John Jones, 1637, was the first to be listed in the land patent records, Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD. According to Gust Skordas this is recorded in Book 1, page 19, and is recorded in "Maryland Jones Arrivals", p. 1287, Jones Journeys, Vol. 14. This is from "The Early Settlers of Maryland (1633 - 1680") compiled by Gust Skordas. Whew...all that is to say you can get lost in the documents, but it extremely important to record where the records are available. This documentation is a foundation to genealogy for the serious tree climber.
Above is shown the state quarter for Maryland. It shows the year that the colony became a state. The dates I am recording represent the chronology based upon the earliest settlement records that record a JONES surname.
I am looking for information on the Thomas Jones and Winifred Thorn Jones family of Prince George's County, Maryland. Thomas was born on Jan. 3, 1775 in MD (parents unknown) and Winifred was born in 1776 in either VA. or MD. Her father was Benjamin Thorn and her mother was Amelia Artis Swann.
ReplyDeleteThomas and Winnie married in Prince George's County on December 26, 1789 and 6 months later Winifred gave birth to a girl on July 28, 1790. They also had a son Thomas born around 1791 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Young Thomas, a tailor by trade, enlisted in the army on October 14, 1813 in Providence, R.I. He served at Fort Edgecomb, Maine until his honorable discharge on May 4, 1815 in Wiscasset, Maine. On October 6, 1817, he was issued one of the earliest bounty land warrants which he signed over to his father Thomas.
Thomas, Jr. went to Ohio where he became the father of at least four children - Thomas b. 1822, James b. 1823, Dennis b. 1824 and Pattee b. 1833. We assume that Thomas Jr. and his wife died sometime between 1833 and 1840 when their children are found living with his parents in Milford, Knox, Ohio. The grandchildren were all living near Thomas and Winnie in Milford on the 1850 census too. The were living near a Lemuel Jones from MD for that ten year period, so I assume they were related.
The entire family moved to bounty land in Warren County, IL. Thomas, Sr. died in 1855 and Winifred in 1858 with both being buried in the Green Bush cemetery in Warren County, Illinois.
Any information that would fill in the blanks would be most welcome.
Hello Betty...thanks for you query on Thomas Jones. Maryland certainly has its unique history. Have you checked the 1776 census records? There is a reference from "Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, County, and Church from Original Sources, by Gaius Marcus Brumbough, in Jones Journey, Vol. 19, 1991 - 1992. This might be helpful to find a listing of those with the JONES surname and a male child around 2 yrs of age?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your suggestions. I am a grandmother who has written "stories" about six generations of ancestors for my grandchildren. I was just about to give up on the Jones family and publish the stories to give to them when I found your wonderful site. I am now giving it one more try thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteI had used Brumbough's online book to verify Thomas and Winny's marriage date (p. 129), but had not looked at the 1776 census. I found a dozen Jones families and outside of a Sarah Jones with a 1 year old son, I could not tell the ages of the children. A Sarah Jones married a Thomas Gill on Aug. 30, 1777 and another Sarah Jones married a John Magruder on Feb. 3, 1791. I tried finding Thomas Gill and John Magruder linked to Sarah with Thomas and Winny on the 1790 census with no luck. Since Thomas was just 14 and Winny 13, I assume they would be living with a relative. What would you suggest?
Have you checked the other counties?
ReplyDeleteNo, I have not. That will be my next step. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIn 1776 census for Frederick Co. (Now Montgomery Co.) there is a Thomas Jones age 25 and a Mary Jones age 22 who are listed with a Susanna age 3, and a Thos. age 2. This may be the folks?
ReplyDeleteI am so excited about your find and certainly agree that they may be the missing parents of my Thomas. Where are you finding the 1776 census with names and ages? Even the one I used from Brumbough's online census for Maryland did not give that information.
ReplyDeleteI just returned from driving into our nearby town to access Ancestry.com at our local library, but their information on the 1776 census is abbreviated and unusable. I had found a site before I went to the library (Maryland Census Index) that listed just the names of the people in each county and where to find them if you were lucky enough to find the Maryland Census. I did find two Thomas Jones in Frederick County and then where it said "Hundreds" it said Montgomery County.
I looked on Familysearch.com and find that there are now three Thomas Jones listed.
Would you be so kind as to look at that census and see if the third Thomas is Thomas and Winny? I know by 1791 they were in Philadelphia, Philadelphia since there son Thomas was born there.
Thank you so much.
I forgot to ask that you look at the 1790 census to see if Thomas and Winny are living near his parents. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI found Thomas, Mary, Thomas and Susanna on p. 203-204 of Brumbough's book - Hurray! But, how can I prove that they are my Jones family?
ReplyDeleteYou might want to use my blog on The Brick Wall Protocol at http://thebrickwallprotocol.blogspot.com start with what you know then add what you have found using the principles outlined...hope it helps...:-)
ReplyDeleteI am working on it and will let you know how it all comes out. Thank you for a very informative blog on working past brick walls.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome...this blog has been helpful to a number of tree climbers...:-)
ReplyDeleteI am back with new questions on Thomas Jones, Veteran of the War of 1812. He remarried in Caroline, VA in 1830 to Mary Swann. I found him and his family in Warren County, Illinois censuses for 1840, 1850 and 1855. He was "squatting" on Illinois bounty land he had sold in 1818. By 1856, his land had been sold four times by the true owners and he moved to Bates County, MO and is found on the 1860 census. He was living in ElDorado, Butler, KS in 1870. Are there any Jones families searching for this elusive fellow?
ReplyDeleteWhat new questions do you have?
ReplyDeleteIn 1850, Thomas Jones and his wife, Winny, moved with their grandsons, Thomas and Dennis Jones, from Milford, Knox County, Ohio to the bounty land in Warren County, Illinois. It had been occupied by Thomas Jones, Veteran of the War of 1812, since 1840. Grandson Thomas died there in 1851, Thomas SR. died in 1855 and Winny died in 1858 - all are buried in the Greenbush Cementery. How do I prove that Thomas Jones, veteran of the War of 1812, is the father of Thomas Jones who died in 1851 and the son of Thomas Jones who died in 1855. Is the fact that they all lived together on the same bounty land property proof or is it just circumstantial evidence?
ReplyDeleteHello again Betty...sounds like you are making some real progress...several things come to mind...1) is there a family plot in this Greenbush Cememtery? 2) would draw a 4 generational genogram with birth dates/marriage dates/to establish ages of each 3) use 1850 census to match genogram to dates and ages of each 4) all should line up according to ages in census for each...also might want to check 1812 War record for Thomas (often gives family info.) The fact that they occupied the same land/shared the same names/ and buried the same place makes very strong evidence, but if your detailed chronology may show it not to be the case.
ReplyDeleteI have done all of the above and they match. 1840 and 1850 census's for Knox, Ohio show Thomas Jones and his wife, Winny, living with or near the two grandsons Thomas and Dennis. Tombstone record for grandson Thomas and Thomas SR. and his wife Winny all in the Greenbush Cemetery
ReplyDelete1840, 1850 and the Illinois 1855 census has Thomas Jones Veteran of the war of 1812 living on the bounty land (I have a copy of the actual bounty land award with the coordinates and they match.) Thomas Jones's wife and children are living next to Veteran Thomas Jones, Thomas Sr. and Winny and brother Dennis on 1855 Census. Every thing matches so can I say this is proof of the relationship among Thomas Jones, Sr. 1775-1855, Thomas Jones 1820-1851 & Thomas Jones 1791-1872 or 1873? Thanks.