J.S. & Lucy Jones, LLC.

The patriarch of the Jones family, James Samuel Jones was born in 1888 in Clayton/Comer, Alabama.  He was the son of Henry Jones and Alice Coward-Jones.  Alice was a Cherokee Indian.  James Samuel had a normal childhood growing-up with his brother Theodis and sisters Ella and Viola in Clayton and Comer, Alabama.  His sister Viola had a daughter named Alice, named after her mother.  James Samuel joined the Oak Grove Baptist Church in Alabama in July 1906.

 

He married Lucy McMillian of Midway, Alabama in 1909 and they set out for Arkansas in 1916 in two wagons and with their five children (Bertha, James Samuel Jr., Lucille, Joseph, and Verlee) to make their mark.  James received his license to preach in 1914, two years before they left Alabama headed for Arkansas.  It reportedly took them approximately two weeks to make the trip—which had two mules each for the two wagons.  It is told that James Samuel came to Arkansas to work for Mr. Jackson of Kerr, Arkansas.

 

 James Samuel was the father of 11 children, nine of which survived to adulthood.  The daughters were Bertha, Lucille, Verlee, Daisy, Gladys, and Selma.  His sons are James Jr., Joseph, and Horace.  Daisy was born in Baucum, Arkansas; Horace on Mr. Nathanial Green’s farm; and Gladys on the Halson Child’s place.  They were a very close family.

 

James Samuel moved to the Scott / Kerr community in February 1922.  He joined the Zion Chapel Baptist Church and was a life-long member.  He attended Arkansas Baptist College, acquired 300 acres of land, and became one of the most respected men in the Kerr community and Lonoke County.  He was also a member of Masonic Lodge number 378, F. & A. M., and a member of the minister’s Union District Association.  His entire life was a life of being out front and leading. 

 

James Samuel joined the Corner Stone Baptist Church of Baucum, Arkansas.  He was ordained by the Corner Stone Baptist Church in 1921.  This was the year he also organized the Pine Hill Baptist Church in Palarm, Arkansas and was called as the church’s first pastor.  He was pastor of several other churches before he was called to the Land Mark Church in Ferda, Arkansas and Bell Grove Baptist Church in what was then called by some of us grandkids “the hills”.  James Samuel was a leader and a man concerned about his community and spent lots of time organizing in his community.  His contributions to the advancement of his community were many.  He was pastor of the Bell Grove Church when he died in April of 1957.

 

His wife Lucy McMillian, the matriarch of the Jones family, was also a well-known community leader.  Lucy was born December 25, 1888 in Midway Alabama.  She was the daughter of Edward McMillan and Suckey Hampton-McMillian.  Mr. McMillian was born in 1862 and died in 1911.  Mrs. Suckey was born in 1866.  Big Mama, as she was affectionally known by grand kids, had three sisters named Eddie, Judy, and Bella; three brothers named Marcus, Arthor, and Farley.  Marcus was a minister.  There may have been another sister named Susie.  Lucy was a happy and caring person who loved life and who committed early in life to giving to others. 

 

After spending time in the Baucum community, James and Lucy moved to the Kerr community in 1922 where she and he joined the Zion Chapel Baptist Church.  Lucy was very active at Zion Chapel Church.  She sang in the senior choir, taught Sunday school--a job she very much enjoyed--and served on the usher and mother’s board.

 

As mentioned, Lucy was a very giving person.  This was likely a factor in her becoming the mid-wife for her Kerr and surrounding communities, a work she carried out for over 60 years in Lonoke and Pulaski counties.  She was widely known and highly respected as a mid-wife.  She was also highly and widely praised by Dr. B. E. Holmes, a local physician, and others for delivering over 600 babies, some of which were family children. 

 

Her mid-wife work involved many wake-ups in the middle of the night and getting out in the cold, rain, and sometimes snow to serve her community.  Often the people she served were too poor to pay, not even with the occasionally offer of eggs or a chicken, but Big Mama was always there because it wasn’t about money for Big Mama, it was about serving people, it was about giving to others.

 

Years after the death of the James Samuel and Lucy, the Jones family would establish and name a limited liability company (LLC) in their memory.   The LLC helps the family manage the 260.5 acres the family owns.  (Because of local racial discriminatory policies, it is reported that James Samuel had to go to the regional federal reserve bank to borrow money to make his land purchases.)

 

Because James Samuel and Lucy both placed great emphasis on education, the Jones family established a family educational fund in 1994 to pay family children who earn an A or B in elementary and secondary school.  At the time of this writing, 2023, more than thirty family members have earned college degrees or professional certifications.

 

We the Jones family believe that if we remain true to the legacy left by James Samuel and Lucy McMillian-Jones, we too will be able to make worthy contributions to our community, our State, and to our great Nation--the United States of America.  We too believe as they did: it is our duty to help make our beloved Nation a “more perfect union”.