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Edward Jones of Virginia
This genealogy is based upon the evidence cited by John Bennett Boddie in his book, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV. He wrote that the Edward Jones (ca. 1612-1690) was the brother of Rev. Rowland Jones, Vicar of Wendover, Bucks County, England, and the uncle of Rev. Rowland Jones of Bruton Parish, Virginia. He said Edward Jones came over to York County, Virginia, and had a son named Edward Jones of Isle of Wight County.
According to Van Jones, in his work Isle of Wight County, Virginia, there were several men named Edward Jones who came from England to the colony during the early years, making it very difficult to positively identify which one was which. He believes that this Edward Jones was not the father of Edward Jones of Isle of Wight County, although he cannot explain the evidence that tends to show a family relationship.
Alethea Jane Macon, in her book Gideon Macon of Virginia and Some of His Descendants, wrote that this Edward Jones was the son of Rev. Rowland Jones, Vicar of Wendover.
Family tradition has been that the first member of the Jones family to immigrate to America had to come, because he was a brother-in-law of Cromwell and a member of "The Commission of Forty" who condemned Charles I to death in 1649. When Charles II came to the throne in 1660, this Jones had to "stand not upon the order of his going, but go at once." This story is possible, but probably not true. Our Edward Jones was probably already in America by the time Charles I died, and most certainly here by the time Charles II came to the throne. Unfortunately, with such a common name, there is no way to know for sure when he came over.
On June 24, 1635, Captain Adam Thorowgood was granted 5350 acres on the Chesapeake Bay for the transportation on a French ship in 1629 of 105 persons, including an Edward Jones. On October 12, 1653, Gregory Perrott was granted 150 acres described as bordering on land owned by Edward Jones.
Edward Jones acquired several hundred acres of land in Isle of Wight County. He did not name a son Edward in his will, but Boddie said that was because Edward, Jr., had already received his portion. The will was written in York County on October 14, 1690, and it was probated there on November 10, 1690.
Edward Jones (ca. 1656-1730) signed the Royalist Petition in 1677. His will was dated January 15, 1722, and it was probated July 27, 1730, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. It named wife Deborah; sons Edward, William, and Joseph; daughters Jane, Sarah, Deborah, and Mary. Excecutors were wife and sons Joseph and William Jones. Witnesses were Thomas Lane, John Brown, and Peter Basser (Isle of Wight County Will Book III, page 210).
Around the mid to late 1730's, Edward Jones (1702-1751) and his wife, Abigail Sugars, came from Isle of Wight County, Virginia, to North Carolina. They were some of the earliest settlers of the western frontier of Bertie County. Edgecombe County was formed in 1741, and largely through the efforts of Edward Jones, Granville County came into existence in 1746. The justices of the first Court of the new county met on September 3, 1746, at the home of Edward Jones on Shocco Creek was. They chose a site for a courthouse near Boiling Springs, a landmark on the Jones estate, a seething little jet of water with a bitingly pungent taste. It was later known as Jones Springs and White Sulphur Springs. It was located in that part of Granville County that later became Warren County in 1779.
Edward Jones was a colonel in the militia and served as a Burgess in the Colonial Assembly in New Bern, North Carolina, from 1746 to 1751. He died there during a session, and his will, dated November 16, 1750, was probated in Granville County.
Robert Jones (1752-1815) was born five months and eleven days after his father's death. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and he became a large land and slave owner. Bishop John Early of the Methodist Church, who married his daughter, Ann Winifred Jones, said in his diary that the Joneses were a refined, christian family. Robert Jones's plantation, White Sulphur Springs, is where the Jones Family Cemetery is located. |
