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!

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.]

The First Jones to Virginia

It was May, 1609, that nine ships left the coast of England. They contained 500 men, women, and children who were to "relieve" the new colony planted at Jamestown. Six of the ships left London, and three ships left from Plymouth, all with great hope and expectations. Crossing the Atlantic would have been dangerous enough, but throw in plague, hurricane, ship wreck, and a 40% mortality rate, and you have the ingredients for the "perfect storm".

Only 300 of those who started this crossing arrived at Jamestown, 1609. One of these 300 was "Elizabeth Joones." She is first listed as a "servant of Thomas Dunthorne", and is recorded as arriving to Virginia in the Patience, 1609. [The Patience was one of two small ships constructed in Bermuda to bring the survivors of the Sea Venture which had wreck after the hurricane hit! It actually arrived 9 months later in May 1610, but Cavaliers and Pioneers Vol. I, p. xxix, records her as arriving 1609.] She is listed as "Aged 30" in the Muster list of 1624/25. The age entered was that recorded at the time the muster was taken, so she was born around 1595. [1625 - 30 years] In this muster reported by Hotten, p. 255, a "Sarah Joones aged 5 borne in Virginia" follows her name in the Muster of Thomas Dunthorne. So around 1620 she was having children. To be listed in the Muster of 1624/25 also means that she survived the Indians attacks of 1622! She is listed as an "Ancient Planter" and the wife of "Giles Jones, Gent." being within the "Island of Point Comfort, 16 Oct. 1628. (CP, p. 10)

As best as I have been able to uncover, she married before 1637, a second husband named Henry Southwell (d. 1637), and married Richard Popeley before 1638. So she at least lived to the full age of 60 years or more. She certainly had a lot of stories to tell!

The First JONES Surname in English Records

The land and who owned it was the foundation of feudal society. To own land, or at least be given title to the land, required a complex social order of "might makes right" verses those who actually lived upon and occupied the land. When William I arrived to the island, the Saxons, the Danes, and the ancient Britons had been trying to settle this issue for generations. Of course, William I settled most of this discussion when he got around to documenting his new land in the Domesday accounts. From 1086 onward, those who lived upon the claimed territory had to adjust their thinking and life-style to fit into this new, French speaking, "might makes right". By the time of Henry III, the new dominions (700 baronies) had been established, and those folks who opposed this were forced to occupy the high ground. For more than 50 years, Henry III shook all the bushes and managed to hold this domain together. At his death in 1272, his son Edward was out of the country learning his military strategies. Interestingly, one of the first acts that Edward did upon his return in 1272, was to inquire into the state of his land. This was officially called his "demesnes" and considered the right and revenues of "the crown". [ A demise comes from the French language meaning the transfer of the sovereignty to a successor.] Edward wanted to know what lands were under his control [linked to the crown by knight service], and what lands were under other types of "tenures". He also wanted to check if the sheriffs, officers, and ministers of his father had been ripping off the treasury. This fairly rapid inquiry became know as "Hundred Rolls", and is the first set of English documents to record the surname JONES! A set of commissioners were sent out to survey the land. They were to go into all cities, boroughs, and market towns and inquire of all demesnes, fees, honors, escheates [land lapsing back to the crown], liberties, and things involving fees and tenements belonging to the king or to others. The record involving Huntingdonshire hundred, summarized in 1273, is reported to contain the name of Matilda Jones! She is the first individual recorded in the English records using the surname JONES. Much more to come!