Unusual First Names

Over the years genealogy has brought before my eyes some very unusual first names.  Different surnames, different geographical areas, different periods of time, and often different religious beliefs have all played some role.  The next series of posts will deal with this subject for the surname JONES.

However, to begin this topic it might be helpful to present the most common first names being used among the JONES surname branches.  The first table shows some work from years past published in my family newsletter.  Of course for my own JONES family, Virginia was the geographic area.  The time period was 1623 - 1666 since this was when my folks began to cross the great pond.  In addition other common surnames like Smith, Williams, Johnson, and Brown were studied to discover if there were any differences in the first names that were being recorded.  The four most common first names were William, Richard, Thomas, and John for the surname JONES.  Other first names that were being used at least 100 times during this period are also shown.  Interestingly, William was the most common first name among our JONES family tree branches.

 The second table shows other first names for JONES compared to the different surnames evaluated.  Only the surname Williams (a Welsh surname) shared any of these first names with JONES.  None of these names were used with Smith, Johnson, and Brown.  This would suggest that JONES and JOHNSON were not of the same tree branches.  It is an interesting list of first names used among the JONES families during the period researched.

 The next series of posts will present the very unusual first names.  Let's go!

L.O.C. for MD/PA/OH/WI (8)

The family genealogies for those listed:

"9440  JONES    Jones, Richardson, Duhamel, and allied families of Maryland.  By Laura Catherine (Jones) Thompson.  (Chicago? 1962)
                                                                                                                 CS71.J76    1962"

"9405   JONES    Genealogy of David Jones.  Comp. by his great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Ellen M. Beale.  (Reading, Pa., B.F. Owen & co., printers) 1903
                                                                                                                 CS71.J76    1903"

"9424   JONES    A record of the ancestors and descendants of Erasmus Jones and his wife Mary Sellers Jones, compiled by Lee Erasmus Rife....Philadelphia, Pa., 1936  (coat-of-arms)  Contains also the Thomas and Sellers families
                                                                                                                 CS71.J76     1936"

"9435   JONES    Some pioneer Jones families of Adams County, Ohio.  By David Tracy Jones.  Kankakee, Ill., Mimeographed at Oliver Nazarene College, 1960
                                                                                                                 CS71.J76     1960"

"9425   JONES    Youngest son, by Chester Lloyd Jones.  Madison, Wis. (Democrat printing company) 1938  'Story of the family....of Richard Lloyd Jones and of his son, Enos Lloyd Jones.'

                                                                                                                 CS71.J76     1938"
                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                 

L.O.C. for SC/FL/Bermuda (7)

The listings for the surname JONES in the Library of Congress continues:

"9403  JONES.   A genealogical history by Colonel Cadwallader Jones.  Columbia, S.C., printed by Ye Bryan printing company, 1900.  Jones family of Virginia and the Carolinas.  Edited by A.I. Robertson.
                                                                                                                  CS71.J76        1900"

"9437   JONES.   The history of the Samuel Jones family, Kershaw County, S.C., 1756-1960, including allied families. By Hazel (Parker) Jones.   (Kershaw, 1961)
                                                                                                                  CS71.J76        1961"

"9418   JONES.   Florida plantation records from the papers of George Noble Jones, edited by Ulrich Bonnell Phillips ... and James David Glunt ... St. Louis, Missouri historical society, 1927  (Added t.p. Publication of the Missouri historical society)  Records of El Destino and Chemonie plantations from 1847 to 1857, during the period of ownership by G. Noble Jones.
                                                                                                                  F315.J77"

"9429   JONES.   Notes on the Jones family of Bermuda.  By Lloyd Peniston Jones.  Paget, Bermuda, 1947.
                                                                                                                  CS261.B4J6"

L.O.C. for KY/VA (6)

The genealogies continue for Kentucky and Virginia held in the Library of Congress:

"9041   JONES  Captain Roger Jones of London and Virginia.  Some of his antecedents and descendants.  With appreciative notice of other families, viz. Bathurst, Belfield, Browning, Carter, Catesby, Cocke, Graham, Fauntleroy, Hickman, Hoskins, Latane, Lewis, Meriwether, Skelton, Walter, Waring, Woodford, and others.  Notes by Judge L.H. Jones ... Albany, N.Y., J. Munsell's sons, 1891.                                                                                          
                                                                                                       CS71.J76        1891"

"9410    JONES [same as above] with additional comments... Binders title: Roger Jones and his descendants. 'New or supplementary edition.'  'Introductory letter.'  signed L.H. Jones.  Louisville, Ky., August 1911.
                                                                                                       CS71.J76        1911"

"9415    JONES   Peter Jones and Richard Jones genealogies, compiled from original sources by August B. Gothergill.  Richmond, Va., Old Dominion press, Inc., 1924.

