Stepping Stones

Alexander Spotswood began his life as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in Williamsburg 1710.  Thus  a key period in colonial history was initiated,  with the western expansion of its territories.  Spotswood certainly had his own particular interests and motives for this expansion, and his connection with the JONES surname is deeply involved.  By April, 1717, he had granted a fair number of patents to those with the JONES surname.   The following is a listing of these grants made during Spotswood's early tenure.   They are listed by name, county, number of acres, date,  and page number to the reference from which they were abstracted: "English Duplicates of Lost Virginia Records", by Louis des Cognets, Jr., 1958.

Evan Jones          Princess Anne     1190 acres      4-28-1711    (p.91)
Frederick Jones   James City            100    "          4-28-1711    (p.92)
Orlando Jones     King William          90    "          5-02-1713    (p.94)
Robert Jones       Essex                     274   "           5-11-1713    (p.94)
Thomas Jones     King William       2000   "          8-12-1713     (p.94)
Robert Jones       Surry                      120   "         11-13-1713     (p.95)
Charles Jones      Isle of Wight          185   "         11-13-1713    (p.95)
John Jones          Surry                      330    "         11-13-1713    (p.96)
Henry Jones        Surry                     250    "         11-13-1713     (p.96)
Charles Jones      Isle of Wight         230    "          6-16-1714     (p.99)
Edward Jones      Isle of Wight         215   "           6-16-1714     (p.99)
John Jones           Surry                     170   "           6-14-1714     (p.100)
John Jones           Princess Anne        53    "           6-14-1714     (p.100)
William Jones     Surry                      280   "          6-14-1714      (p.100)
Walter Jones        Princess Anne       159   "         12-16-1714     (p.101)
James Jones         Isle of Wight         400   "         12-23-1714     (p.102)
Thomas Jones     Surry                      370   "          3-23-1715      (p.104)
John Jones           Henrico                 133   "          3-23-1715      (p.106)
John Jones           Henrico                   53   "         10-31-1716     (p.107)
Thomas Jones      Prince George       247  "           7-15-1717      (p.109)
William Jones      Middlesex               41  "           1-22-1717      (p.110)

If my math is correct, this totals 6,890 acres.   It would be interesting to compare this number to other surnames, but that is still to be done.  My own JONES family is connected, becoming stepping stones to my family tree. 

This information is taken from: The Jones Genealogist, Vol. XI, No.2, July/August, 1999.