VII Factual rebuttal and argument of our differences of opinion

The blog comments I differ with are;

1.   About Isaac Jones' Tinsley Survey being much further north than where people have assumed in the past  The map of the Tinsley survey clearly shows these 1,000 acres sit astride Little Jonathan Creek in Calloway County KY.   

2. Past researchers have commonly believed that Thomas' marriage to Nancy Brown was somewhat short-lived, lasting only  5 years before his eventual marriage to Sarah Matlocks in Surry County on September 21, 1816.

Years ago you convinced me that on this issue my 1988 book was wrong.

3. Although she isn't attributed to Thomas in Mr. Jones' book, I believe this female child to be Nancy Jones who was born in North Carolina circa 1814  Years ago you convinced me that on this issue my 1988 book was wrong.

4.  there are issues with the individuals generally believed to be the children of Thomas Jones

I think, with exception of JLJ and WDJ we are in general agreement on the list above.

5. There was a  James L. Jones married to a Sarah Ann Whitlock living two homes down from Thomas Jones. Once you move beyond this though, records indicate that all the other marriages, the will, and the death date are mistakenly attributed to this James L. Jones, and the person who married Anna Lovett and Charlotte McGrew was an entirely different person. And if it is this person's 1891 will that makes his connection to William D. Jones and thus both of their connections to being sons of Thomas, this is definitely incorrect. I will stick with my 1988 book conclusions and the updates posted herein.

6. James getting remarried to Anna Lovett on June 5, 1851. THIS IS A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY because Sarah Ann was still alive and the couple still married in 1854! The mistake is yours¹

7. both James L. Jones and Sarah Ann had both actually died prior to 1858, thus it would be impossible for this James L. Jones to have left a will in 1891. The mistake is yours¹

8. What makes this document even more interesting is that the four children "sue by their next friend and statutory guardian James A. Jones." The mistake is yours ¹

9. Unfortunately John U. Jones and Isaac T. Jones seem to both drop from the historic record after 1852, and anything more definitive has yet to surface. Only ITJ does . . . and the facts of JUJ's life as reviewed herein changes what we can believe.

10.  I believe that evidence exists to squarely prove that neither of these men were sons of Thomas and quite possibly not even directly related to anyone in the Isaac Jones clan    Wrong, it’s very clear that both are Thomas’s sons.

11. basing lineage on geographic clustering can begin to fall into the realm of subjective  A tax roll entry is as subjective as any other single piece of historical information especially if  handwriting and its interpretation is involved. But sequential tax roll data is self clarifying of hand writing differences, etc and after multiple years a person’s listing becomes more and more straightforward until it is almost like a finger print. Decadal and generational data bases are factual and serve as a very powerful research base that supports deductive reasoning. In combination with plated land deeds their value increases again. In the Joneses case, add in the census data and the only more valuable sources of genealogical information are family bibles and wills . . . like that of James L Jones.

12. This would also be the same for patterns in naming children.  I have always thought naming was highly subjective.

13. when you examine William's connection to James L. Jones, that the pieces really start to not fit Actually, this is where the pieces start to fit tightly.

14.  And if it is this person's 1891 will that makes his connection to William D. Jones and thus both of their connections to being sons of Thomas, this is definitely incorrect. I will stand with the facts.

I will look for your response. If you disagree with my arguments/rebuttal on these 14 issues please show me where I am wrong using information that updates/corrects my errors.   

While I am not qualified to critique your extensive postings pertaining to Isaac Jones’s North Carolina background nor the multiple collateral relatives that you have discussed I do want to thank you for the effort and believe it serves to allow the real Isaac Jones to step forward.  

1. Comments; Your interpretations of the Isaac Jones’ estate deeds referenced below from you blog are confounding

#1   1854 Calloway County, KY Court Record~James L. Jones & others Vs. Mary Whitlock & others

# 2 1858 Calloway County, KY Court Record~John Jeffrey & others Vs. A. Vance & others

The way you seemed to base everything on interpretation of handwriting and the exact wording of these records suggests that you suffer from a severe case of myopia. 

It appears your argument that SAW was alive in 1854 was based exclusively on the 1854 deed.  Obviously, if Sarah had personally signed the document then that would have proven she was alive. But she didn't  And neither did any of the other signatories. It is obvious that all eight signatures were made by the same hand. It’s likely that J P Culver, commissioner or his clerk/scribe “sealed” and transferred by hand all the names from a draft (perhaps made while SAW was alive) to the final document. Are you really proposing that these names are authentic signatures of the petitioners and that each person actually affixed their signature to the document? If you are, please review the document again. These signatures were obviously all written by the same hand. And if you doubt that, then consider the profundity of the fact that George Washington Jones’ signature reflects the excellent penmanship of the other names despite the fact he was approximately 5 years of age in 1854.

This deed does not establish that any of these people, particularly Sarah A Whitlock Jones was alive in November, 1854. On the positive side it is important to note that the deed does establish that James L Jones was a plaintiff in the case. This should make one think that he might also be a plaintiff in the 1858 deed.

Thus it is not clear why you dismissed JLJ has having died by the 1858 suite when he in fact lived until 1893. Again, it appears to be based on your interpretation of hand writing . . . but this time, just a single initial, James “?” Jones. Since no one by the name of James A Jones was connected to this family nor known to live in the area it appears you were creating and introducing us to a fictitious person. That is highly subjective!

  

The 1858 document states that Lucy Jones, Mary Jones, Rufus Jones and Joshua Jones sue by their next friend and statutory guardian “James "?" Jones”. The handwritten middle initial of this person could easily be interpreted as an “L” and we know James L Jones was not only the father of these children but he was also living nearby.

