Our Jones family probably originated in Wales. Jones was at one time the most common surname in Wales. Jones is a patronymic surname which was derived from the first name of the ancestor's father. The name Jones means "son of John".
Wales is a small country on the western coast of the island of Great Britain. History relates that the Roman's first invaded Wales during the A. D. 60's. Sometime after 400 A.D., when Angles and Saxons from what is now northern Germany conquered portions of Great Britain, some of the people took refuge in the mountainous region of what is now Wales, refusing to recognize the rule of the conquerors.
When William the Conqueror declared himself Lord of Wales about 1070, he gave the lands along the border between England and Wales to Norman barons, in hopes of keeping the Welch people under control. These barons, called Lords of the Marshes, expanded their holdings and there was much conflict between the Welch and the landowners, or "overlords" as they were called.
In 1284, Edward I issued a decree which placed North Wales directly under English rule. The land was then divided into counties, and placed under English sheriffs. The Welch people revolted against the English many times, and for well over 200 years there was strife between the Welch and the English. Finally, about 1536, the two countries, Wales and England, united under the same system of laws and government.
Early immigration records show hundreds of listings for the Jones surname, beginning about 1613. Among the earliest immigrants to America were William Jones, who was exported to America in 1619; John Jones, a blacksmith, who died in transit to America in September 1619; Captain Thomas Jones, master of the ship Discovery, who was granted permission to fish on the American coast and to trade in furs in Virginia in 1621; and Edward Jones and Thomas Jones who immigrated in 1654.
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Our great, great grandfather, Thomas F. Jones, was born about 1821, in Georgia, according to census. Thomas' father (name unknown) was born in Virginia, according to census. He died before 1850, probably in Murray County, Georgia. Thomas' mother, Mary (maiden name unknown), was born about 1780, in Georgia, according to census. She was listed with Thomas' family on the 1850 and 1860 census.
Thomas married our great, great grandmother, Nancy Kilpatrick on May 14, 1846, in Murray County, Georgia. Nancy was born about 1829, in North Carolina, according to census. (Note: We believed for a long time that Nancy's maiden name was probably Giddens because Thomas gave his eldest son that name. We have now found their marriage record which shows she was Nancy Kilpatrick. We believe the Giddens family is related, however......possibly Thomas' mother was a Giddens, or maybe Nancy's mother was a Giddens?)
Thomas' family appears on the 1850 Murray County, Georgia census. The census shows Thomas Jones, 29, a miller; wife Nancy, 20; daughter Susan, 4 and son Berry, 1 year old. Living with the family was Thomas' widowed mother, Mary Jones, 70, born in Georgia, and Silas Jenkins, 20, a laborer, born in North Carolina.
Thomas' family next appears on the 1860 Floyd County, Georgia census, in Watters Township. The census shows Thomas F. Jones, 39, a shoemaker; Mary, his mother, 86; wife Nancy, 30 and children Susan, 13; Berry, 11; Edward, 9; Mary, 6; Martha, 3 and John, 1 year old.
Thomas' mother, Mary Jones died prior to the 1870 census. We believe she died in Georgia.
Thomas moved his family to Arkansas prior to 1870. The 1870 Prairie County, Arkansas census, Lonoke Township, shows T. F. Jones, 49, a minister; Nancy, 42; B. G., 21, a farm laborer; Edward, 10 and John F., 8. (Note: The ages for Edward and John are incorrect. Edward would have been about 19 and John about 11 years old in 1870.) Listed on the census with them are three other Jones children: William Jones, 12, born in Georgia; Martha Jones, 6, born in Tennessee and S. S. Jones (a female), 5 months old, born February 1870, in Arkansas. We have not been able to identify these children, but know they were close relatives.
Thomas and Nancy's son Berry married in July 1871. Oral family history says he married near Mountain View, in Izard County, Arkansas. We are unsure if Thomas' family lived in Izard County at the time of son Berry's marriage.
Nancy Jones died between 1871 and August 1874, in Arkansas, possibly in White County.
Thomas married Martha A. Spencer on October 7, 1874, in White County, Arkansas. Martha was born about 1830, in Alabama according to the 1880 census. The 1880 census also shows that Martha's father was born in Georgia and her mother in Kentucky.
The 1880 Faulkner County, Arkansas, town of Mt. Vernon census shows Thomas F. Jones, 59, shoe and boot maker and Martha A., 50, wife, born in Alabama. Living with them was John W. Gregory, 32, a store clerk. By 1880, Thomas' son Berry had settled his family in Muddy Bayou Township, in Faulkner County.
