Oregon 1859

 The extreme western end of the Louisiana Purchase [Oregon country] had been settled by fur traders, missionaries, and farmers from the eastern side of the Mississippi.  By 1843, enough folks had gathered to form a compact for government which helped provide cooperation among the various settlements.  The earliest JONES to arrive in this territory was Michael Jones, b. 1804,  Kanawha Co., VA.  He is reported to have arrived Oregon 15 November 1845.  He settled a land claim 6 April 1852, and would have been one of the first to carrying the surname JONES.  Oregon officially became a State of the Union in 1859.

There were a fair number of JONES in the 1860 Census of Oregon.  Some making land claims before Michael, but he is the earliest to have arrived that I have been able to discover.  From all over it seems the JONES surname comes : 1) Ohio, 2) New York, 3) Indiana, 4) Kentucky, 5) Pennsylvania, 6) Maryland, 7) New Jersey, 8) Tennessee, 9) North Carolina, 10) Iowa, 11) Virginia, 12) Missouri, 13) South Carolina, 14) Nebraska, 15) Alabama, 16) Illinois, 17) Ireland, 18) Bavaria,  and 19) Germany.  What a deal...a mixing and matching indeed. 

Data from 1860 census taken from: Jones Journeys, Vol. 4, 1976, pp.59-63.
Michael Jones found Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims, Vol. I; abstracted by Geneal. Forum of Portland, Oregon 1957.  As abstracted: Jones Journeys, Vol. 11, 1983-1984, p.710.