Furthermore, all evidence indicates these children were members of his household even though the fact JLJ was missed in the census of 1860 deprives us of knowing they were there at that point in history. But the fact his children’s orphaned offspring (his grandchildren) lived in his household in the 1870 census and that he was not only their legal guardian but gifted at least one other grandchild land reaffirms JLJ's role as patriarch of his nuclear family. 

VI Genealogy and Pedigree of the Thomas Jones Family

Building the pedigree of Thomas Jones’ descendants starts with recognition that five of his children, Nancy Jane Jones Mathis, WDJ, JLJ, ITJ and JJJ and their descendants lived in a cluster on Clear Creek in what became Marshall County in 1842. Thomas appeared there in 1836 and the male children appeared afterwards in their birth order in the county tax rolls. Nancy Jane Jones Mathis moved there from an unknown location in Tennessee circa 1843. All of his early children were accounted for in the 1850 Marshall County census except for ITJ and JUJ who were living in Calloway at that time. 

In fact JUJ was the exception in that he apparently never lived near his father and siblings on Clear Creek. This may be because he was very close to his grandfather and chose to live near him in Calloway County. His departure for McCracken County very shortly after Isaac’s death would support this idea. 

After JUJ’s departure the entire Thomas Jones Clan could be found living on Clear Creek in the 1860 census and tax rolls and they continued to live there perhaps until they can last be located in the 1870 census as the "Wadesboro" district in which they are listed in 1870 does not necessarily mean that they had moved. 

In contrast all of Isaac Jones’ other children and grandchildren spent their Kentucky years living in Calloway County KY with perhaps the exception of Burrell Jones who paid land and school tax for four years in Marshall County. It is interesting that from Burrell's days in Lincoln County TN until he relocated to Arkansas he was the most mobile of Isaac's children often listing himself in more than one county or state either at the same time or nearly so. Despite the fact he owned land in McCracken County it is hard to believe that he would have paid school tax in Marshall County if he did not live there.

But back to the genealogical nuggets found in public records that pertain to the descendants of Thomas Jones. We have already reviewed the fact that Mary M Jones a daughter of JLJ and SAW Jones married Mr. Wm Brown on 24 Dec, 1861. But this is only the beginning, there is much more information to be gleaned from this record. The marriage was solemnized by one W. D. Jones JP, MC. who until now has been referred to in this discussion as William D Jones. This man, WDJ was commissioned a Justice of the Peace by L. W. Powell the Governor of Kentucky and on 6 June 1853 he was affirmed to that position in District 1 of Marshall County by the County Court. (Marshall County Court Order Book # 2, part 2 pages 92-95). This means Mary M Jones' marriage was solemnized by her uncle.

Witnesses to Mary’s marriage included G. (likely”T”) N. Jones and Amid (likely Arch) Jones. It is significant that T.N. Jones and Arch Jones are known sons of WDJ and in 1861 they were 23 and 21 years of age respectively. This record documents that two of Mary's cousins served as witnesses to her marriage which again confirms the close relationship of this family. Moreover, T(Thomas) N(Newton) Jones’s bit part in the ceremony heralds the critical role he will play 32 years later in proving the long suspected relationship between JLJ and WDJ.

The link between JLJ and WDJ

In his will JLJ appoints his nephew Thomas Newton Jones (1838 KY - 1894 KY) to be executor of his estate. In 1860 Thomas N Jones made his first appearance in the Marshall County Tax Rolls on Clear Creek next to W D Jones. The well established pattern of parent and child association on Clear Creek is consistent with numerous historical facts including the family bible that clearly established that T N Jones was William D “Button” Jones’s eldest son. Therefore the fact that JLJ appoints this nephew to be executor of his will is proof that he and WDJ were brothers. Coupling this with the strong circumstantial evidence already reviewed we can safely conclude that JLJ and WDJ were sons of Thomas Jones. 

Parenthetically, if T N Jones had not himself died the next year in a Typhoid Fever epidemic perhaps the final records of the settlement of JLJ’s estate would have added more to this story.  

Sufficient evidence including the numerous deeds, sequential tax rolls, marriage licenses, wills, census data, and occasional tombstones has thus been accumulated to permit a careful analysis of Thomas’ family. These data permit a reasonable person to draw firm conclusions as to Thomas’s children.

I believe that Thomas Jones (1788 NC - >1873 KY) married Nancy Brown (1790 NC – 181? ??) on 15 Dec 1811 in Surry County North Carolina and they had issue,

1.    Nancy Jane Jones Mathis (1813 NC – 1860 KY), and

2.    William D Jones (1814NC – 1891KY).

Evidence indicates that Nancy Brown died sometime between WDJ’s birth in 1814 and when Thomas married his second wife, Mary MNU (?? - ??) . It seems likely this marriage took place in North Carolina because the birthplace of their first know child,

3.    John U. Jones (1817 NC – 1856 KY) was listed both in the 1850 census and on his death registry as being born in North Carolina. The Thomas Jones family moved to Tennessee in the interval between 1817 and 1819 when

4.    James L Jones (1819TN – 1893KY) was born. They also had at least six additional children, four of them in Tennessee including;

