in Crawford County, Arkansas, in the area around Auburn & Bloomer which later became part of Sebastian County. Eliza's father John Jones became one of the first commissioners from Big Creek Township when Sebastian County was created in 1851. A "family tradition" related to me by Theral Jones of Greenwood, Arkansas suggests that Eliza Jones, as an infant, fell overboard into the Mississippi River while the family was enroute from Greene Co, Tennessee to Arkansas. She was about 1 year old since this journey was made about 1843. Theral Jones is a descendant of Eliza's brother Robert M. Jones. Another "family tradition" related to me by the late Juanita (McClellan) Greenfield of Fort Smith, Arkansas suggests that during the Civil War, Eliza & other family members came home to find their brother George Jones hanging from a tree on their father's place in Sebastian County. They supposedly cut him down and buried him in the Jones Cemetery. Official documents of their mother Narcissa's Civil War claims suggests that George Jones was shot by southern bushwackers and died in the arms of his wife. However, Narcissa's brother Gus Rutherford was hanged by these southern extremists. In a letter from a daughter of Robert M. Jones, Lona (Jones) Thornton, there is a "tradition" that Robert, as a child, was put on the shoulders of a friend and helped cut Gus down from the tree. In March 1863, Martin Alonzo East traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas & enlisted in Company "I" 1st Ark. U.S. Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army. His older brother Calvin had joined the Confederate Army & was killed just a few months prior at Murphreesboro TN. This was truly a war of brother against brother.
After the war, Martin brought his family back to Independence County, Arkansas,
but returned to Sebastian County by 1870, settling on a farm near Auburn. For many
years, he continued to farm & perform duties as a local Methodist minister. Martin and
Eliza had a large family of 13 children, 2 of them dying in infancy.
16 Oct 1861 - Independence Co AR (Courthouse Records-MinisterCredentials)
1870 - Federal Census (Gainsboro, Independence Co Ark, Pg 10 Fam#74)
13Jul1878 - Franklin Co AR (Land Records)
1880 - Federal Census (Bates Twp, Sebastian Co Ark, pg 186)
Federal Land Purchases (Franklin County, AR)
1900 - Federal Census (BatesTwp, SebastianCo,Ark, ED#106,sh13,HH #235)
1910 - Federal Census (Sebastian Co AR/Bates Twp HH 67)
1910 - Federal Census(Franklin Co AR,PrairieTwp/HH 219/Greenwood&Auburn Rd)
1920 - Federal Census (Sebastian Co AR/Bates Twp/HH 40) (Click on links at the top of this page for notes concerning Martin's autobiography, his Civil War pension papers & Jones Civil War papers) Children of Rev Martin & Eliza (Jones) East: Child 1: Infant EAST
Child 2: MARY BELL EAST
Child 3: CARRIE N. EAST
Child 4: MARTIN LUTHER EAST
Child 6: JOHN BAPTIST EAST
Child 7: FLORIDA EAST
Child 8: SARAH E. “Dolly” EAST
Child 9: ALONZO “HAYES” EAST
Child 10: DAISY LOUISA EAST
Child 11: MOODY HOOD EAST
Child 12: WILLIAM WARREN “WILL” EAST
Child 13: ORA BONNIE ROSCOE EAST
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