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The Joneses - Dora (Doshia)
Jones Frenchman, Bartlesville, Oklahoma Died 1903. Daughter of William
Stephens and Mary Ann DeWitt, Jones
Dora Jones Frenchman, sister of Joseph Hubbard Jones. Her death date
found on her marker at the cemetery in Caney, Kansas is shown to be June,
23, 1903.
Dora was adopted by the Cherokees in 1896, roll number page 305,
#392, while she was living around Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She was married
to COO-WEET-SCOO-WEET, Family name Ross, Edward Frenchman. His roll number
on the 1896 roll page 368 was #274. Dawes Roll was #31138.
Coo-Weet-Scoo-Weet, Ed Frenchman is listed on the 1880 roll, page 102,
#1073. The name Coo-Weet-Scoo-Weet was handed down from ancestor to
descendent as in this case from Chief John Ross according to the
archives in Fort Worth the name means, "White Bird That Flies In The
Morning."
Dora is buried at
Caney, Kansas, toward the middle of the cemetery. There is a cedar tree
that stands close to her grave. Someone, no one knows who, planted a
white rose bush beside her white marker. Dora had no descendants because
her only surviving son, Dennis Frenchman and his wife, Rose, had no
children. My father, Lee Otis Jones, his brother, Dennis Homer Flynn Jones
and their sister Adah Gertrude Jones Wadley would be her descendants by
way of children of Joseph Hubbard Jones, (my grandfather) and brother to
Dora Jones Frenchman.
The material
received from the Fort Worth, Texas archives, is lengthy and
interesting. It is an affidavit in the words of Dora and the person
questioning her. The situation is that of her validating her marriage to
Edward Frenchman. Since Oklahoma was not a state at the time, and had no
state government, there was no other way she could register their
marriage but through the Cherokees and the federal government. This was
the official questioning of her marriage, where it was held, when it was
and who presided over it. Her minister was also questioned and his
statement regarding the validity of the marriage was also recorded.
It is, indeed, a strange feeling to be reading the exact words of our
ancestor. We can read between the lines to detect her personality.
Typical of the Joneses, she seemed to have a quiet personality. Dora,
whose name was actually Doshia, was humble and anxious to be law abiding
by legalizing her marriage. The sadness of her life brought tears when
Inez Barbee, then living at Caney, took us directly to her grave. Inez was
92 at the time, but well, and most alert.
Dora died tragically.
The newspaper account of her death was in the Bartlesville library but
when I went back, it was no longer there. The old newspaper clipping was
gone. The story is listed in the historical section of records at Oklahoma
City. She also had tuberculosis at the time of her death. Her daughter,
Effie, died shortly after at the age of sixteen, also with tuberculosis.
Effie Frenchman is buried next to her mother and the reading on the stone
in the Caney, Kansas cemetery is sad. They are matching, large white
stones. Dennis Frenchman and his wife, Rose, are buried beside his Mother
and sister. Dennis and Rose's markers are low, flat markers. They are
matching, also and are black in color.
Dora's son, Dennis,
though he had white blood, showed none. His characteristics were strong
Native American, Delaware. He was law enforcement around the Caney area.
Yearly he performed at a wild west rodeo riding a horse full out beside a
buffalo, bringing it down with an arrow directly through its heart. The
Humane society later stopped this practice. He drove the school bus for
years and was well acquainted with the citizens in the area. There are
people in the Caney Valley close to Bartlesville who still remember him.
He was well liked because of his gentle personable ways. Anyone who
remembers him to this day shows respect for him. |