5.    Isaac T Jones (1820 TN – >1860??),

6.    Joshua J. Jones (1827 TN – 1907 KY ),

7.    Malvina Jones Ross (1831 TN – 1870 KY),

8.    Elizabeth A. Jones Tatum, Swiney (1833 TN – >1870??),

9.    Martha Jane Jones Tatum (1836 KY – >1852??),

10. Frances Emiline Jones Tatum 1841 KY–>1873??).

Regarding Thomas Jones and his wives it is worth mentioning once again the peculiar one year he was absent from an otherwise thirty year (1836 to 1866) string of county tax records. You will recall that his son Isaac T Jones replaced him on the tax roll for that single year. Since he used a surrogate on the tax roll it is tempting to speculate that Thomas was away for an extended time for some special and unique reason. We do know that his last known child with Mary was in 1841 (Frances Emiline Jones) and it appears his first child with Martha A Nunley was in February of 1846 (Andrew K Jones). Perhaps he was away in 1845 to mourn or bury Mary (in her native North Carolina?) or more likely traveling and courting Martha Ann Nunley who, also from North Carolina, was to become his third and final wife.

Martha A Nunley (1823 NC – >1870??) Martha Nunley is a "quite" mystery; we don’t know where she came from in North Carolina, if she had been previously married and widowed or where she and Thomas married. After the 1870 Calloway Census, she a relative young widow at 47 years of age simply vanishes from the record. Three years later, in 1873 her husband Thomas gave written consent for their daughter Sarah L Jones to marry Mr. T. H. Ellis. Was Martha Ann Nunley Jones still alive at that time? It should be noted that Thomas was a literate man and always signed his own name on legal papers and that included his consent for Sarah to marry Mr. Ellis. After that note of consent for his baby daughter’s marriage Thomas Jones vanishes from the record. But before that he and Martha had,

11. Andrew K. Jones (1846 KY – >1900

12. Wiley Madison Jones (1849 KY – 1883 KY)

13. Burrell T. Jones (1851 KY – 1852 KY)

14. Lucy F. Jones (1853 KY –>1870??)

15. Thomas J. Jones (1855 KY – >1920??)

16. Sarah L. Jones Ellis (1858 KY – 1873??

In conclusion it appears that Thomas Jones was married at least three times and fathered at least 16 children. His date of death and place of burial are not know, sadly the same is true for all three of his wives.

Y-chromosome Testing of Isaac Jones’s known descendants It is common knowledge that Thomas and Wiley Jones were the oldest sons of Isaac Jones. This is important because two 4^th generation male descendants of Wiley Jones and one 5^th generation descendant of Thomas Jones have had Y-chromosome testing done that shows the three of them share identical alleles in the first 25 test positions. These results mean at the 80% probability that these men share a common progenitor within the last 6 generations. When combined with the detailed paper trail discussed above this data renders their linkage through Isaac Jones certain.

Y-chromosome testing of a descendant of John U Jones shows this man to share identical alleles with the three descendants of Thomas and Wiley Jones mentioned above. This latter subject’s test results were measured at fewer loci but the data again confirms the paper trail discussed above above proving that John U Jones is a son of Thomas Jones.

V  The Fate of John U Jones

John U. Jones (1817 – 1856) In 1988 there was enough geospatial evidence to suspicion that he (person # 60 in my book) was one of Isaac Jones’s grandchildren but there was no clear link to Thomas, Wiley or Burrell. And Joshua D Jones was too young to have been his father. So his parentage was a puzzle.

The 1850 Calloway County Census provides the names of John U and Nancy Evaline Wells Jones’ (1819 TN– 1862KY) first four children (birth and death dates places added);

ü  Milton Wells Jones 1840KY – 1892KY

ü  Francis Elizabeth Jones 1842KY – 1926KY

ü  James Jones 1845 KY – >1860?? 

ü  William O. Butler Jones 1850KY – 1897 KY

John U Jones purchased land as early as 1841 in Calloway County near the Tinsley survey. In 1848 Isaac Jones sold him some of the original Tinsley lands for the bargain price of $8 dollars and since Isaac Jones didn’t make trivial land deals this act suggests they had a special relationship. John U Jones’ last local land transaction was a deed dated 16 November of 1853 in which John U & Nancy E Jones sell parts of NEQ 15, T3, R5 E and NWQ, S14, T3 N, R5 E to T E Goodwin for $250.00. After that transaction they disappeared from Calloway County. 

But they were nearby; John U and Nancy Evaline Jones were next listed in the McCracken County KY birth records as the parents of a child named Andrew C Jones, born on 26 Dec 1852. Unfortunately that child died on 13 Jan 1853 and the McCracken County record again confirmed they were his parents.

Three years later a death was recorded in McCracken County recorded for a Mr. John M Johns that at first seemed irrelevant. The details revealed that this married man, who died on 10 April, 1856 was a white male, 38 year old farmer who had been born in North Carolina (see below).

1856 McCracken County Death record for John M Johns (actually John U Jones)

Subsequent, McCracken County records revealed that a certain Nancy E Jones married Mr. William James Wright on 17 June 1858. The marriage record did not say she was a widow but the timing; roughly 2 years after the death of John M Johns suggested this clue was worth following.  

Looking for Mrs. Wright in the next census was rewarding. The Graves County KY Census of 1860 (adjacent to McCracken, Marshall and Calloway Counties) shows the Wm J Wright’s household to include his new wife Nancy. More importantly this same household also included two of her sons with deceased husband John; their names were James and William Jones.

William, whose full name was William O “Butler” Jones (1850 KY - 1897 KY) lived a full traceable life and was buried near where he lived in 1860 in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Graves County KY. This was strong evidence we had the correct family.

James Jones who was born in 1845 unfortunately could not be traced after the 1860 census. Mr. W J Wright’s household also included another Jones child that was not listed in the 1850 Calloway County Census; a female named Dursilla who was 5 years of age. No record of her birth has been found.

