Thomas Jones, of Gloucester

Not the same as Thomas Jones, of Guilford

Biography

From Savage, James Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England v2 p 566

JONES, THOMAS, Gloucester, by w. Mary, d. of Richard North, had

1. Thomas, b. 15 Mar. 1640;
2. Nathaniel, and
3. Ruth, tw. 22 Feb. 1645;
4. Samuel, 31 Aug. 1647;
5. Ephraim, 1 Apr. 1649;
6. Benjamin, 31 July 1651;
7. Remember, 1 Aug.1653; beside
8. Susanna, wh. m. 12 July 1659, John Jackson;
9. ano. d. wh. m. a Kent;
10. and ano. prob. nam. Mary, wh. m. Nathaniel Wensley, call. Winslow, of Salisbury.

SOURCES

• 1) New England Marriages Prior to 1700
• 2) James Savage Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England
• 3) The American Genealogist 68(1993):65-70
• 4) History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and Descendants of Captain Israel Jones
• 5) The Essex Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 2, May 1998
• 6) The Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XLII-1906

links

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stuw/fam04133.htm

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GEDCOM Note

Disputed Origins

The parents originally shown in this profile, John Jones and wife Anna Vassall -- a probable Huguenot descendant -- cannot be the parents of Thomas Jones because they were not married until about 1616... and Anna would only have been four or five years old when Thomas was born in 1598-99. A well-researched case is made online by M. Stanhope that they are the parents of yet another Thomas Jones II, of Virginia; see https://harrisancestors.webs.com/jonesoffleetsbay.htm, 1.2.1.1.1; 1.1; 1.1.1; and especially 1.1.2, which connects this Thomas with a Thomas Jones II who appears to be the Thomas Jones II of Virginia profiled on WikiTree-- that Thomas has the same wife shown in Stanhope's Harris genealogy. However, the WikiTree profile assigns him a very different birth date and very different parents, and additional research will be needed to determine the correct assignment. It is possible that this profile might be the result of an inaccurate merge of an earlier profile of Thomas Jones of Gloucester, and anotherThomas Jones who was of Virginia.

Biography

Thomas Jones was born about 1599, based on his stated age in Essex County depositions in 1666 (67) and 1667 (68); a possible birthplace of Ramsey/Romsay, Hampshire, England, is not sourced and wants proof. According to the record of "New England Marriages to 1700", Thomas was married to Mary North -- a sister of Salem witch trials victim Susannah(North) Martin -- by 1637; the pair were probably wed at Gloucester or Manchester, Massachusetts Bay. (An unsourced marriage date of 4 February 1640, previously shown in this profile, does not match the "New England Marriages" date).

The genealogical website "Benjamin Jones' Ancestors" summarizes, "Thomas Jones was born about 1598 in the United Kingdom, either Wales or England. Some say that John Jones and Ann Vassal of England were his parents or grandparents, but no proof exists. If this is his line it goesback to Normandy, France." [That parentage (see above) cannot be accurate given the chronology.] It goes on to note that other sources "say his father may have been another Thomas, son of John and Ann. Again, no proof exists." If this "John and Ann" are meant to be the same John Jones and Anne Vassal, then it is an even more patent chronological impossibility. In fact, we simply do not know at this time who Thomas's parents were, or how he may (or may not) have been related to other contemporary Jones families in New England.

In a confusing passage, Savage's "Genealogical Dictionary"<ref>A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, Volume #2 Jones - Jones, by James Savage; http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/bk2/jones-jones...</ref> indicates that this Thomas "rem[oved] 1651, to New London, back same yr." This is echoed by by Frances Manwaring Caulkins in her 1852 "History of New London,Connecticut"<ref>History of New London Connecticut, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins, 1852, p. 70; GoogleBooks and may explain the lack of clarity in some genealogies as to when and where his son, Thomas Jr., may have married (in fact, he did not), and where he died -- New London being one proffered venue,Gloucester the other; the latter is in fact the recorded location. That the elder Thomas returned to Gloucester shortly after 1651 is certain; "Benjamin Jones' Ancestors" notes, "About 1651, Thomas went to New London, Connecticut, as many were doing at the time. He never applied for a settler's grant there and returned to make the family home inGloucester, where Thomas was admitted as a Freeman in 1653."

Thomas died on 2 September 1671 at Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Careful study of the handwritten entry in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, yields this date rather than 11 July,though the latter appears in many transcriptions; see image at http://jtbullock.com/Tree/BenJones.html#TJ. This coordinates with the date shown (see below) in his will, 7 August.

