JONES In The Middle 1547-1553

The middle counties of Wales became the next area of JONES surname 1547-1553.  The counties are shown in green above, Radnor being 1st, with William Jones [14/96].  Brecon was 2nd, with Roger Jones [1238/45-46].  Merioneth was 3rd, with William Jones [1238/50].  Montgomery Co. was 4th, with Richard Joones [1238/56-60]  This is based on the record numbers shown following each name, which is assumed to be recorded in chronological sequence in the legal records.   Thus, the south's influence seems to be the direction of the appearance of English influence in the legal system of Wales as it followed the Act of Union, 1536.   On, and on, it would go...more to come.  See the prior post which describes the blue, pink, and orange counties as shown on the map above.

Genetic Bowel of Spaghetti

A basic assumption doing genealogy is that your family has a common root. There is an "Adam" from which the family grew. From this ancestor "Adam" the generations begin, and the family tree grows generation after generation. This implies that if you share a common surname, then you are descended from this "Adam". Readjusting ones thinking is necessary when dealing with Welsh surname such as JONES.

An act under Henry VIII entitled; "An act for laws and justice to be ministered in Wales in like form as it is in this realm." St. 27 Hen. VIII, c. 26 1535" (Stat. Realm, III. 563) states:

"...and that all and singular person and persons, born or to be born in the said principality country or dominion of Wales shall have enjoy and inherit all and singular freedoms liberties and rights privileges and laws within this his realm, and other the king's dominions, as other the king's subjects naturally born within the same have, enjoy and inherit."

It also goes own to state that the courts were to be held in English. Furthermore, it declares,

"...also that from henceforth no person or persons that use the Welsh speech or language shall have or enjoy any manner office or fees within this realm of England, Wales, or other the King's dominions upon pain of forfeiting the same offices or fees unless he or they use and exercise the English speech or language."

This in effect outlawed the Welsh language in the legal system of England. Thus it was during this period of history that the Welsh were required to use English surnames.

The table above gives an example of how a Welsh family might produce several different surnames, but share a common grandfather. For example, if Thomas was the grandfather [before the Act of Union], and had four sons, Richard, Edward, John, and David. When these four sons had their own family [after the Act of Union] , they would be required to used English in the realm's courts. Thus when their children , Peter, David, Thomas, and John had to use English, they would give their name Peter ap Richard, David ap Edward, Thomas ap John, and John ap David. The English clerks would then write down, Peter Richards, David Edwards, Thomas Jones, and John David. Four different surnames, but all "1st cousins".

After a generation or two, the surnames Richards, Edward, Jones and David would seem to be of different stock. But alas , they would be genetically related whereas others given the JONES surname would not! So, many of the Welsh surnames that were produced during this "Act of Union" produced a genetic bowel of spaghetti . Bon appetit!


The reference for the Act of Union is found in: "English Historical Documents, edited b C.H. Williams, Oxford University Press, NY, 1967.

Impact, The Act of Union 1536

The following figure represents a summary of information abstracted from a series of publications which indexed the Public Records Office of Great Britain. The reference is titled: "An Index of Ancient Petitions, Great Britain Public Records Office, List and Indexes." I used this index to abstract the legal records of England for the surname JONES. In 1994, I published these results in my newsletter entitled: "The Jones Genealogist". It is copied here to provide the results of this research for the appearance of the JONES surname in England and Wales before and after the Act of Union 1536. It shows that the surname JONES did not appear in the legal records in Wales before 1538. The surname JONES begins to appear in England starting around 1500, but it was not until 1558 that a large number of cases using the surname JONES appears. Those first appearing in England represent the Welsh who had already followed the Tudors. As English law became that of Wales, the JONES surname begins to appear in the legal records. [Please note that this newsletter is copyrighted, Library of Congress No. 6192-01064476.] Future post will go into more detail from this research, but since my JONES surname begins during this time period, I thought it would be a good place to show how the Act of Union impacted the derivation of the JONES surname and all other Welsh surnames!

At this time in Welsh history, the English had a very biased view of the Welsh naming system. Jokes, poems, and plays were written by the English about the ancient Welsh system of genealogical naming. Cheese, for example, was described as:

"Adam's own cousin-german by its birth ap curds ap milk ap cow ap grass ap earth."

An English judge in 1540 is credited with the following verse"

"Take ten," he said, "and call them Rice;

Take other ten, and call them Price;

Take fifty others, call them Pughes;

A hundred more, I'll dub them Hughes;

Now Roberts name some hundred score;

And Williams name a legion more;

And call, "he moaned in languid tones,

"Call all the other thousands--Jones."

References:

The Jones Genealogist, Vol.1, No.1, May/June, 1989, p. 3-4.

The Jones Genealogist, Vol.VI, No.4, Nov/Dec, 1994, p. 1

List of Early Chancery Proceedings, Preserved In The Public Record Office, Kraus Reprint Corp., NY, 1963.

Taking the surname JONES

My JONES family line continues through Edward(JN-1) just before the family adopts the surname JONES. The family begins to marry into English families with the appearance of the surname system Margaret Wylde(JN-2), Margaret Eyton(JO-2), Jane Almer(JP-2), Margaret Puleston(JQ-2), Margaret Trevor(JR-2), and Mary Sonlli(JR-181). It was the Act of Union, under Henry VIII, that did the final job on the Welsh naming system. Families from Wales were required to take on the English legal system, and began to take on the English surname. The majority of this transition occurred between the arrival of the Welsh Tudor line (Henry VII), and its end under Elizabeth I. In the legal records of England, there were only 7 JONES in Wales for the year 1538. By the year 1558, there were 115 JONES! [Much more to be given about this transition period.]

My own Welsh family takes the surname JONES during this transition period. John(JP-1) who married Jane Almer(JP-2) has at least two sons who take the surname JONES. Robert ap John of Llwyn-onn becomes Robert Jones(JQ-1), and Richard ap John becomes Richard Jones(JQ-95). This Richard Jones(JQ-95) is the line of descent for my JONES family. His son Thomas Jones(JR-180) is the father of Richard Jones(JS-165) who is the first to leave England to reside permanently in Virginia in 1648! Another line of JONES is through David(JP-3) who had a son John(JQ-3) of Plas Cadwgan, who had a son Edward ap John, becoming Edward Jones(JR-3). This lineage has a Edward Jones(JS-3) who gives his life involved in a plot called Babington's Plot, 1586! Much, much more to come.

So from Edward(JN-1) it would be:

Robert(JO-1)

John(JP-1)

Richard(JQ-95)

Thomas(JR-180)

Richard(JS-165)....to Virginia!

In the Welsh naming system this would be:

Richard ap Thomas ap Richard ap John ap Robert ap Edward!