Final proof would lie in finding the other children of John U and Nancy E Wells Jones near their mother’s new home. Another Wright family lived nearby and in that household was a 19 year old male named M. W. Jones. Tracing him forward in time revealed that this was Milton Wells Jones the eldest son of John U and Nancy E Wells Jones. Finding this son, whose middle name was sourced from Nancy’s family name was proof we had found the correct Nancy and her family. Milton Wells Jones married in Graves County and had a large family before dying at the age of 51. He and his mother are both buried in the Wright Chapel Cemetery in Graves County KY.

In early 1860 Nancy and John’s eldest daughter Frances Elizabeth Jones had married an older, widowed man named Presley Atwell Knight in Graves County KY. She and Mr. Knight were found in the 1860 census living close to the Wrights. After the death of Mr. Knight she remarried Mr. Lowe and is buried nearby in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Graves County KY.

Knowing what happened to Nancy E Wells and four of the five known children she had with John U Jones is definitive proof that the John M Johns death record was actually that of John U Jones . . . there is more!

Proof that John U Jones was a son of Thomas and Mary Jones 

As you can see John M Johns (John U Jones) death record provides the name of John’s father and mother. His parent’s names were recorded in excellent script as Thomas and Mary Johns. These findings indicate that Thomas’s first wife Nancy had died and that Thomas had remarried to a Mary (maiden name unknown) who was the mother of John U Jones. Perhaps Nancy Brown Jones’s name was more complex, i.e. Mary Nancy Brown, Nancy Mary Brown, nicknames etc but this seems unlikely.

This finding makes it likely that Mary was also the mother of Thomas’s other children born between 1818 and Mary's death before his 3^rd marriage to Martha A Nunley circa 1845.

IV Isaac T Jones and George Washington Jones

Isaac T Jones (1820 TN - >1860 ??) This man first appeared in the 1844 Marshall County Tax records and his close association with Thomas Jones has already been discussed above. But there is more. For example, the Marshall Guardian's Bond book Vol I, p 08, dated 3 March, 1851 records that he was bonded for $150 as the guardian of his infant son George Washington Jones¹. Thomas Jones was his surety which strengthens the probability that Thomas was also his father. The next year, 1852 this same case returned to guardian court and since the date was after Isaac Jones 1769MD/NC-1851KY death and his linkage to Thomas Jones means this Isaac Jones could only be Isaac T Jones.   

Thus it would be only logical that in the 1858 deed that clarified Isaac Jones’s estate settlement that GWJ’s next best friend would be his court appointed guardian, ITJ. But in that 1858 court document the hand writing is difficult to interpret. Mr. Jones’ first initial is either a “J” or an “I” and middle initial could be “J”, “S” or “T”. But given the facts we know about GWJ we can be certain that the man mentioned was ITJ

On 18 May, 1855 ITJ marries Nancy A Ross in Marshall County KY. It is important to note that two witnesses, Wm D Jones and J “?” Jones (likely an “L”) took part in this wedding. Furthermore, Wm D Jones is also surety for this marriage. The following year the 1856 Marshall County records list the birth of a child to ITJ and Nancy A Ross, the script was poor and the child’s initials are barely legible, (S L or F J Jones) and the child’s gender appears to be female.

Isaac T Jones and his wife Nancy A Ross were listed in the 1860 Marshall County census which helped to clarify several relationships. There were five people in the household including three children, all listed as boys. The oldest, G W Jones was an 11 year old male who was born in KY. This could only be George Washington Jones and his presence in the household is not only proof that ITJ is his father but proves conclusively which Isaac Jones married Nancy Ross. Their now four year old child is listed as a boy with only a single initial “J”. This person was listed as a female in the 14 June 1856 KY birth record. The youngest child, W. Jones was said to be a 2 year old male also born in KY and we know from his birth record (and the handwriting was very clear) that his name was William Jackson Jones and he was listed as a male in his 1 Feb 1859 birth record. His mother was listed as Nancy A Ross but his father’s middle initial was not clear on the birth record but appeared to be a “T” or “S”. Because of prior knowledge we know his father was ITJ.

George Washington Jones (1849 KY - >1860??) Seven years after Isaac Jones’ death the 1858 estate settlement suit/deed ITJ mentions GWJ as a legal heir of the deceased Isaac Jones through his deceased daughter Alvina Jones. Alvina’s son George W Whitlock appears to be the name source for GWJ. 

Who was GWJ’s mother At the time of this court proceeding, which would have been open to the public, all interested parties must have known GWJ’s mother. But since then her identity has been lost. No birth record for GWJ has been found. With knowledge that GWJ was Alvina’s heir, then his mother a third line descendant of Isaac Jones must also have been dead by the 1854 date of that deed. If we can presume this was the reason ITJ became GWJ’s guardian 3 March, 1851 then GWJ’s mother must have died before that date. In the 1858 deed, the handwriting made it difficult to ascertain that Isaac T Jones was the “the next friend” of GWJ but other facts make that perfectly clear.

This then means that ITJ fathered GWJ with one of Alvina’s daughters but no marriage or divorce records have been found. It is also worth mentioning that ITJ was not listed as a widow at the time of his 18 May, 1855 wedding to N A Ross. Alternatively he may have impregnating one of Alvina’s daughter out of wedlock or who was in fact married to someone else. We know from GWJ’s listing as an 11 year old in the 1860 census that he was probably born circa 1849 yet he has not been found in the 1850 census.

