Buena Vista County, IA
USGenWeb Project

Jones, William A., cashier of the Security Bank, is well known in business and financial circles in Storm Lake and Buena Vista county. His record has been characterized by that steady progress which results from the expansion of one's innate powers and talents and by a ready mastery of the duties which each day brings. He was born in De Witt county, Illinois, in 1853, his parents being Arthur C. and Nancy (Swisher) Jones, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The father was of Welsh lineage. A tanner by trade, he followed that occupation in Illinois and then turned his attention to farming there. At an early age he went to De Witt county, where he entered a tract of land from the government and began converting the wild prairie into well improved fields. To his original holdings he also added and became a prosperous farmer, who et success in the tilling of the soil and also in handling cattle. His political views were in accord with the principles of the republican party, and the motives which governed his life were largely found in his religious faith as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife belonged to the same church, was an earnest Christian woman, and both enjoyed the full confidence and esteem of those who knew them. The death of Mr. Jones occurred April 25, 1874, when he was about sixty years of age, while his wife died arch 25, 1882, also at the age of sixty years. They were the parents of eight children, of whom two died in infancy.

William A. Jones, the fifth in order of birth, was reared on the home farm and attended the country schools, working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he pursued his education. He continued on the old homestead until 1882 when, thinking to find other business pursuits more congenial and profitable, he turned his attention to merchandising. He had taken up his abode in Storm Lake in the spring of 1878, but in the fall of that year he removed to a farm in Hayes township, which he had previously purchased. There he resided until 1881, when he again came to Storm Lake and entered the implement business in connection with George W. Perrine, under the firm name of Perrine & Jones. After a short time, however, he sold out to his partner and again resumed agricultural pursuits in Maple Valley township, where he remained for a year and a half. On the expiration of that period he came to Storm Lake and bought a stock of dry goods, formerly owned by a Mr. Robinson. This was in 1883 and he continued successfully in that line of business until January, 1908, having a large and well appointed store, while a liberal patronage was accorded him. On the 18th of February of the same year he went into the Security Bank, a private institution, having a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and has since been its cashier.

Mr. Jones was married to Miss Nellie G. Spooner, a daughter of J. C. Spooner, a pioneer farmer of Grant township. Mr. Jones belongs to the Odd Fellows society, while the religious faith of his wife is that of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a republican and though he never seeks nor desires office he is a loyal advocate of its principles, for he believes that they constitute the basis of sound and progressive government. He has always preferred to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs and his life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, so that he is numbered today among the substantial citizens of Buena Vista county.