War To The Death - TrueWest Magazine Article

Here is a link to my article that appears in the February edition of TrueWest Magazine. it is about the life and times of William Porter Jones. http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/history/history/history-features/4879-war-to-the-death

Will Jones was a young man who left his family in southern Missouri in 1858 to search for gold in the Western Territories. He worked as a placer miner in many of the well known mining camps: Pike's Peak, Colorado; Grass Valley, California; Aurora, Nevada; Hassayampa River, Lynx Creek, Big Bug Creek Arizona from 1859 to 1864. This is a photo of Joseph Walker, the famous trapper and guide who led the first party of Pioneers to the Prescott area in 1863. Jones encountered the Walker Party in the fall of 1863, after his trek from Aurora, Nevada. Jones worked placer mining claims along the Hassayampa River, Lynx Creek, and Big Bug Creek. He was associated with some of the important leaders of the era: J.T. Alsap, Theodore Boggs, King Woolsey, etc. The fascinating story of William Jones is included in a collection of nine letters that were donated by his family to the Sharlot Hall Museum. This is a link to the letters on the Arizona Memory Collection:http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/shmwpj/id/71/rec/36

150th Anniversary of the Arizona Territory

I am continuing to research the Territorial history of Arizona. February 2013 marks the 150th Anniversary of the formation of the Arizona Territory. The Arizona Territory was formed in the midst of the Civil War. The South claimed the southern portion of Arizona as part of the Confederacy. President Lincoln signed this bill into law on February 24, 1863. Prescott was chosen as the original Territorial Capital, despite the fact that Tucson was a more established town. Tucson was located in the disputed portion of the Territory. Here is a link to the Library of Congress: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llhb&fileName=037/llhb037.db&recNum=1985