So the question becomes which of Alvina Jones Whitlock’s five known daughters; was the mother of GWJ?  

ü  E. Adaline Whitlock 1818 – >1880, her oldest daughter married P H Clark, a man ten years her junior and their lives have not been chronicled adequately thus making her a possible candidate to have born this child.

ü Sarah Ann Whitlock who married her cousin JLJ in 1840 and had the four children that are the center of much of this diatribe is also a possibility. 

ü  Elizabeth Whitlock 1825 – <1880 font="font">  was apparently single until she married W A Miller in 1853 and unfortunately died in Dec 1854 of complications of childbirth the previous month.

ü  Mary Frances Whitlock 1833 – 1854 was apparently single until she married W A Miller in 1853 and unfortunately died in Dec 1854 of complications of childbirth the previous month.

ü  Martha Ann Whitlock 1840 – >1850, the youngest daughter, was last found at the age of 10 living with her older sister E Adaline Whitlock and P H Clark in the 1850 Calloway County Census. ITJ did live in that household but this young girl would not have been in the reproductive years circa 1848/49 when GWJ was conceived.

From this it appears that Mary Francis would have been the only single daughter old enough to have married ITJ and born a child in 1849. But we have already stated that there is no surviving record of her marriage to ITJ. We also know Mary Francis didn’t die until 1854 and since ITJ became the guardian of GWJ in March of 1851 this suggests the child’s mother was already dead at that time. Alternatively, perhaps GWJ’s mother was alive but unable to care for the child due to an incapacitating illness or condition but no court records declaring the mother unfit have been found, thus this is a very weak theory.

The one daughter known to have been deceased by the year 1851 and who had also proven to be fertile was Sarah A Whitlock Jones. But we don’t know the exact date SAW died, only that it was some time before 5 June 1851 when her widowed husband remarried.

We know that ITJ became guardian of his son GWJ on 3 March of 1851. Given the known children that were born to SAW in 1848 (month unknown) and June of 1850 it would have been difficult for her to have squeezed in another child in 1849, legitimately or not. Thus it seems unlikely that either SAW or Mary Francis Whitlock were GWJ’s mother which makes it more likely that Alvina had another daughter whom we don’t know about who GWJ’s mother was and that she died, perhaps in childbirth before her name was revealed in the 1850 full name census.

The elusive Isaac T Jones becomes a mystery

Unfortunately the ITJ family has not been successfully traced after the 1860 Marshall tax rolls and census. Extensive searches using Isaac T Jones and or Nancy A Ross Jones in many combinations of initials, full and part names as well as those of William Jackson Jones and GWJ as well as limited searches for their “J” child born on 14 June, 1856, again using likely initials and both genders. Did Kentucky’s ITJ and family all perish in a house fire, die in an epidemic or change their names and vanish into thin air . . . the mystery continues.

1. ITJ’s Guardian Bond for George Washington Jones, dated 3 March, 1851

III The Life of James L Jones

The tax rolls and land deeds have revealed a great deal about James L Jones and have in fact shown that he was the only James L Jones on Clear Creek and the only James L Jones in the entire area in the 1840s through the early 1870s. True there were other James Jones in Calloway and Marshall Counties; in fact there were a total of 7 James Joneses with a middle name/initial that began with an “L” listed in the index to my 1988 book. But the only person by that name before 1870 was none other than the subject I am writing about.

Some say exceptions make the rule and if that’s the case its worth relating that in the 1846 tax rolls of Marshall County there are two men by the name of James L Jones. They are both listed on the Clear Creek watershed and were taxed on 30 acres (is this number familiar?) for that one year only. This was obviously a duplicate listing created by a clerical error.

So this JLJ had to be the man who married his first cousin, Sarah Ann Whitlock (SAW) on 31 Oct, 1840 in Calloway County KY. The 1850 Marshall County census locates them one house from his father Thomas Jones and two houses from his sister Nancy Jane Jones Mathis. SAW’s brother George W Whitlock actually lived between JLJ and his father and there is mention in Marshall deeds of his buying the land from Thomas Jones. James L and Sarah Ann Jones’ 1850 census family consisted of (birth and death dates/places added by me);

1. James L Jones, 1819 TN – 1893 KY
2. Sarah Ann Whitlock Jones, 1819 TN – 1851 KY
3. Lucy A. Jones, 1842 KY – 1865 KY
4. Mary M. Jones, 1845 KY – 1864 KY
5. Rufus B. Jones, 1848 KY – >1880 ??
6. Joshua A. Jones, 1850 KY – 187? MO

The timeline of James & Sarah Jones’ extended family

Sarah Ann Whitlock Jones, (1819 TN – 1851 KY) I believe Sarah died between the 26^th of August 1850 when the Marshall County census was taken and the 5^th of June 1851 when her former husband remarried. There are three excellent reasons to draw this conclusion; 1^st, no divorce record has been found for the couple, 2^nd the man named JLJ who married on 5 June 1851 with Marshall County license #454 to Anna Lovett is listed in that record as a widowed, and 3^rd there were no other men by the name of James L Jones who could have married Ms Lovett. It is unfortunate that JLJ was not listed anywhere in the 1860 census although Marshall County tax rolls and deed activity proves he lived there.

Tracing James L and Sarah Ann Whitlock Jones’s descendents

Lucy A Jones (1842 KY – 1865 KY) Marshall County records show that their oldest daughter married  John Wethers (Weathers) on 8 July 1858 with her father’s consent at the home of James “F” Jones. I firmly believe the initial “F” was a transcription error and that the consent was given by JLJ and that the marriage took place at his home. This is reinforced by the fact that the only James F Jones found in any temporal Marshall or Calloway record, James F (Franklin) Jones was 5 years old in 1858 (and he may not have lived in the area until 1879).

