Martha Jane (Robinson) Jones, known by her middle name "Jane," was born in Willard, Missouri on August 30, 1859 to Bettie (Dicks) Robinson, an enslaved woman. Sometime before 1865, Jane's family moved—or was most likely taken by their enslaver—to Farmerville, Texas (see entry for Ellison, Mollie). By 1881, Jane was back in Missouri. She married Rufus Jones, of Dade County, at the Ash Grove home of Flem Murray on February 10, 1881. Rufus Jones died before 1900, and Jane moved in with her mother. Jane also appears to have been living, at least part-time, with the family of Ash Grove grocer Courtney B. Comegys, working as their servant. From 1910 to 1920, Jane lived with her niece, Bessie Robinson, near Ash Grove. Both women worked as washerwomen. According to her death certificate, Jane died of "paresis" and "arterio sclerosis" on May 16, 1928, in Ash Grove, and was interred on May 17th in the "Berry Cemetery, Ash Grove" (Russel 2012).
Grave Marker: Jane Jones' specific place of burial within the Berry Cemetery is unknown and there is no known individual headstone for her. However, Jane is memorialized by the inscription of her name (shown below) on the monument, installed in 2017, for individuals interred in unmarked graves in the Berry Cemetery.
