Valentine’s Day 1850 – James Jones married Phebe Mouser

Esther Howland Valentine, circa 1850: 

"Weddings now are all the go, 

Will you marry me or no"?

James Jones married Phebe Mouser on the 14th of February 1850.  We don’t know anything about the wedding ceremony, but it may have taken place in the Mouser home, near Rocky Mound in Hempstead county Arkansas.  The little community where the Mousers lived no longer appears on modern maps.  But, in its day, Rocky Mound sat about four miles east of the town of Hope in the southwestern corner of Arkansas.  

Did the young couple purposefully choose a Valentine’s Day wedding?   In 1850, the 14th of February fell on a Thursday.  It was not uncommon during this period to have a “weekday” wedding.  In the mid-nineteenth century wedding traditions were shifting from a church ceremony, to a more intimate gathering in the bride’s family home.  Weddings were often held in the morning, and were followed by a breakfast for the guests. 

But, what of the Valentine’s Day connection?   The origin of Valentine’s Day is probably related to a St Valentine who was celebrated on the Catholic liturgical calendar on the 14th of February.  In the fourteenth century, Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to link the Christian feast day to romantic love, by the writing of a poem.  Gradually the practice of exchanging cards and gifts grew up around the feast day.  By the 18th century, traditions of homemade cards with lace, ribbons, cupids, and hearts were popular in England.  America followed after. 

Only a few years before the Jones and Mouser wedding a new epoch in Valentine’s Day celebrations had begun.  In 1847, Esther Howland, a young woman in Worcester Massachusetts, began a business of mass producing Valentine cards.  The story goes that Esther, inspired by a lovely valentine card she had received from England, began a “cottage industry”.  Her father, a prominent stationer in Worcester, was able to import supplies of paper lace, ribbon and decorations, and her brother was her first salesman.  The business, under her direction for almost thirty-five years, proved wildly successful. 

It is satisfying to think that James and Phoebe chose the “traditional day of romance” for their wedding.  The surging popularity of the holiday around 1850, suggests this as a real possibility.  But, whether true or not, the day was likely filled with wishes for love and happiness from their family and friends. 


For more details on James Jones and Phoebe Mouser, visit their individual pages at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com. 

Moving back in time:  Edith W Tanner 1902 (wife of Robert Hutchison) > Mary Lula Smith 1879 > Eliza Alice Jones 1859 > James Jones 1824 (married Phoebe Mouser)

Meet the Joneses

James Jones married Phoebe Mouser in 1850 Hempstead county Arkansas.  They first set up housekeeping near the Jones family in neighboring Lafayette county Arkansas, but ten years later (1860) they were settled near the Mouser family outside Rocky Mound, Hempstead county Arkansas.   James Jones and Phoebe Mouser are my paternal 3xgreat-grandparents.

In the 1860 Census of Hempstead county Arkansas, James Jones and his wife “Feeby” have four children in their household:  Mandy J (Amanda) Jones age 8, Martha Anne Jones age 6, Martin T Jones age 4, and Eliza A (Alice) Jones age 11 months.  Their youngest son, Isaac Jones was born after 1860. 

There is evidence that James Jones served in the Civil War.  He and his wife “Phobe” appear on a list of ‘Families of Indigent Soldiers in Hempstead County Arkansas, 1862’.  There are three Jones men appearing on a list for Company C of the 24^th Arkansas Infantry – Gabriel Jones, JH Jones, and W Jones.  I suspect, but am not certain, that JH Jones is our James  Jones (probably James Henry Jones), and the others are his two brothers Gabriel Jones and William Jones.  I hope to explore the Civil War Service of the Jones family in Arkansas in a later blog post. 

My question for now . . . Did James Jones die during service in the Civil War?  We have no further records for him following the 1862 listing of Families of Indigent Soldiers.  There is some disagreement over the date of birth for his youngest son, Isaac Jones.  Sources give his birth year in 1863 and 1866.  I have been unable to locate the Jones family in the 1870 census, but “Febey” Jones does appear as a widow in the 1880 census of DeRoan township, Hempstead county Arkansas. 