Mary M. Jones, (1845 KY – 1864 KY) Marshall County records show that Lucy’s younger sister married Wm W Brown on 24 Dec, 1861. This marriage took place with the consent of her father JLJ at JLJ’s home in Marshall Kentucky. What more evidence is needed to prove this was the same JLJ who wed SAW and fathered this child and the others we are discussing?

Despite their early start, or perhaps because of it these girls died quite young; Mary M Jones Brown died at the age of 19 while Lucy A Jones Weathers lived until the age of 23. They did reproduce, however and the timeline of facts for these children provides confirmation that JLJ was their father. 

After Lucy Ann’s early death Mr. Weathers apparently also dies leaving their two daughters, Sarah A Weathers and Martha M Weathers (affectionately named after their mother and maternal aunt) as orphans.  In the 1870 census these children were found in the Jas L and Ann Jones household listed as Sarah Wethers, sic and Martha M Wethers, sic. There can be no doubt that the children are living with their grandfather and step grandmother. My guess is they were also there in the 1860 census for which JLJ household was missed but his presence in Marshall County can be verified by his continued presence on the tax rolls. Lets look forward in time and see what happened to them.

Martha M Weathers Jan 1862 KY - >1920 ??) The Marshall County Guardian’s Bond Book sheds further light on JLJ and his grandchildren. Guardian Bond Book Vol 1, page 83 shows that on 3 March 1875 JLJ became the guardian of Mary M Weathers¹. This was just before her 5 March 1875 marriage with Marshall County license # 2269 to John W Henderson. J L Jones was a witness to the ceremony of this 13 year old who married with the consent of her new guardian.

Sarah A Weathers (Jan 1860 KY 30 June 1940 KY) Roughly two years later, the Marshall County Guardian’s Bond Book Vol 1, page 95 records that on 8 Dec, 1877 JLJ became the official guardian of Sarah A Weathers². She, now all of 17 years of age had the consent of her guardian J L Jones to marry Mr. William A Gorden with Marshall County License # 2529 the next day, 9 Dec 1877.

Thus these girls lived with and were cared for by their grandfather without official status and it was for legal reasons because they went to altar as mere teenagers that he becoming their formal guardian 1-2 days before their marriage.

In his later life JLJ continued to demonstrate love for his grandchildren. For example; In 1891 when his granddaughter Mary Weather’s only child, James Hendren "Bud" Brown (1862 KY-1949 KY) was 29 years old he received a Marshall County land deed “For the love and affection J L Jones has for his grandson” in which JJLJ deeds 30 acres off the East side of the S W Q section 21, T 4, R, 5 East and Charlotte, aka 'Charlty' his 3^rd wife waives her dower right.³  The date of this deed, 28 November 1891 is also the date of James’ last will and testament suggesting he saw the end coming and wanted to do something special for this grandson. Also, the number of acres transferred brings up memories from 1852 when his father Thomas sold James that exact acreage which he had lived on and worked for a decade . . .“Like father like son”.

But, back to the children of JLJ and SAW Jones.

Rufus B Jones (1848 KY – <1880 u="u"> 

Their first son married Martha Ann Gregory with Marshall County marriage license # 1410 on 30 November 1865. The ceremony was performed by W W Faucett at the home of and with the consent of the bride’s father W W Gregory. Rufus’s father also gave consent for his marriage and the name appears to be listed as “T L” Jones. There was not a person by those initials living in Marshall County District one. Since one of the witnesses was J L Jones I firmly believe there is an error in interpretation of script and that the “T L Jones” and J L Jones very likely both refer to JLJ.

Soon thereafter the newlyweds move to Missouri where their first child Margaret was born in 1867 and a second daughter Lisa was born in 1878 both being listed in the 1880 census of Stoddard County MO. This family has not been found since and their fate is unknown which of course means the date and place of death for Rufus B Jones has not been established.

Joshua A Jones (1850 KY – 187? MO) Their youngest son married Jane E Cross with license # 1779 on 11 Nov 1869 in Marshall County. He was 19 years of age and married with consent of his father but the father’s name was not recorded. His bride married with consent of her father W E Cross. Their first child Alice M Jones was born in KY in 1871 and soon they moved to Missouri apparently to be near his brother. Their 2^nd child, Anna H Jones was born in 1873. They had one other child, Claudius Bowin Jones, born 24 June 1875 in Stoddard County Missouri.  We know this because he later returned to Marshall County and in his 1900 Marshall Marriage license his place of birth is recorded as Stoddard County Missouri. Joshua A Jones died sometime between siring his last offspring and the 1880 census. We know this because Jane E Cross Jones is found in the 1880 census widowed and living next door to her parents in Birmingham, Marshall County KY.

James L Jones’ will proves he is the father of Sarah’s A Whitlock’s children

James L Jones (1819 TN – 1893KY) JLJ lived a long life and left a very revealing will⁴.

His second wife of some 36 years, Anna Lovett dies on 30 September, 1887 and within the year he married a third time to Charlotte “Charlty” McGrew. Their marriage was on 10 July, 1888 and three plus years later, 28 Nov 1891 James writes his will including provisions for his children and their heirs and appoints his executor.

JLJ dies on 23 Jan 1893 in Marshall County. A Marshall County KY Newspaper of 25 Feb 1893 commented that James L. Jones, an aged citizen, died at his home up beyond Jonathan Creek last week. He was near 75 years old. He was once one of the shining lights in the ME Church but before he passed away he joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church & died a member.

