Merioneth

Merion, who from Welsh ancestry, was of lineal descent from Cunedda. He is credited with saving north Wales from the Irish after the fall of Rome, thus giving his name to this ancient territorial designation.  Thus, "Meirionydd" was the district over which he ruled.

The first with the surname JONES recorded in the English legal records for this area was William Jones, 1547 - 1551. [Bundle 1238/ No. 50]  He his described as "an infant by Edward Pery his guardian".  In this record, the reasons for the suit had to do with "messuages" [land] in "Llandecwyn" which was owned by Humphrey Jones, "father of complainant".  Therefore, William Jones is listed by case in the records, but Humphrey Jones would have to be alive in the area before this time.  "John ap Evan ap Rice" and "Rice ap Jevan" were listed as "Plantiff(s)".  This again shows how the English records related to the surname JONES and the name John/Jevan.

 A map is shown of Merioneth, and its general geographic location in Wales.

 A detailed discussion of Merionethshire and its history can be found in Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales, by Nicholas, Vol. II, pp. 649-714.

Flint

Edward I continued to slice and dice the ancient comots of Wales under the Statute of Rhuddlan 1283.  The ancient region know as Tegaingl was to become Flintshire.  Ironically, the very town of Rhuddland is in this county where the very statue was signed in 1283.

The first JONES recorded in the English legal records was Edward Jones, 1544. [Bundle 1135/No. 30]
His suit was against  "Edward Puelston, esq., son and heir of Roger Puelston, knt."  Both these folks ended up being connected to my own JONES family tree.  Various geographic locations such as "Mastyn" [Mostyn], "Basingwerk"[ Basingwerk Abby], Pengwern, and Holywell were play a role in my JONES family history.  Several of these locations are shown in the figure below in the context of of northeast Wales.

The geographic relationships between Chester, Wrexham, Llangollen, and St.Asaph are shown.  It was in this area that my JONES family took its roots.

Denbigh

The first English document using the name "Denbigh" is found 24 October, 1282, under Edward I. [Calendar of Patent Rolls, Vol. 2, p.38-39 ]  Before this time, it seems to have been referred to a "Perfedd-wlad" meaning the interior land.  There were four "cantrefs" which could be viewed as our counties of today.  These were 1) Rhos, 2) Rhyfoniog, 3) Ystard, and 4) Dyffryn.  These cantrefs were to play an important role in my own JONES surname family tree.

The first JONES (spelled Johnes) was Robert Johnes, listed as "vicar of Llanvau" [ Llan-fairdyffryn-clwyd] in the records of 1553 - 1555. [bundle 1363/no.55-56]  A John Jevans (1538), and a  Jeavan ap Griffith ap David ap Tuder (1544) appear before Robert, which show how the spellings were being listed.

Interestingly, it is recorded that "Thomas ap Jevan ap David ap Blethyn, alias Thomas Jones" is clearly listed [bundle 1363/ no. 62] during the same time period 1553 - 1555.  This shows the transition from the Welsh naming system to the English surname system. 

It is my own JONES family that has its earliest bridge from the Welsh to the English naming system during this transition period, and from this geographic area.  What a deal!

Carnarvon

This northwestern most part of Wales was first known as Arfon.  This meaning over against, or near, the island of Mon (Anglesey).  Caer' narfon thus meaning the stronghold (fort) in Arfon.  Snowdon (3,471 ft.) rises quickly from the shore giving a natural boundary to this land.

The earliest JONES is dated 1538 - 1544.  The case is found in bundle 1016/ No. 49.  The suit is in the name of Sampson Jones of London, but listed as the son and heir of Humphrey Jones.  The Plaintiff (s) is listed as Richard ap Evan ap Davy, clerk.   The reason is "detention of deeds relating to land in Arduddaye & elsewhere".  It would seem that Sampson Jones had moved to London (usually a step to represent the family's interest/business/trade), and his (most likely) relative, questioned part of the inheritance.  Certainly a never ending story it is.

The following figure shows the geographic position of Carnarvon.

 A detailed history and discussion of Carnarvon can be found in Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales, by Nicholas, Vol. I, pp. 309 - 364.

The surname JONES is found next 1558 [Richard Jones and Margaret , bundle 100/ no. 38] and continues at a steady pace from this period of records. [ 1558 - 1579 ]

Anglesey

The JONES surname first appears in the records of history over a fairly short period.  For Wales,  there is a distinct pattern that forms for the JONES surname based upon a number of factors.  Geography, annexation pattern, resistance to English rule, and family are just a few of these factors.  The next series of post will present my research into the JONES surname as it appears in the English legal records of Wales.

This post begins with Anglesey.  It is the most northwestern segment of Wales with a very distinct history.  It is also the place where the JONES surnames appears the least among the counties of Wales.  The figure shown below shows the geographic location.

