The California gold fields attracted many to this part of the world. For those with JONES surname it seemed to be so. The index to the 1850 census reveals that every county except San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties had numerous Jones. They were from many different places including : NY, VA, KY, VT, NJ, MO, OH, ME, DE, PA, MI, WI, CT, IL, MA, LA, TN, AL, MS, GA, IN, Wales, Great Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Mexico, and Canada. What a melting pot indeed. A real set of brick walls for those tree climbers.
The earliest Jones I could find in the Marriages of Sonoma Co., dated 10 Oct 1847. It shows a William J. Reynolds marriage to Isabella Jones. Isabella is a name appearing in my own family tree. At any rate, you can begin to understand the web of branches that this state provides.
Source: Jones Journeys, Vol. 10, p. 639, under "Sonoma County, California, Marriages 1844 - 1860". The 1850 census is given in Jones Journeys, Vol. 6, pp 40-41 and p. 65 , and also found in Vol. 16, pp. 1548 - 1551.