It is critical to note that the heirs listed in his will are the same four children listed 43 years earlier in the James L and Sarah A Jones 1850 census household, mentioned in the two deeds used to settle the estate of Isaac Jones and discussed at some length above.

It is of interest that JLJ specifies in his will that Lucy A Jones, Mary M Jones and Joshua A Jones are each deceased and that their share of his estate is to pass directly to their heirs. He treats Rufus B Jones differently and chooses his words carefully to cover the possibility that Rufus could still be alive and if so that he is entitled to his proportional inheritance but if not his share is to pass to his heirs. A quick count shows that in 1893 JLJ and SAW Jones had at least 15 grandchildren and great grand children. 

The remainder of his last will and testament will be discussed later.

References 

1. JLJ’s Guardian Bond for Martha M Weathers, dated 3 March, 1875

2. JLJ’s Guardian Bond for Sarah A Weathers, dated 8 Dec, 1877

3. JLJ’s deed “for Love and affection to his grandson J H Brown, dated 28 Nov, 1891.

4. The Last Will and Testament of James L Jones probated 11 Feb, 1893 three parts.                                                                                                                   

II Using Tax Rolls/Deeds to Locate People

There were a large number of Joneses living in Calloway County KY before Isaac’s clan arrived. The 1830 census of Calloway County found 15 Jones families with the householder’s first names including one each of the name Burrell, James, Charles and Stephen, two Thomas’s, three John’s and four William’s. These 15 Jones households contained 91 persons presumably with the name Jones and all together they accounted for 1.8% of Calloway’s total population of 5159.My approach to solving this monstrous genealogical problem was to identifying these Joneses using watercourses locations from tax rolls and section, township, and range location of deeds. This proved very useful as I tried to explain in my 1988 book, The Joneses of Kentucky’s Calloway Marshall Counties 1820 -1910.There were Joneses in the earliest records and yes, these same people continued to appear, generally on the same watercourse year after year as I proceeded forward in time searching the districts and counties as they were created and or renamed through the 1800s. The value of finding a name in one tax year, albeit important was made trivial by plotting that same person’s location on the map for many sequential years, decades, or a lifetime. This approach minimized errors in names, etc and enabled seeing the temporal and spatial settlement patterns that identified, segregated and distinguished the multiple Joneses with common first names.Thomas Jones and his family There were several Thomas Joneses in Calloway County in the 1830s but there was only one who 1st appeared on the 1835 tax rolls listed with 130 acres within the Tinsley Survey on Jonathan Creek (formerly Harlan’s Creek) at a $285 value plus four horses. This was Thomas Jones (1788 NC – >1873 ??) whom we agree was Isaac Jones’ oldest son. See below.

*Burrell was not listed on Clear Creek before 1842 and is included here because of his subsequent  appearance in Marshall County.

X^T Thomas’s 1835 listing was on Tinsley lands all others on Clear Creek.

On 11 May, 1835 this Thomas Jones bought land on Clear Creek from a man named James Pickeral Jr. The exact location of the land was the S E quarter of Section 2, Township 3 N, Range 5 E. He began paying taxes on this Clear Creek land in Calloway in 1836 and continued to do so until the first tax roll of Marshall County was created in 1843. Thereafter he paid taxes on the same acreage in Marshall County. Thomas’s original homestead on Clear Creek was situated roughly 1.5 miles north of the Tinsley lands.
His father, Isaac Jones and all his brothers, sisters and spouses resided on Tinsley lands or nearby plots to the south in Calloway County. Only Burrell was included in the table above for reference not because he lived there in those years but because he transiently made the Marshall County Tax rolls in 1846-1849, see below.

Mustard color indicates Marshall, Yellow Calloway Tax Rolls. Burrell Jones was listed for 1843-1844 in Calloway County (yellow) where as he was listed for the years 1846-49 on Clear Creek in Marshall County.  The green background marks ITJ’s assuming TJ tax profile for 1845.  In 1847, ITJ is listed for that one year only on Calloway’s rolls (X* in yellow). The 1853-1858 Calloway County Tax rolls (purple background color) are missing. 

The X marks above and in the previous table mean the person lived there that year. This data is simplified to an X from a large data base of unpublished material. The data bank consists of each tax year’s entry reduced to watercourse, acres of land,  land value, number of slaves owned, number of horses, number of pole tax and number of children (without regard to their ages).  Over time each person’s data formed a profile or finger print that typically changed very slowly if at all. It should be noted that it took a few years to identify the smallest referenced watercourse (i.e. the most specific location). For example in some years Thomas was listed on Jonathan Creek, in others it was Clear Creek. That doesn’t mean he moved, it reflects specificity of location.      

William D. Jones The next Jones to appear on Clear Creek tax rolls was William D. Jones (WDJ). He 1^st appeared in 1837 in the tax rolls of Calloway near Isaac and Thomas Jones, but by 1838 his location was clearly on Clear Creek near Thomas Jones and he was typically taxed on 70 acres. In 1843 WDJ began to be taxed on 160 acres on Clear Creek land and his tax profile remained stable through 1848. But, from 1837 until 1848 there were no records indicating he had purchased land in either Calloway or Marshall County. This suggests that in that interval someone was giving him increasing control of family land, perhaps by lease or perhaps deeding him land for which the deeds were never recorded or have been lost. Both the geospatial and temporal settlement pattern and WDJ’s increasing tax base without recorded land deeds is a strong basis to consider that Thomas was his father.