We believe that Thomas died between 1881 and 1899.
We believe we located Thomas' widow, Martha on the 1900 Miller County, Arkansas census, living with her step-daughter, Susan and her family. (Note: We feel confident that this was Thomas F. Jones' daughter Susan because the census indicates that Susan was born in Georgia, as was her father, and that her mother was born in North Carolina. We found other Susan Thomas' on the 1900 census, but none of them gave that information concerning the birth place of her parents.) The census shows Jefferson T. Thomas, his wife Susan M., their children Ida M., Thomas and Mattie. Living with the family was Mothie A. Jones, mother-in-law, 66, widowed, had given birth to 1 child who was still living. The census shows Martha was born in Tennessee, as were both her parents. The census indicates that Martha had given birth to one child who was still living, so we wonder why she was living with her step-daughter instead of her own child, who census says was still living? Martha's child would have been from a prior marriage, as she and Thomas had no children together. (The 1880 census showed Martha was born in Alabama, her father was born in Georgia and her mother was born in Kentucky.)
Children of Thomas F. Jones and Nancy Kilpatrick
1. Susan M. Jones was born May 1847, in Murray Co, GA. She married Thomas Jefferson Thomas on Sept 28, 1865, in Floyd Co, GA. Thomas J. Thomas, b. May 1, 1847, in Floyd Co, GA, was the sixth of ten children of John Henry Thomas (b. 1811, SC; d. 1882, Miller Co, AR) and Sarah Ellen Addis (b. 1814, SC; d. 1928). We did not locate the family on the 1870 census. Susan and Thomas moved to AR about 1870-1874. The family appears on the 1880 Miller Co, AR census. The 1900 Miller Co, AR census, Sulphur Township, shows Jefferson T. Thomas, born May 1847, 53, married 32 years, a farmer; Susan M., wife, born May 1847, 53, had given birth to 10 children, 6 children were still living; Ida M., daughter, born Aug 1879, 20; Thomas J., son, born May 1881, 19, a farm laborer; Mattie V., daughter, born Aug 1885, 14 and Mothie A. Jones, mother-in-law, 66, widowed, had given birth to 1 child, 1 child still living. Children included: (1) Sarah Thomas, b. 1867, GA; (2) John Thomas, b. 1869, GA; (3) Samuel Thomas, b. 1875, AR; (4) Ida May Thomas, b. Aug 1879, Miller Co, AR; (5) Thomas Jefferson Thomas, Jr., b. May 1881, Miller Co, AR and (6) Mattie V. Thomas, b. Aug 1885, Miller Co, AR
2. Dockery Berry Giddens Jones was born Mar 27, 1849, in Murray Co, GA. He married Julia Ann Hess on July 6, 1871, in Izard Co, AR. (our line)
3. Edward T. Jones, b. abt 1851, in Murray Co, GA; m. Margaret L. "Maggie" Mallicoat on Dec 9, 1874, in White Co, AR. Margaret was b. abt 1860, in AR. The 1880 White Co, AR census shows the family living in the Town of Searcy. The census shows Edward Jones, 29, a house painter; Margaret, wife, 20; Fannie, daughter, 3, and Baby, son, 2 months old, born Apr 1880. We believe that Edward and Margaret both died between 1885 and 1900, probably in White Co, AR. The 1900 White Co census shows their daughter, Fannie E., age 23, a teacher, and their youngest son, Raymond T., age 14, a student, living with their brother William and his wife in the City of Searcy. Children included: (1) Fannie E. Jones, b. July 1876, AR; (2) William Ragsdale Jones, b. Apr 2, 1880, White Co, AR and (3) Raymond T. Jones, b. Aug 1885, AR
4. Mary Jones, b. abt 1854, in GA. (Mary, age 6, appears on the 1860 Floyd Co, GA census with her parents, but does not appear on the 1870 census with them. We do not know if she had married by that time or if she died prior to 1870.)
5. Martha Jones, b. abt 1857, in GA. (Martha, age 3, appears on the1860 Floyd Co, GA census with her parents, but not on the 1870 census. We believe she died between 1861 and 1869.)
6. John F. Jones, b. abt 1859, in GA. (John is listed as 1 yr old on the 1860 Floyd Co, GA census and as 8 yrs old on the 1870 Prairie Co, AR census. The 1880 St. Francis Co, AR, census shows John, age 21, living with the Hawkins family and working as a farm laborer.)
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