Phoebe Mouser Jones and her children; (front) Martin Jones, Phoebe  Jones, Amanda Jones Crosnoe*; (back) Martha Jones Stewart*, Isaac Jones, Alice Jones (Smith) Herndon; about 1895*; *identity uncertain

This wonderful photograph of Phoebe Mouser Jones and her five children appears in LaFrona Foshee Mouser’s 1978 book, “A Genealogy of the Mouser Ancestry, Including the Best and other families.”  A copy of this treasured photo was shared with my mother by Roy and LaVeta Mouser of Hope Arkansas.  I am not absolutely certain that I have labeled the children in the photo correctly.

For more details on James Jones, Phoebe Mouser, and their children, visit their individual pages at FamilyStories, pamgarrett.com.  Children:  Amanda Jane Jones (1852-1905) married John Malachi Crosnoe (1848-1918); Martha Ann Jones (1854-1942) married John M Stewart (1851-1930);  Martin Terrell Jones (1856-1932) married Susan Hooper (1854-1927);  Eliza Alice Jones (1859-1942) married first Richard Smith (b.1856) and married second Phillip Herndon (b.1868); Isaac Jones (1863-1918) married Hettie Herndon (b.1874).

Moving back in time:  Edith W Tanner 1902 (wife of Robert Hutchison) > Mary Lula Smith 1879 > Eliza Alice Jones 1859 > James Jones 1824 (married Phoebe Mouser)

Mouser: A Branch of the Family in Hempstead County Arkansas

In March of 1988 I traveled with my parents and my two young daughters to the area around Hope Arkansas to do a little family history sleuthing.  We were in search of my Dad’s Smith, Jones, and Mouser families.  That was almost twenty-five years ago, and my memories of that trip are a bit dim.  But fortunately, I have a few photographs and notes to jog my memory.  This blog post reflects on several discoveries we made related to our Mouser family during, and as a result of that trip.

The town of Hope is in the southwest corner of Arkansas, in the county of Hempstead.  Between 1825 and 1830 my paternal 4xgreat-grandfather, George Mouser, bought property and established his family at Rocky Mound, about four miles east of Hope.  One of the highlights of our Arkansas trip was meeting Roy and LaVeta Mouser.  Their gracious hospitality led us to the Mouser Memorial Cemetery (aka Rocky Mound Cemetery), and the old Mouser homestead.  They also introduced us to LaFrona Foshee Mouser’s book, “A Genealogy of the Mouser Ancestry, Including the Best and other families.”  This excellent resource, published in 1978, opened up a wealth of information about our Mouser ancestry. 

During our 1988 visit we viewed and photographed the old George Mouser Homestead from the road.  Family tradition suggests that this was the home built by George Mouser in the 1820’s, where he lived with his wife Phoebe Best Mouser and their thirteen children.  This early construction date has been questioned.  In her 1978 genealogy, LaFrona Mouser states, “This cabin still has two rooms and a hallway still standing with 14 inch wall.  It was sold by Isaac Mouser, Sr in 1907 and was the first time it passed out of Mouser hands for over eighty years.”  Roy Mouser (of Roy and LaVeta mentioned above) made a model of the George Mouser Homestead.  It was displayed at several Mouser Family Reunions in Hope Arkansas in the 1970s. 

Near the Mouser homestead we also photographed Mouser Memorial Cemetery (aka Rocky Mound Cemetery).  None of our direct Mouser family line is buried there, but family tradition indicates that George Mouser and his wife Phoebe Best Mouser are buried almost across the street in the totally overgrown Madison D Hall Cemetery.

 

As previously mentioned, George Mouser and Phoebe Best had thirteen children.  My family descends from their daughter Phoebe Mouser, who was born in 1834, and married to James Jones of neighboring Lafayette county Arkansas in 1850.  You can read about the Jones Family in my upcoming blog posting titled, Meet the Joneses.   For more details on George Mouser and Phoebe Best, visit their individual pages at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com.

Moving back in time:  Edith W Tanner 1902 (wife of Robert Hutchison) >Mary Lula Smith 1879 >Eliza Alice Jones 1859 >Phoebe Mouser 1834 >George Mouser abt 1800 (married Phoebe Best)