R. F. Jones, of section 3, Carson Township, was born in Ross County, Ohio, July 12, 1846, the son of Joseph and Mary Elizabeth (Dickey) Jones, the former a native of Bedford County, Virginia, and old Virginian settler, who was the son of Jesse Jones, who served in the War of 1812; the latter was born in Bedford County, and was also the daughter of an old Virginia settler. They had nine children, all of whom are now living.

R. F. Jones, the eighth child of seven sons and two daughters, was three years of age when he moved with his parents to Davis County, Iowa, where he grew to manhood, engaged at farm work and attending school. At the age of nineteen he came to Pottawattamie County, where he lived for four and a half years. He first bought land in this county, in 1872, in Carson Township, section 11, which consisted of forty acres, which he afterward broke and sold. In 1874 he bought 120 acres of wild land, which he successfully broke, and built a good frame house. This was part of his present farm, and he now has 310 acres in rich bottom land along the Nishnabotna River, adjoining the town plat of Carson, and is second to none in location in the eastern part of the county. Shadeland, the home, is a beautiful place, and will compare favorably with any in Western Iowa. Here Mr. Jones raises trotting and road horses of the Hambletonian breed, and he also has a fine herd of red-polled cattle. He was one of the pioneers in the raising of fine horses and cattle in the county, and his herds are as fine as any that can be found in this part of the State.

Mr. Jones was married to Miss Cora Crain, of Macedonia Township, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 13, 1870, the daughter of John E. and Talitha (Thompson) Crain: the former was born in Ohio, and was reared at Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa, and was educated at Philadelphia; the latter was a native of Lancaster, Ohio, and died when Mrs. Jones was eighteen months old. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have six children: Edith, Laura, James Arthur, Robert Franklin, Albert Lea, Lulu Way and Rolland Roscoe.

Politically Mr. Jones is a Republican, and in 1884 was elected Supervisor of the county by a large majority; the courthouse was built during his term. He has also been Township Trustee for six years, and is a member of the I.O.O.F., Carson Lodge, No. 444. Mrs. Jones is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Jones has been Trustee, and is a supporter.