Jones Surname at Oxford - Cambridge 1500-1660

The JONES surname first appears at Oxford 1505 (Richard Joonys) and at Cambridge 1531 (Gawen Jones). The drawing to the right shows the JONES surname attending both during the years 1500-1660. The numbers are shown in roughly 4-5 year periods, with those attending Cambridge giving by the X. [X marks the spot!]

One can see clearly that Oxford was the center of higher education for those with the JONES surname. The Welsh tended to be supports of the Crown from the time of Edward II, when he was first called "Prince of Wales" by his father Edward I. [1301] On the whole, Oxford seemed to support the Crown with it being the first location of Charles I to organize the defense of his monarchy. There appears to be a gradual increase in the numbers of JONES from 1561, peaking at 1631-1635.

For Cambridge, the peak years were 1595-1600. There was certainly a strong showing at the close of Elizabeth I (Tudors) to that of James I (Stuarts) most likely reflecting the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. [ This conflict had much to do with the period leading up to the English Civil War [1638-1660].

This figure also shows that the JONES surname was increasing in numbers, with almost an exponential curve appearing. This of course was stopped by the Civil War. Those attending Cambridge appear to decline starting at the reign of Charles I only to make their come back under the Commonwealth.

For "Alumni Cantabrigienese" see pp. 484-489, a total of 115. For "Alumni Oronienses" see pp. 817-833, a total of 342. About a 3 to 1 ratio is shown.

For the references used see the last two post.

This is research done by The Jones Genealogist, 1985-1991 while researching his own JONES surname. All rights reserved.

First Jones to Cambridge 1531

Two hundred and fifteen individuals with the surname JONES are recorded in the "Alumni Cantabrigienses" from the earliest times to 1751. The first to attend was Gawen Jones, in 1531-32. His record is given as:

"Jones, Gawen (appears also as Gawen). B.D. 1531-2. A friar." [p.485]

I would guess that the surname was somewhat uncertain, since it states "appears also as Gawen" which implies the surname, not the first name, since the spelling is exactly the same. "B.D.", I believe is an abbreviation for "bachelor of divinity" but if someone knows for sure please comment.

The reference for the above is titled:

"Alumni Cantabrigienses : A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office At The University of Cambridge, From The Earliest Times To 1900." Compiled by, John Venn and J.A. Venn, Cambridge, at the University Press, 1922.

Say hello to Gawen Jones, a friar.

First Jones to Oxford 1505

Joseph Foster records the alumni of Oxford University starting 1500. His account is titled:

"Alumni Oronienses: The Members Of The University of Oxford, 1500-1714: Their Parentage, Birthplace, and Year of Birth, With A Record Of Their Degrees."

It goes on to describe:

"Being The Matriculation Register of the University, Alphabetically Arranges, Revised, and Annotated, by Joseph Foster. Volume I-Early Series."

It was printed by Kraus Reprint Limited, Nendeln/Liechtenstei, 1968.

On page 827 it list the first JONES to attend Oxford. A Richard Jones (Joonys) to be exact. It is recorded that he received a "B.Can.L. 1 March, 1506-7". [Bachelor of Canon Law] He is called "chaplain" in 1507. An exact copy of this entry reads:

"Jones, Richard (Joonys): B.Can.L. (sup. 16 March). 1505-6, chaplain 1507, B.Can.L. 1 March 1506-7."

Way to go Richard! The first to carry the surname JONES to Oxford.

U.S. Census of 1790 and The Jones Surname

The U.S. Census began in 1790 and has been done every ten years since this beginning. The "Name of head of family"; the "number of free white males of 16 years and up, including heads"; "free white males under 16"; "free white females, including heads"; "all other free persons"; and the "number of slaves" were all listed.

There was a booklet published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1909 that lists all the surnames and their variations which were represented by at least 100 white persons in the U.S. in 1790. Listed are approximately 5700 surnames plus variations of the spellings, average size of each family, total number of heads of families, total number of all other members, and a breakdown of the number of families per state. My research notes show that a copy of this booklet was available from "The Researcher's Bookshelf, Division of Heritage Quest, Orting, WA. [I do not know if this reference is still available, but would make a valuable research tool.]

A listing for the surname JONES is as follows:

Total of "Heads of Family" = 2,561

Average size of family = 5.6

All other members = 11,739

Heads of families for each state:

North Carolina = 558

Virginia = 345

Pennsylvania = 289

Massachusetts = 287

Maryland = 239

New York = 210

South Carolina = 190

Connecticut = 173

New Hampshire = 104

Maine = 87

Vermont = 59

Rhode Island = 20

So there you have it. The JONES surname in the 1790 U.S. Census! North Carolina and Virginia seemed to collect the most. [35%] Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York had roughly the same. Poor Rhode Island missed out. At any rate, if you carried the JONES surname, you had a good chance of being from North Carolina or Virginia in the 1790 census.

This research was first published in The Jones Genealogist, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, July/August, 2006.