Massachusetts 1631

The court party surrounding James I had all sorts of ideas about how to make money from this relatively new process called "Royal Patents".   The folks from Scotland were invited to "Nova Scotia", the Welsh had their colonial plans [Sir William Vaughan ], and most wanted a piece of this thing called the "Virginia Company".  A "New England" was visualized just north of the lands claimed by the Virginia Company, and it became the location of many with the surname JONES.

The first I have been able to identify is found Jones Journeys, Vol. VI, p. 89.  A Edward Jones is recorded as follows:

"Edward Jones, Charlestown, freeman 18 May 1631, with prefix of resp. was prbably therefore a passenger in the fleet with Winthrop, yet no more is known of him but that he was there in 1636 probably, and by wife Ann, daughter of George Griggs of Boston, had Mary, bapt. 8 Jan 1637; Elizabeth b. 11 May 1643.  His widow married Robert Latimeore."

Massachusetts was formed out of this "New England".  Its quarter is shown below.

There are many, many with the surname JONES abstracted from A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register, Vol. II, by James Savage, Little Brown & Co. (1860), Boston.  Any folks out there who share descent from this early group of JONES?  Let's network!

This abstract can be found in Jones Journeys, Vol. VI, pp. 88 - 94, and pp. 129 - 133.