JONES On Jamaica 1670

On St. John's eve, 23 June 1503, Columbus found himself beached on the shores of Jamaica. He spent a year here living off the land until he was rescued. A "starving party" was all that was left as described by Fiske in his book titled: The Discovery of America, Vol. I, p 454. What a way to start a history of this island.

It was not until 1670 that a survey of the Island of Jamaica was recorded in English records. There were six parishes organized after the English system, and 15,198 "persons" were documented in this survey. Those of the JONES surname were:

St. Thomas's Parish - David Jones 70 acres. [ 59 families in this parish.]

St. Andrew's Parish - William Jones 60 acres. [194 families in this parish.]

St. John's Parish - Thomas Jones 373 acres. [ 83 families in this parish.]
- Doctor Thomas Jones 20 acres.

There certainly may be older records with the surname JONES. Anyone please post if you know of earlier records.

Abstracted from: Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, 1669-1674, , Edited by, W. Noel Sainsbury, London, 1889. [Kraus Reprint Ltd., Vaduz, 1964.] pp. 99 - 104.

Reference on Columbus: The Discovery of America, With Some Account of Ancient America and The Spanish Conquest, by John Fiske, Vol.I, Houghton, Mifflin and Co., Boston, 1892. pp. 454-455.

First JONES Westminster 1382

Thorney Island was noted as a place of some importance from a very early date. The only ford for a considerable distance gave passage over the Thames to the road leading from Chester to London. Here a Roman fort was positioned. It was stones from this Roman fort that were used to begin the foundations of Westminster. It is recorded that a Saxon monastic church, dating from 750 AD occupied some of the present site. It was not until 1065 AD that the Norman church, which had been some ten years in the making, was consecrated.

It is in the Calendar of Close Rolls that the first JONES is identified. [Reign of Edward I (1272-1307) to Edward IV (1461-1470) p.212.] A Richard Jones along with a John Tererd is given as witness dated 10 March 5 Richard II. John Tererd is identified as "the elder of Esstances". It is dated July 29, 1382, Westminster.

Interestingly, it was during the year 1386 that the downfall of Richard II began. [See: British Kings & Queens, by Mike Ashley, pp.606-607.]

A helpful reference is: The New Guide to Westminster Abbey, by H.F. Westlake, 1916.

First JONES in Bermuda 1639

A Spaniard named Juan Bermudez was the first European to discover this island in 1505. Little did he know that his name would be associated with a most notorious area of the world called "The Bermuda Triangle"! [Puerto Rico - Miami - Bermuda]

Bermuda was included in the third charter of the Virginia Company, 1612. [Called Somers Island in English documents.] It was after this that 60 English settlers were sent to colonize this small island. Indian and African slaves were transported by 1616 when the island became jointly administered by the Crown and the Company.

On May 17, 1639, an "Indenture" is recorded between a George Smith "citizen & grocer of London" and a David JONES "of Bermuda, planter". It seems that this David JONES was to "...plant oranges & lemon trees in convenient places and to keep tenements in repair." Just imagine, orange and lemon trees, 1639 Bermuda. I wonder if David ever needed to make lemonade out of his lemons.

References:

The European Discovery of America, by Samuel Morison, The Southern Voyages A.D. 1492-1616. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1974. pp. 499-502.

Bermuda Settlers of the 17th Century, by Julia E. Mercer, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1982. [deed found on p.104]

First JONES to Barbados 1628

Following the lead of the Dutch West India Company [established 1621], London merchants named Marmaduke Rawdon, and Edward Foster, sent out a ship to begin the settlement of Barbados. They had obtained a grant of 10,000 acres from the Earl of Carlisle, and were interested in trying to get on the ground floor of what was to be called "The Triangular Trade" routes. The name of their ship was the Marygold, and it arrived Carlise Bay, 5 July, 1628. The company's agents were Capt. Charles Wolferstone, and Capt. John Swan. The "master" of the ship was John Jones.

Some twenty years later, Ralph Harrison married Catherine Jones on 2 November 1643 at Christ Church. Owen Jones and Patrick Jones were active by 23 September 1648 in St. Peter's Parish. Connections between Barbados and the colonies have strong ties.

Good reference is Genealogies of Barbados Families, by James C. Brandow, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983.

A good reference to the trade routes can be found in Atlas of Maritime History, by Natkiel and Preston, Gallery Books, 1987.

