First JONES to the New World

John White's journal of his voyage to the New World was written in 1587. In this journal he list the names of all the men, women, and children who arrived safely to the first English settlement in America. Roanoke settlement it was called, and it has be named "The Abandoned Colony".

The list is arranged first by "Men", then by "WOMEN", then by "BOYS AND CHILDREN", then by "CHILDREN BORN IN VIRGINIA", and finally by "SAVAGES WHO HAD BEEN IN ENGLAND AND RETURNED HOME TO VIRGINIA". One hundred and eighteen names are recorded. The list of men seem to be organized according to prestige, with John White heading the list. Anaias Dare, the son-in-law to John White, is listed third. [Remember, Virginia Dare, his daughter, was the first English child to be born in America.] Elyoner Dare is the first to be listed among the women.

There are three with the surname JONES listed. First is JOHN JONES [of course it had to be John] He is listed at number 14 among the 90 men recorded. Griffen Jones falls all the way down to number 85. Jane Jones is listed as number 6 among the 17 ladies recorded. It does not record the relationship between these folks, but the colony was family oriented. Since Jane Jones was in the top 3rd of her group, and John Jones was in the top third of his, I suspect they were husband and wife. Griffen Jones may or may not be related.

So there you have it. The first JONES "...who arrived safely in Virginia and stayed there to live, 1587, in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth."

John Jones, Griffen Jones, and Jane Jones were their names.

Reference: "The New World, The First Pictures of America", Edited by, Stefan Lorant, by the Beck Engraving Company, for Meredith Press, 1946. The list is given on pages 165-166.

The numbering system was my addition and not part of the original documents.

A Classification System (Part II)

The flow charts to the right continue the outline of the JONES SURNAME CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM. Using the symbols (charges) and colors (tinctures) of the coat(s) of arms for the JONES surname before 1840, an analysis was done in order to group the various JONES families. Starting with "a lion rampant", each shield was coded according to these factors (charges and tinctures). To follow the first flow chart: 1) "a lion ramp." is at the top. [This represents the primary charge.], 2) next is the color of the charge given as gold, blue, red, ...etc., 3) the color(s) of the shield are then organized by their tinctures, until 4) a JONES family is identified. In this case, the JONES family of Kelston Park, Somerset is described. You can then see that 37% of the JONES arms had a gold lion rampant as their symbol. Twenty nine percent had a blue lion rampant, so on, and so on down the colors recorded. Only 4 % had a silver lion rampant.


The second flow chart shows further analysis for the "blue lion rampant", with eleven distinct JONES families. A variety of locations were found, showing again how the JONES surname is found in various counties.


The red lion with a gold shield is found in four families. These include Wales and England. (Oxford) Thus, the wide distribution of the JONES surname appears before Burke recorded his families in 1840. More analysis to come.

Burke's book commonly called "The General Armory", was first published in 1842. In the preface, it states that it was founded on "...the Heralds' Visitations, the County Histories, and the heraldic writing of Dugdale, Camden, Guillim, Edmondson, Berry, Nicholas, and others...". It records over 60,000 coats of arms! Not many JONES families in this book.

The flow charts are taken from: The Jones Genealogist, Vol.VIII, No.5, Jan/Feb, 1997.

A Classification System

Having organized and analyzed the symbols and colors of the arms that are given for the JONES surname, it became evident that a classification system could be used. This classification system utilized the "primary charge" as the major item used to group the JONES families that shared this symbol. Then the shield's "colors" were broken down by their arrangement to produce a group that had shared this identity. The JONES family that shared this identity was tagged as a "HOUSE" [The Welsh used a term "plant".] The individual responsible for founding this family was added giving the title: "House of ............" , such as House of Trevor. This was work done more than twenty years ago, and published in The Jones Genealogist, Vol. VIII, No.3, Sept/Oct 1996. [I began this newsletter in 1989.]

The study results are shown in the flow chart to the right. The lion rampant was the first symbol to be analyzed. Those who founded a Welsh tribe with a JONES lineage, such as "Bleddyn ap Cynfyn", and "Tudor Trevor", are shown on the first page. Three JONES family lines come through Bleddyn ap Cynfyn!

