Frank Fernando Jones was born in Bath, New York. According to his book, Reminisces, Frank and his family moved from New York to Southern Michigan in 1862 and then to Illinois the following year. In 1875 they relocated again putting down roots in rural Iowa.

Once a schoolteacher, Jones became a bookkeeper for Banes and Waterman, an implement store, in 1882 and moved to Villisca with his wife Maude. He and his wife were married on January 8th of 1880. When the Baines and Waterman partnership dissolved, Frank decided to stay on and continue to work with J.S. Baines.

In 1886, the Jones’s took possession of what was then known as the “Jackson corner” on 5th Avenue and in 1898 and 1899 proceeded to build one of the grandest homes in Villisca.

In 1890, Jones took over the implement business of J.S. Boise and Son with J.L. Smith. Smith and Jones Company continued to operate and in 1892, the Waterman hardware business was up for sale. At this point in time, J.L. Smith traded his farm in Nebraska for the Waterman store and Frank Jones took over as sole owner of what would soon be known as “Jones of Villisca.”

Frank continued to operate his business independently until 1894 when he became a partner of The Farmers Bank. Other owners included Amos West, D.W. Jackson, F.M. Dirrim, and Oscar Anderson. Jones reorganized the ownership of Jones of Villisca, which then became Jones & Company.

New partners included Henry and Horace Farlin and John Garside. In 1898, the Farlin Brothers became the sole owners of Jones & Company while Frank concentrated on building his home. In 1901, Jones once again became a partner in the Jones Company when he bought out Horace Farlin.

The store operated as Jones & Farlin until 1902 when Frank took over again as the sole proprietor. The store was renamed The Jones Store. In 1903 Frank entered politics when he was elected to the State Legislature.

A year later Frank organized and opened The Villisca National Bank. The bank took over the business of the Farmers’ Bank and remained in that location until a year later when they moved into a new building on the southwest corner of the town square. Frank served for a total of 3 years in the House of Representatives and 2 years on the State Senate. He and his wife Maude had two children, Albert and Letha. Jones also served as a Methodist and Episcopalian Sunday school Superintendent for over 30 years. Frank Jones became a suspect in the Villisca Axe Murders within hours of the discovery of the bodies and would go to his grave defending his innocence.

Frank Fernando Jones died in his home in February of 1941. He was 85 years old. Frank had been preceeded in death by his son Albert who passed away in 1935. Frank was survived by his wife, Maude, daughter Letha and two sisters. Frank's obituary appeared in the Villisca Review on February 6th, 1941. The Jones family obituaries are to the right.

In an article that appeared in the Des Moines Register years ago, Blanche Pettengill, who along with her husband , Clifford, worked for F.F. and Albert Jones for 25 years said "Nobody around here really knows anything about what happened. They said 'I heard this and I heard that.' All I know is that the Jones' were the kindest and most generous people I ever met. My husband was with both F.F. and Albert when they died- and neither of them made any confession. They both died peaceful deaths."

The current owner of the Jones home, Lois Rusk purchased the house with her husband. In the register article mentioned above, Rusk said "My husband and I bought the F.F. Jones farm and we were in the attic of the house there and found Albert's old diaries and papers. We destroyed them. We felt enough had been said. We never let anyone read them either. There wasn't anything relevant in them."

When Jones died, the contents of his study were donated to the Villisca library. The library has a room in the basement that currently houses these artifacts. A note and some Grand Jury statements were found in F.F. Jones' house by the 1968 Villisca High School class that moved the Jones documents to the Villisca library.

The note read:

" Mr Jones,
I made a fool of myself talking about you on the Moore deal. There is only one fool bigger and that is Wilkerson. This is to square with you. Keep it say nothing nobody knows. Konshens"

What exactly Mr. Konshen's meant will never be known. Whether Albert's diaries or papers held any key to the Villisca Axe Murders will also remain a mystery. If Frank and Albert were innocent of any involvement in the death of the Moore family, they too became victims of one of the most heinous crimes committed in the state of Iowa.

The Jones' house on Fifth Avenue is featured in the photographs below. The original home was actually three stories as shown on the first photograph. The house caught fire in the 1930's. When Jones repaired the fire damage, he elected not to replace the third level. The photograph to the right was taken in 2002 and shows the home as it is today.

In the photograph below taken at the Villisca Cemetery, the Jones family headstones can be seen. Frank Jones is buried closest to the front. His wife Maude is next to him. The empty space between the two remaining stones of Letha and Albert was presumably purchased for Albert's wife Dona. She remarried and is supposedly buried with her second husband instead.