Matilda Jane Nickell Jones was my great great grandmother. I was not lucky
enough to know her, but I did know, and talk to, the grandson Warner McGuire
whom she raised.
Bud Caudle
MATILDA JANE NICKELL JONES
Jane Nickell was born in Morgan County, Kentucky on October 22, 1844, a
daughter of Joseph "Big Joe" and Matilda Lindel Nickell. No proof has been
found, but it has been passed down through the generations that Matilda
Lindel was a full blood Indian, and it is believed that "Big Joe" was half
Indian. Jane married Uriah Jones, July 4, 1860 in Morgan County, Kentucky.
Uriah was a son of Ambrose and Martha Newton Jones.To preclude confusion,
this Ambrose was a son of Ambrose and Martha Craig Jones.
At some time during the early or mid 1890's, Uriah, Jane, their unmarried
children, and their married children moved to Chickasaw lands near the old
Legate community. By 1900 the entire family had moved to the Chickasaw
Nation and had a very good start of beef cattle.
Jane was well known in the area as a compassionate mid-wife. She had brought
her thorobred horse "Blackie" with her from Kentucky. Anytime she heard that
someone was sick or having a baby, she quickly saddled "Blackie" and rode him
as fast as he would go in order to help. In 1901 when her daughter Martha
Patrick and family returned by train to the territory from a trip to
Kentucky, Jane had her work cut out for her.The entire Patrick family and
several others were very sick with measles. Jane took them all in and
doctored them until they were well again.
In 1902, Uriah and Jane moved to Osage Country just north and across the
Arkansas River from Blackburn. After they were settled in, the rest of the
family, except for the Patricks, finished the move. A large herd of cattle
was being driven to Chicago from Texas, and the Jones family entered their
herd into the drive. When they arrived at the Oklahoma Territory line, there
was a ban on Texas cattle because of an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease.
They could not cross over. The entire herd was detoured to Tulsa where the
Jones family took their cattle out of the drive, crossed the Arkansas River,
and brought them through Osage country to their ranch near Blackburn.
Uriah died July 8, 1904. There had been heavy rains (strange weather for
July), and the Arkansas River was above the bridge. His grandson Monroe
"Warner" McGuire said they put Uriah's casket up on the wagon seat, and he
sat on the casket when they took Uriah across the river into Blackburn for
burial. Jane, with the help of some of her children continued to run the
ranch until she was paralyzed by a stroke about 1915. After her stroke, she
said "I wish I could die. I'm worthless if I can't help people." And
not
long before she died on April 18, 1922, she told her grandson "I wish I had
signed up on the Indian rolls so I could have helped my kids during hard
times."
Children born to Uriah and Jane were:
(1)John DeSha, b. Mar 6, 1862, md. Louellen McGuire
(2)Nancy J., b. 1864, md. Henry Clay McGuire
(3)Isaac Washington, b. 1866, md. Sarah Bellamy
(4)Martha Frances, b. Jan 28, 1869, md. William A. Patrick, Jr.
(5)Alan Newton, b. 1871, md. Esta Mae Russell
(6)Margaret Suzanne, b. Apr 19, 1874, md. Monroe McGuire
(7)Marion, b. Feb 1874, md. Lillie Brewer
(8)Telia, b. Sep 1879, md Wash Yates
(9)Squire Perkins, b. May 26, 1882, md. Sara Frances Dean
(10)Lucreta "Cressie", b. Jan 16, 1885, md (1) Ed Henry, (2)Albert Hammon
(11)Rissie, b. Feb 8, 1890, md. (1) Cleve Henry, (2) Lewis Richardson