First JONES to Lincoln's Inn 1557

According to Bellot, the earliest description of the legal institutions which were to become the "Inns of Court" was written by the Governor of Lincoln's Inn in 1425. He list four Inns of Court, and ten Inns of Chancery. Lincoln's Inn is listed with Thavie's or Davy's Inn and Furnival's Inn being attached. The Lincoln's Inn Admission Register begins 1420, but it was not until 1557 that the first admission with the JONES surname occurs. On 13 March 1556/1557, a David Jones is admitted. [folio 315, p.64] No other information is given. It is not until 5 January, 1571-1572 that the second JONES appears, being Walter Jones of "Oxon.". [Assumed to be Oxford.] A Walter Jones [Jhones] did attend Oxford 15 November 1570, and is identified as "possibly a student of Lincoln's Inn 1572. [Alumi Oronienses 1500-1714, p. 831, by Foster.]

Zachary Jones (1580), Gilbert Jones (1582), William Jones (1587), Edward Jones (1589), William Jones (1595), Henry Jones (1599), and Thomas Jones (1599) all appear before the turn of the next century. A few JONES here, and a few JONES there.

Lincoln's Inn Admission Register 1420 -1893, found special collections, University of Alabama, Law School, DA 687.L7 L7, 1896, v.1.

Bellot, H.L., The Temple, Methuen & Co., London, 1914. [Discussion found pp.14-15.]

First JONES to Inner Temple 1556

The Knight Templars were the origin of what became called "The Temple". The name had its roots from the fact that the initial knights were quartet in Jerusalem near the sight of "Solomon's Temple". In 1128, they were given the name "Regle du Temple" by the Pope, and this order spread rapidly throughout Europe. The oldest charter found in England for this Order is under Henry II (1153 AD) and he is responsible for many grants of property. It was in Chancery Lane, on the site of Southampton House, that the Knights Templars were settled in the London area.

The figure to the right is taken from the text by Hugh Bellot titled: The Temple, By Hugh H.L. Bellot, Methuen & Co., London, first published in 1914. It shows The Temple area as it existed in 1900, with its gardens facing the Thames. Both the "Inner Temple" and "Middle Temple" were considered "Inns of Court". The four Inns of Court were active by 1425, and the "Inner Temple Admissions Database" [http://www.innertemple.org.uk/archive ] list the first JONES admission to the "Inner Temple" being Walter Jones, 03/11/1556. There were a total of 60 folks having the surname JONES being admitted between 1547 and 1850. What a deal!

It is also of interest to note that in the Calendar of Inner Temple (Records, Vol. I) 21 Hen VII - 45 Eliz. 1505 - 1603, p. 205 is listed the following:

Parliament held of 10 May, 2 Elizabeth, A.D. 1560. before Anthony Stapleton, Thomas Gawdy, James Renet, George Bromely, & Richard Onslow:

"order that Master Jones shall have Master Wylliam's general admission, due for his readership."

Here, a "Master Jones" was a reader (teacher) as early as 1560, but a full name is not given. Anyone know more about this "Master Jones"?

Helpful references:

Bellot, H.H., The Temple, Methuen & Co. LTD., London, 1914. [Map is copied from inside the front cover.]

Megarry, R., Inns Ancient and Modern, Selden Society, London, 1972.

Prest, W.R., The Rise of The Barristers, A Social History of The English Bar 1590-1640, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986.

Prest, W.R., The Inns of Court under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts, 1590-1640, Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ,.

First JONES to Middle Temple 1565

The Middle Temple register of admission begins July 1501. Admissions prior to July 7, 1501 are listed in a reference titled: "Register of Admissions To The Honourable Society Of The Middle Temple", by MacGeach and Sturgess, Vol.I, 1949. Most of these early folks are listed by surname only with the earliest recorded in 1451.

The first admitted with the surname JONES is William Jones, 1565. As listed it states: "Nov. 24, William Jones, son of John Mirydeth of Bergevennye, Monmouth, gent." (p. 30)

This record again demonstrates the complexity of the surname for those of Welsh descent. Here William Jones is the son of John Mirydeth (Meredith). He has taken the surname JONES as William "son of John" who is listed with the surname "Mirydeth". Thus, in this case, the William Jones is connected to the Meredith family by DNA, not surname. In the next two to three generations, this becomes apparently two distinct surnames, and may be lost in the JONES family tree climbing.

Reference: Register of Admissions To The Honourable Society of The Middle Temple, From the Fifteenth Century to the year 1944, Vol. I, compiled under the Direction of the Deputy Treasurer, Sir Henry F. MacGeagh, and the Master of the Bench by H.A.C. Sturgess, London, by Butterworth & Co., LTD, 1949.