Thursday, February 26, 2015

Louisiana 1812

In 1682, La Salle first descended the Mississippi River to its mouth.  He claimed the territory for France, and gave it the name of  Louisiana.  Since that date, it has been called "the territory of Orleans", as well as "the district of Louisiana".  Spain [acquires from France 1762] and France [ceded by Spain to France 1800] dealt with this land until 1803, when it became part of a new tract of country [purchased by the United States], called of course, the "Louisiana Purchase". 


It became a new "State" in 1812.  With this cultural background [French and Spanish] it is understandable why there are not many appearing with the surname JONES! 

As best as I can tell, Marshall Jones, Sr. (age 49) is listed in the 1860 census of  "Winn Parish".  He is recorded as being born in LA.  Thus, at least his mother would have be present one year before the Louisiana Purchase became a State.  All his family members are shown to be born in LA.  Other folks of the same age (in 1860) are shown to be born in other states such as AL, TN, SC, and GA.  For example,  Jesse Jones, age 56, in the 1850 census of  "Natchitoches Parish" is the oldest JONES living in Louisiana. (in 1850).  However,  he was born in NC.   In the same household, a Matilda Jones, age 26, is also listed, but is shown as being born in FL.  If this was a daughter [and not wife], he would be in FL until at least 1824.  Whew...those French and Spanish did not utilized the JONES surname.  Does anyone have other information regarding the first JONES in Louisiana?

These census data can be found in : "Louisiana, Natchitoches Parish, 1850 Census, Jones Journeys, Vol. 19, [1991-1992] p. 1928, and "Louisiana, Winn Parish, 1860 census, "Union Parish, 1850 Census", Jones Journeys, Vol. 18, [1990-1991] pp. 1790-1791.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Ohio 1787



Ohio was formed as a state in 1803.  It has become known as "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers".  But in 1787, one of the first surveys is to be found in Adams County [Deed Books 1, 2, 3, 1797- 1803, p.28] is recorded:

"For military service for 3 years service in the Virginia Line and by Act of Congress 10 Aug 1790: 9 June 1793 - grant to Noble Grimes, assignee of Churchill Jones.  100 acres surved 17 Nov 1787 on Military warrant #2311." [Jones Journeys, Vol. 19, 1991-1992, p.1930]

Most likely, Churchill Jones never arrived in Ohio, but a Jones had something to do with one of the earliest surveys.

Samuel G. Jones, born in Maryland, and came to Ohio from Kentucky in 1802 may be the first Jones to officially arrive.  He was born 1778 and died at age 63 years.  He is found in Scioto County, from "Portsmouth Pioneer Families". [Jones Journeys, Vol. 12, 1984-1985, p. 916.]

Does anyone know more about the first Jones to Ohio?