Gloucester

The suburbs of Bristol have a lot to do with the first to record the surname JONES.  It is for Gloucester County of course, its location shown below.

It was 25 June, 1441 (Henry VI) that a Thomas White, the heir of Bernard White "burgess of Bristol" had to settle the estate.  It is listed as "settlements of Thomas White, from John Godarde".  It had to do with lands in the town of Bristol.  The settlement involved the following: 1) Thomas Younge, 2) John Bailly, 3) John Morgan, 4) John Benet, and 5) Robert Jones.  A lot Welsh surnames involved here.  These folks must have been involved in some kind of agreement which the White family needed to settle.  Many of these surnames [White, Younge, Morgan, and Bennett (Benet)] were involved in my own JONES family.  What a deal!

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!