The second page shows additional JONES lines as they were identified through the analysis. Multiple JONES family are found. At least 15 distinctive groups are found. [Just using the lion rampant!] From London to Ireland, these JONES families are shown.

This again demonstrates why the surname JONES is not always genetically related. However, this classification system can be used to identify the origins of many of the JONES surname families as they originated in Wales, England, and Ireland.

I called this "The Jones Classification System." Further analysis to come.

JONES "Coat(s) of Arms" [Part III] The Symbols

The article to the right is taken from The Jones Genealogist, which describes an analysis of the symbols used on the JONES coat(s) of arms. It begins by taking the 42 shields which share the common totem, lion rampant. It uses the "rules" of heraldry outlined in the last post to evaluate the colors [tinctures] recorded for each JONES coat of arms.

The outline begins by showing one JONES arms as it was recorded on page 548 of Burke. Each arms that had the symbol "lion rampant" was categorized by the method outlined in the article.

The bottom of the page shows the results by colors and metals. A "gold" lion made up 37%. This was followed by the "blue" (29%), "red" (12%), "black" and "green" (9% each), and lastly "silver" at 4%.

The shields were then analyzed by the base color or tincture of the shield. This gave 14 distinct shields, thus 14 distinct JONES families. This is just for the symbol, "lion rampant"! The post entitled: JONES "Coat(s) of Arms" [Part I], June 28, 2011, shows that there are multiple symbols (charges) used among the JONES families recorded in Burke.

The above outline demonstrates how the JONES arms can be grouped and analyzed by using established heraldic systems. Using this approach, the arms will be ultimately grouped into families sine the "rules" of heraldry allow only one arms to use exactly the same combination of charges, colors, and ordinaries. [Remember to click on the picture to enlarge the image. ]

More analysis to come.

The study is taken from The Jones Genealogist, Vol. VIII, No. 2, July/Aug, 1996, p. 6.

JONES "Coat(s) of Arms"[Part II] Terms and Abbreviations

The English authorities began their system of armory with the employment of full body armour. This system set down the rules and the laws that govern the use, display, and meaning of the drawings placed upon the shield, helmet, or banner. The following post will try to outline some basic terms and abbreviations used to record the coat of arms. Hopefully this will help the reader to better understand the description and appearance of the "coat of arms".

The major component is of course the symbol [emblems or charges] place upon the shield. This symbol, like the "lion", is the image that the individual [or family] wanted to represent. In Wales this often came from the concept of the "totem", from which the family would trace their lineage. [It symbolized the special character or strength of the tribe.] The symbol or charge was place upon the shield that had a basic color. In some cases, only a color with special shapes would be used. [The previous post show these symbols for the surname JONES before 1840.]

There were some basic rules and principles which pertain to the use of colors and figures upon a shield. Only five colors [tinctures] are allowed. These are:

1) red, "gules", abbreviated gu.

2) blue, "azure", az.

3) black, "sable", sa.

4) green, "vert", vert.

5) purple, "purpure", purp.

There are also two metals used:

1) gold, "or", or.

2) silver, "argent", ar.

In addition, there are symbols for animal furs based on the weasel, called "ermines":

1) ermine (white field with black spots)

2) ermines (black field with white spots)

3) erminois (gold field with black spots).

You can imagine how complicated it becomes, but basically, color is not placed on another color, nor metal on metal. A "charge" of one color [like red, blue, or green] is not placed upon another color, only a metal [ gold or silver]. Thus, a "gold" [metal] lion, can not be place upon a "silver" [metal] shield. Likewise, a "blue" [color] lion can not be place on a "red"[color] shield.

The steps in describing a coat of arms are as follows:

first : name the field, i.e. the background color or metal of the shield,

second: name the principle charge, i.e. the special symbol or arrangement place upon the background color,

third: name lesser charges on the field (if any),

fourth: name any lesser devices (symbols) place on the principle charge.

Read the following arms: "or. a lion ramp az."?

It would be, a blue lion [rampant = standing] placed upon a gold shield.

Let's try another: "ar. a lion ramp sa."?

It would be, a black lion [standing], on a blue shield.

A complete description of Heraldry is given in the glossary starting on p. xxviii, of Burke's General Armory.

The following post has been summarized from, The Jones Genealogist, Vol. VII, No. 2, July/August, 1995.