R.I.P. Joy M. Kiser (1947-2022)
Our family was stunned and heart-broken to hear of Joy Kiser’s unexpected death a week ago at age 74. She would have been 75 tomorrow.
Joy was the Jones family historian. Beginning in the 1990s, Joy spent many years researching the tragic but uplifting story of Genevieve Jones (1847-1879) who spearheaded the family’s massive art project, The Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio, produced between 1879-1886.
Genevieve was my great grand-aunt. Her parents were Dr. Nelson E. Jones (1821-1901) and Virginia Smith (1827-1906) of Circleville, Ohio. Her brother Howard Jones (1853-1945) was my great-grandfather. In her grief from a broken romance and after seeing John James Audubon’s bird paintings at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, Genevieve conceived the idea of creating an art book focused on the nests and eggs of birds. Collecting birds nests was a long-standing family hobby.
Jones Family Portrait c. 1858: L-R: Howard, Nelson, Genevieve, Virginia (Author’s collection)
Unfortunately, Genevieve contracted typhoid fever soon after the project started and died after three weeks of suffering. She only contributed to the first four lithographs. As a memorial tribute, the family continued her effort, especially her mother Virginia, who taught herself to draw. As Joy described it:
Beauty, faith, and endurance are sometimes not enough. Conceived in part as a project to comfort a lovelorn young woman, (the art project) consumed seven years of exacting work by a tight-knit Ohio clan. Although the family lacked formal training in art and natural science, they produced 329 pages of detailed text and 68 gorgeously colored lithographic plates in folio format … But the work sold poorly, ultimately consuming her father’s retirement savings.[1]Joy Kiser, “Ohio’s Lady Audubon,” Timeline 17, no. 2 (Ohio Historical Society: March-April 2000): p. 2.
Although it was not a commercial success, subscribers were enthusiastic and included President Rutherford B. Hayes and college student Theodore Roosevelt. Less than 100 copies of the full folio were produced and fewer survive today. The Smithsonian Natural History Library owns two original copies of the Illustrations of the Nests & Eggs of the Birds of Ohio. It has an excellent website (here) where you can read an essay about the family by Joy and browse original images.
I first heard about Joy in the late 1990s from my father, Nelson Jonnes, whom Joy contacted for her research. What began was a more than 20-year love affair between our family and Joy. She attended many family events including my Dad’s birthday picnic in 2006, his memorial service in 2011, and the memorial services of my uncle and aunt Lynn and Lloyd Jonnes in 2014 and 2016, respectively. She was not just a family researcher, she was our dear friend and sister.
Joy’s interest in Genevieve Jones was first piqued in 1995 when she was an assistant librarian at the Cleveland Art Museum and noticed some of the Jones lithographs in a display case along with a haunting photograph of Genevieve. Years of diligent research culminated in her successful 2012 book America’s Other Audubon, awarded the Ohioana Book Award in 2013.[2]Joy M. Kiser, America’s Other Audubon (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2012).
Cover of Joy M. Kiser book, America’s Other Audubon (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012)
What a great legacy she has left with this gorgeous book! On the occasion of its 2012 publication, we presented Joy with a framed certificate bestowing honorary family membership. She loved that.
Actually, Joy never stopped researching Genevieve. She wanted to publish a more personal account of Genevieve’s life, in the style of historical fiction. She and I maintained regular contact as we often exchanged research notes, including as recently as last summer. She was warm, loyal, discreet, creative, and very hard working. We will miss her.
Love you, Joy!
Joy’s memorial service is scheduled for 2:00 – 4:00pm on Saturday, 29 January, at Zak-Thacker and Monbarren Funeral Home, 132 N. Portage, Doylestown, Ohio. Obituary here.