As Anglesey, it was first created a county by the Statute of Rhuddlan (Statutum Wallie of 12 Edward I,  March 3, 1284 AD)  Prior to this, it was generally a part of the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd know as Mon. [Ynys in Welsh is island.]  The Act of Union 1536, brought English to the island as the only official language of the courts.  The following is the recorded names as written for "John".

"Jevan ap Llewelyn ap Howel"  1544 - 1547 [bundle/no. = 1135/3-6]
"Hugh ap David ap Jevan"  1558 - 1579 [bundle/no. = 102/35]
"Owen ap Jevan" 1558 - 1579 [bundle/no. = 103/11]
     in suit with "John ap Jevan ap Meredith"
"Richard ap Thomas ap John" 1558 - 1579 [bundle/no. 103/34]
"Agnes vergh David ap John" 1558 - 1579 [bundle/no. 103/50]
     in suit with "Hugh ap John ap William ap Eigan"

No JONES surname appears during this period.  You can see the Norman-French influence with the spelling "Jevan".  The English spelling "John" then starts to appear.

A detailed history of Anglesey is given in Nicholas, Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales, Vol. I,  pp. 1-52.

Derivation of The JONES Surname

The formation of a word from another word or base is called its derivation.  Sort of like a "word" family tree as might be viewed  in our world of genealogy.  The following diagram shows such a derivation for our surname JONES.

Sumerian writing started things off some time around 2800 BC. Symbols for sounds with the swipe of a little stick.  Who would have thought?  The Chaldean, then Hebrew languages soon followed giving the context, in words, for the first appearance of the name on the written thoughts of man. [ Recorded in the first book of Chronicles, chapter 25, verse 4 around 970 BC.]

When Alexander got around to taking the world by storm (334 - 325 BC), the Greek language became the language of the world.  Around 285 BC, the scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew writings into the Greek language which is called the Septuagint.  Little did they know that another group called the Romans would replace their language with that Latin.  (265 BC - 44 BC) 

It took the next 400 years for the Latin to be written by those of the Christian faith into the form that was to become the name JOHN.  With the spread of Christianity (600 AD - 1100 AD) the name of JOHN took on its on significance.  The Celtic Church, the Norman (French), the Anglo-Saxon and many other groups of folks took the name to give to their sons.  Each language giving its own pronunciation and spelling.  The Welsh of Celtic origins, had no "J" in their alphabet, and it took the Anglo-Saxon under Norman conquest to finally make the transliteration JOHN.  [Welsh "J" sound was written "Si".]  When the three Edwards [I,II, III], and finally the Tudors, ended the process of Welsh annexation [The Act of Union, 1536]  the name JOHN was transliterated to become the surname JONES.  This was often the case when one of those Welshmen told their names in the English courts as William ap John ap Thomas ap Rys ap Peter... are you kidding me...I am not going to write that down in these English records.  Besides, you have to speak English now, and that sounds like JONES to me!

Well, there you have it... the derivation of the JONES surname.  Who would have believed it?

The First JONES Family 1312

Matilda Jones was the first to carry the JONES surname in English records 1279 AD. [As discovered to date.]  I thought it would be of interest to present the first JONES family that I have been able to establish in the English records.  By this, I mean the first family to be recorded as "husband", "wife", "son", and "daughter".  His name was Philip Jones and his wife was named Edith.  They appear 20 August, 1312 in Warwickshire as husband and wife.  The documents of this family continue from 1312 to the 3rd of March 1389/90!  The following map shows the position of Warwickshire (home to Philip), in relationship to Huntingdonshire (home of Matilda).

In 1086 (Domesday account), Warwickshire consisted of two sections.  One being mostly isolated farms, and one being cultivated farms on open land.  The first "Earl of Warwick" was named from lands inherited here and his family was to play a large part in my own JONES family in Wales.

The documents of Philip and Edith Jones can be found in Gregory family of Stivichall, Warwickshire, Catalogue Ref. DR10.  In Documents of Title, Deeds and Papers, Kingshill in Stoneleigh, the name Philip Jones appears as witness among many others. (ref. DR10/1118)  Over the next 40 years, Philip Jones had certain "tenements" by 1320.  The records show that Philip had a son and daughter, brother, sister-in-law, and father.  On 10 December 1352, Philip is described as "son of" William Jones. 

The land of Philip Jones (has tenements on both sides) is joined by the lands of "Thomas de Thorndon".   The Thornton family becomes connected to my Jones family for generations to come!

Well say hello to Philip and Edith Jones.  The first JONES family to find the light of English records.

[A detailed account and analysis of this JONES family is contained in my research notebook #21.]