Post 1848 he was involved in 30 additional Marshall County land transactions and by the 1860’s he owned all of section 2 where Thomas had originally settled and the adjacent section 35 to the north in Township 4, north, Range 5 East. At one point he owned almost as much land as did Isaac Jones at his peak.

James L Jones In 1841 a man name James L Jones (JLJ) began to be listed nearby to Thomas and WDJ in the Calloway County tax rolls. Originally he paid only pole tax. Beginning in 1843 with formation of Marshall County JLJ is listed there and by 1844 he was being taxed on 30 acres of land on Clear Creek and this tax profile continued until 1858. Never the less, his first recorded land purchase was on 26 February 1852 when he was deeded 30 acres of land by Thomas and Martha A Jones. Thus he paid taxes on the same 30 acres both before and after owning the land which suggests a familiar scenario; Thomas was sharing or gifting land with JLJ like he had done for WDJ.

Isaac T Jones In 1844 ITJ appears on the tax roll for pole tax, no land and one horse adjacent to Thomas Jones on Clear Creek in Marshall County. The next year Thomas is missing from the tax roll and ITJ is listed on the tax roll with Thomas’s profile, that being 147 acres of land valued at $220, 2 horses and three children. In 1846 Thomas is back paying tax on this same 147 acre profile and ITJ’s profile returns to no land, 1 pole tax and one horse. The fact ITJ “stood-in” for Thomas on the 1845 Marshall Tax roll cements a close relationship, likely that of father and son.  

Joshua J Jones In 1846 another new Jones appears on the Marshall Tax rolls on Clear Creek near Thomas. The new person was Joshua J Jones (JJJ) who is taxed on only one horse. In 1848 he begins to pay pole tax and in the 1850 census is found living with his likely brother WDJ. In fact all of the above except ITJ can be found living close together in the 1850 census and ITJ was a short distance away in Calloway County living with his cousin Nancy Clarentine Jones and her husband H Z Hawkings.

In 1854, JJJ marries Nancy C Morris and continues to appear per usual on the Clear Creek tax rolls until 1859 when for the first time he pays tax on land. It’s worth noting he paid land taxes even before the date on his first recorded land deed. In the 1860 census Joshua’s new family is found adjacent to Wm D Jones’ family. What a tight nit relationship.  

Thomas Newton Jones (1838 KY - 1894 KY) & Archilles J Jones (1840 KY - 1924 KY) made their first appearance in the Marshall County Tax Rolls on Clear Creek next to their father Wm D “Button” Jones in 1860. Their appearance corresponded with the boys reaching the age of emancipation and with the recording of two deeds in which WDJ gifted 160 acres to each of them for the “Love and Affection he had for his son” (s).

All together these facts suggest;

(1)        Since each of these men, WDJ, JLJ, ITJ and JJJ appeared on Clear Creek adjacent to Thomas Jones (the original settler) near their age of emancipation and in sequential order of their age makes a strong argument that Thomas Jones was the father of these younger Joneses.

(2)       The peculiar growth in the tax base of William D and JLJ over time without land acquisition by deed reinforces this idea of fatherly gifting to their sons.

(3)       In James’s case a proven delayed transfer of land to him from Thomas is certainly indicative that Thomas was his father.

(4)       The 1845 tax records in which Thomas is replaced by ITJ for that one year suggests that the father placed trust in his young son.

(5)       The last two Joneses to appear on Clear Creek in this time frame where Thomas N Jones and Archilles J Jones. Since they have been proven to be sons of William D “Button” Jones their timely appearance at this location at this point in their lives confirms that father to son gifting of land was a customary pattern of behavior in this Jones family.

No evidence Thomas Jones’ family related to nearby Joneses There were three other Jones families within five miles of the Clear Creek area that that do not appear to be related to the Isaac Jones family despite the fact some had similar first names to members of Isaac’s clan.

Two of these “other” Joneses were brothers; William B Jones 1820 NC – 1864 KY and John D Jones 1823 TN -- 1884 KY. Interestingly, they married the Parrish sisters with William B’s marriage taking place in Obion County Tennessee a location that is both off the pathway and with later timing than that followed west by the Isaac-Thomas’s clan. 

The older brother appeared in the Marshall Tax rolls in 1846 and the younger one in the 1849 Marshall Tax rolls, both settling on Cool Creek. Cool Creek is in the Tennessee River watershed roughly 2 plus miles east of where Thomas and his sons lived. 

These brothers did not interact in weddings, deeds, etc with the Isaac-Thomas clan. After William B Jones dies in 1864, his younger brother moves to the opposite end of the County.

The third Jones family nearby was that of John Ned Jones (1815 SC -- 1882 KY); his place of birth suggests no relation to the Isaac Jones clan. John Ned Jones lived roughly five miles west on a different watershed and had no interaction with the Isaac-Thomas Jones clan.

Thus tracing these Joneses both forward and backward in time yields nothing to suggest they were related to Isaac’s clan.

James L Jones moves to Rough Creek in 1859 After an 18 year run living next to Thomas Jones and his brothers on Clear Creek James purchased 140 acres on Rough Creek (another tributary of Jonathan Creek) and moved approximately three miles northwest. When James moved away from Clear Creek he did not disengage from family affairs, like weddings, etc indicating that blood lines were thick.

In contrast neither James or Thomas nor his other sons ever participated in marriages or land deeds with the three unrelated Jones families.  The only notations in Marshall County records that mingle the names were order book entries indicating neighbor groups that were responsible for construction or maintenance of roads in District 1.