A tragic accident had robbed him of his one-and-only true love and he chose to seek a secluded spot away from family, friends and society. Taking a break from running a threshing machine, he enjoyed a drink of water that his sweetheart had brought for him. As she turned to leave, her skirts were caught in the tumbling rod of the machine and she was crushed to death before his eyes.
Once he came to the Garza's Creek area he gave up his former ventures in teaming and in the sheep business and turned his attentions to the breeding of fine black horses, that were sought by mortuaries and other discerning buyers.
Jones is probably best known for his crumbling burial site at the Grangeville Cemetery in Armona, on which he labored for a third of a century. The theme of the plot is “From The Cradle to the Grave.” Going into the hills near his home, he quarried seashell-filled sandstone that he fashioned into a vault to hold his coffin. He also carved a stone cradle and a small rowboat complete with oars. These represented his belief in the life beyond earth. He portrayed his lifeboat anchored to solid rock after crossing the river of life. The site is decorated with petrified wood.
From the butt of a cottonwood tree, which he planted and watched grow for nearly forty years, he formed his own coffin, which was placed in the vault. The casket, except for the lid, was carved from a single piece of wood and used no nails. Even the screws that secured the lid were carved from wood. Only the handles on the sides of the casket were made from metal.
As his fifty-mile trips to the burial site required several days, Jones outfitted a rig that would provide for all his basic needs. Jersey cows, that were turned loose at night to graze, were trained to pull the large converted spring wagon. Chicken coops, placed under the running gears, were outfitted with canvas chutes to gently deliver the eggs to padded boxes so that they would not be broken. The chickens were also released to forage at each stop. Thus were his needs for meat, milk, eggs, butter and cream met, but that’s not all. He also carried boxes of soil and cans of water so that he could raise his own vegetables while on his trips.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/230190890340133/posts/4903209979704844/
this is mentioned in The San Joaquin Valley
By Richard Hammond, but, Google Books doesn't have more than a couple sentences
Thanks for this history.
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