                                                                                                       CS71.J76        1924"

L.O.C. for CT/NJ (5)

To continue Genealogies in The Library of Congress for the JONES surname:

"9404   JONES.   ...History and genealogy of the ancestors and descendants of Captain Israel Jones who removed from Enfield to Barkhamsted, Conn., in the year 1759.  Comp. for Hon. Asahel W. Jones by L.N. Parker.  (Norwalk, O. Laning co. ) 1902
                                                                                                                CS71.J76  1902"

"9433   JONES.   The path of destiny; a history of events which shaped the destinies of our forefathers and a genealogy of the descendants our (sic) Benjamin Jones of Connecticut and the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania.  By Howard Linden Jones.  (Orland ? Fla., 1953 ?)
                                 
                                                                                                               CS71.J76  1953"

"9427   JONES.  Ancestral lines, revised and enlarged.  Compiled, edited, typed, printed and published by Melvin E. Jones ... Trenton, N.J., Traver's book store, 1941.

                                                                                                               CS71.J76  1941"

The above reference is also given 9426 under  "Ancestral lines, revised and enlarged,  compiled, edited, typed printed and published by Melvin E. Jones ... Los Angeles, Calif., 1938."

L.O.C. for NY/NH (4)

This post continues the theme of the JONES surname references in the Library of Congress.  For New York and New Hampshire:

"9392  JONES.    Memorial of the late Honorable David S. Jones.  With an appendix, containing notices of the Jones family, of Queen's county.   New York, Stanford and Swords, 1849.
                                                                                                                   CS71.J76     1849 "

"9399  JONES.    The Johnes family of Southampton, L.I.,  By Edward R. Johnes.  New York, W. Lowey, printer, 1886.
                                                                                                                   CS71.J76     1890"

"9406  JONES.     The life of Horatio Jones.  By George H. Harris.   (In Buffalo historical society.  Publications Buffalo, 1908.  Caption title (p. 383) : The true story of Hoc-sa-go-wha, prisoner, pioneer and interpreter.  Notes on the ancestry and descendants of Horatio Jones : p. 521-526.
                                                                                                                    F129.B8B88 vol. 6"

"9408  JONES.     The Jones family of Long Island ; descendants of Major Thomas Jones (1665-1726) and allied families, by John H. Jones... New York, T.A. Wright, 1907.
                                                                                                                    CS71.J76     1907"

"9446  JONES.     Some other Joneses; descendants of Increase Jones, 1752-1825, of Minerva, N.Y. (Elijah J. Cornelius J.)  Compiled and written by Mable Merryfield Jones (Mrs. Clarence Jones) Content arr. and manuscripts typed by Dorothy Jones Many (Mrs. Wallace Many).  Middletown, Conn., 1967.                                                                                               CS71.J76    1967"

"9395  JONES.     The genealogy of the family of Asa and Mary M. Jones, of Rindge, N.H. (Boston, T.W. Ripley, printer)  1881.                                                                        CS71.J76    1878"

"9413  JONES.     The ancestors of my daughters, comprising three Mayflower pilgrims, one colonial governor, over forth colonial, fourteen revolutionary, and three war of 1812  ancestors.  By Nathan Henry Jones.  Poultney, Vt., N.H. Jones, 1914.                                         CS71.J76   1914"

                              
                            

L.O.C. for MA (3)

This post will complete the JONES family genealogies for the state of Massachusetts as given in Genealogies In The Library of Congress : A Bibliography, Edited by Marion J. Kaminkow, Vol. I, A-J, Magna Carta Book Co., Baltimore, MD, 1972. (pp. 866- 871)

9417   JONES.  The descendants of Joel Jones; a revolutionary soldier, born in Charlton, Mass., in 1764, and died in Crawford County, Pa., in 1845.  Together with an account of his ancestors, back to Lewis and Ann Jones, of Watertown, Mass., who came to America about 1635, also the descendants of Lemuel Smith, born in Ware, Mass., in 1770, came to Crawford County, Pa., in 1817, and died in 1855.  With an account of such of his ancestors as can now be located, by Elbert Smith, one of the descendants.  Rutland Vt.,  The Tuttle company, 1925.                    CS71.J76                   1925

9420   JONES.   Four Boston grandparents, Jones and Hill, Preble and Eveleth and their ancestry, by William Preble Jones.  Somerville, Mass., 1930.                              CS71.J76                   1930

9422   JONES.   Jones genealogy; being a record of the descendants of Hugh Jones of Salem, Mass., emigrant from Wincanton, England, 1635-1931, by Myrtle (Bowen) Clark.  (St. Johnsbury, Vt., Cowles press, inc., (c. 1931)                                                              CS71.J76                   1931

9423   JONES.   Genealogy of Jones, Hathaway, Richards, Gooding, compiled edited, typed, printed and published by Melvin E. Jones ... Boston, Mass., c. 1934.           CS71.J76                   1934

9428   JONES.   Leaves from a family tree, being random records, letter and traditions of the Jones, Stimson and Clarke families of Hopkinton, Medfield, Norton and Boston, Massachusettes, and Providence, Rhode Island.  Compiled by Louise Diman.  (Providence, R.I., Roger Williams press, E.A. Johnson company)  1941                                                           CS71.J76                    1941a

9444   JONES.   Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower.  Illustrated by William Feguson.  New York, D. McKay Co. (1965)                                                               F68.J6D4