Col. Elisha Jones

Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jones-5903

"Elisha, son to Josiah & Abigail Jones was born in Watertwon West Precinct ye 19th Day of November 1710" and baptised on the 26th.

Filed his intention of marriage to Mary Allen on 30 December, 1733, in Weston, Middlesex, Massachusetts and the actual marriage took place on 24 January 1734 in Weston, Middlesex, Massachusetts and they were the parents of 14 sons and 1 daughter:

Nathan, Elisha, Israel, Daniel, Elias, Josiah, Silas, Mary, Ephraim, Simon, Stephen, Jonas, Philomen, :Charles. (An unnamed son died in infancy)

1. Nathan Jones b. 29 Sep 1734 bp. Oct. 6, 1734
2. Elisha Jones b. 9 Jan 1736/07 bp. Jan. 23, 1736/07
3. Israel Jones b. Sept. 21, 1738 bp. Sept. 24, 1738
4. Daniel Jones b. July 25, 1740 bp. July 27, 1740
5. Elias Jones b. 22 Aug 1741bp. Aug. 22, 1741 ?
6. Josiah Jones b. Nov. 9, 1744 bp. Nov. 11, 1744
7. Silas Jones b. 7 Nov 1746 bp. Nov. 9, 1746. d. Dec. 9, 1754
8. Mary Jones b. June 11, 1748 bp. June 12, 1748
9. Ephraim Jones b. 17 Apr 1750 bp. Apr. 22, 1750
10. Simeon Jones b. 8 Dec 1751 bp. Dec. 8, 1751
11. Stephen Jones b. 5 Mar 1754 bp. Mar. 17, 1754
12. Jonas Jones b. Aug. 26, 1756 bp. Aug. 29, 1755 ?
13. Philemon Jones bp. Feb. 11, 1759 d. Feb. 24, 1759
14. Charles Jones bp. Jan. 27, 1760.

Sons Elisha, Josiah, Ephraim, Simon and Charles were Tories and left the country -- Ephraim to Ontario; Simon, Charles, Elisha and Josiah to Nova Scotia.

Daughter Mary Jones married the Rev. Asa Dunbar and their daughter Cynthia Dunbar married John Thoreau and they were the parents of 4 children:

Helen L., John, Sophia Elizabeth and Henry David Thoreau

Obituary

(from the Boston Gazette, Wednesday, 15 February, 1775)

"On Monday last, died in this town, in the sixty-six year of his life, Elisha Jones, Esq., late of Weston, for many years a magistrate, Col. of a Regiment of Militia, and a member of the Grand Assembly. In the many departments in which he acted, he eminently showed the man of principal, virtue."

Elisha was buried in Old Hill Burying Ground in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts.[1]

Biography

From http://www.westonhistory.org/data/uploads/bulletin-excerpts/Elisha-...

The Rivers School sits on land that was once part of the vast and disparate land- holdings of Elisha Jones (1710-1776). By the start of the American Revolution Jones owned 274 acres of land in various parts of Weston, including property on both the Natick and Weston sides of Nonesuch Pond. In addition, he also owned 60 acres of land in Princeton, and almost 9000 acres of land in the western Mas- sachusetts towns of East Hoosac, Pittsfield, and Partridgefield.

Jones was a prominent member of the Weston community, making his home on Highland Street near the center of town and taking an active role in local affairs. He did a little bit of everything. In Weston he served as treasurer and selectman; at the county level he served as a justice of the peace and deputy sheriff; and on the colonial level he was a representative to the General Court. His interests were not confined to politics and real estate; he ran a store in Weston and acted as a banker as well. Jones married Mary Allen of Weston, and together they raised twelve children, eleven boys and one girl. (1)

By the end of 1774, with the political situation in Weston and its environs becom- ing more and more dangerous, and after a large and threatening crowd sur- rounded Jones’s house one evening, Elisha Jones left Weston for Boston, seeking the company of the many loyalists gathering there as well as the protection of the British troops. He died on February 13, 1776, at the age of 66. Shortly thereafter, in March, many loyalists left Boston for Nova Scotia in conjunction with the evacuation of British troops from Boston at that time.

The sale of these and other of Jones’s properties, ended the story in Massachu- setts, but it did not end the quest for compensation by his descendants in Canada. Loyalists, many of whom ended up in Canada, and some of whom ended up back in England, expected the British government to provide compensation as a re- ward for their dedicated support of the king throughout the conflict.

References

1. Colonel Elisha Jones of Weston and the crisis of colonial government in Massachusetts, 1773-1776 Jones-Baker, DW; (1979) Colonel Elisha Jones of Weston and the crisis of colonial government in Massachusetts, 1773-1776. Doctoral thesis , University of London. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1361007
2. http://www.westonhistory.org/data/uploads/bulletin-excerpts/Elisha-...
3. WikiTree contributors, "Elisha Jones (1710-1775)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jones-5903 : accessed 20 April 2024). Cites
   1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141553889
   2. Henry Bond, Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Two volumes, Boston: NEHGS, 1860, https://archive.org/details/familymemorialsg00bond.
   3. http://www.westonhistory.org/data/uploads/bulletin-excerpts/Elisha-...
   4. http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Info/detail.php?letter=j&line=124
   5. http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Info/extras/MISC-MULTI/Our-Loyalist-A.... Page 65
   6. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 for Nathan Jones Some of the descendants of Lewis and Ann Jones of Roxbury, Mass , through their son Josiah and gran https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61157/images/46155...