Research notes: This Thomas Jones should not be confused with the Thomas who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1638, nor with any of the several other Thomas Joneses in the New England region at this time.

For reasons noted above, the parents originally shown in this profile have been detached. The designation "II" following Thomas's name was not sourced; as it has been determined that Thomas's parentage is not known there is no certain reason to retain the designation, and it hasbeen removed.

Last Will & Testament

Estate of Thomas Jones of Gloucester, Essex Probate Docket # 15228

• I Thomas Joanes of G[lou]cestor in the County of Essex in New England being (by Gods providence) cast upon my Bed of Sickness & weaknesse & not knowing how neare the time of my departure may be at hand yet knowing that all men are borne to dye & departe out of this world doe therefore make knowne & declare this my last will and Testament in manner & forms folowing
• ffirst I doe Commit & Command my Soule into the hands of God the Father of Spirits and my body to the Grave to be decently buried by my Surviving Friends And for my Goodes :ffirst it is my will & I doe give & bequeath unto my deare & loving wife all the Goods & Cattel with halfe of the Ground meadow & upland whence now I Live (on this side of the River commanly called Annasequam)with halfe the House also Standing upon the Sayd Land the same to injoy during her naturall Life after my decease.
• :Item I give & bequeath unto my Sonne Beniamine Jones & to his Heires the other halfe of the House & Land where now I live on this Side or the River abovesayd the Same to injoy & possesse after my decease as also the other halfe of the Sayd House & Land after the decease of his sayd mother viz the whole Living to have & injoy as his owne proper Right after the decease of his mother if shee Surviveth my selfe As also all my Tackling for the Teame yoakes & Chaynes plough & plough Irons with all other Tooles & Implements which are mine for the Carrying on of Such workes & Imployments as we have usually beene occupied in or about. The Sayd Tools and Implement for rorke It is my will & meaning that my Sayd Sonne Shall have & injoy as well as the halfe of the house & Land above sayd presently upon my decease
• Item I give & bequeath unto my Sonne Thomas Joanes my Land with the orchyard the Sayd Land containing about three Acres more or lesse & being Situate on the other Side of the River abovesayd vis on the southeast side of the River right over agaynst my House where I now Live and Six Acres of Land upon the Lower Necke where Goodman Harradden liveth and my will & meaning is that my Sonne Thomas shall have & injoythe Sayd Lands presently upon my decease only it is my will & I doe hereby declare that my wife Shall have the thirds ot the Sayd Land during hrrenaturall Life.
• Item I give & bequeath unto my Daughter Winslow of Salisbury one Shilling
• Item I geve & bequeath unto my Daughter Ruth Haward of Salem one pounde ten shillings to be payd in Goods or Cattell as they goe betweene man & man Vis at the Common price :Item I give unto my Daughter Remember Jones twenty Shillings to be payd in Goods or cattel at the common price
• Item I give & bequeath unto my Sonne Thomas Jones five Pounds to be payd in Goodes or Cattell at the Common price by my Sonne Benjamin after the decease of my wife
• :Item I give & bequeath unto my Sonne Samuel Jones one Shilling
• :Item I give & bequeath unto my Sonne North Jones twenty Shillings at the decease of my wife to be payd by my Sonne Benjamin if he comes in his own person to demand the Same
• :Item I give & bequeath || to my daughter Remember|| one Iron pot after my decease
• :Item I give & bequeath unto my Grandchild John Jackson one Ewe Sheepeat my decease.
• :Item I give to my Sonne Thomas my longest Muskett & my Sonne Benjaminthe other Muskett
• :And for my Household Goodes & Cattell is is my will & meaning that mywife shall have & injoy them as her prober Right after my decease only to pay all Such Debts (as doe appeare that I owe to any man) out of them, except Such Legacys abovesayd which I have appoynted unto my Sonne Benjamin to pay And to the end that this my will may be duely & truly performed
• :I doe Constitute appoynt & ordayne my deare & loving wife Sole executrix & doe intreat & desire my well beloved and Respected Friends Mr John Emerson Mr Walker & Phillip Staynwood Senior to be the overseers Inwittnesse whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seale the Seaventh day of this present month of August Anno Dom one thousand Six hundred and Seaventy one.
• :Thomas (his O mark) Jones
• :Witness: John Emerson, Henry Walker, Philip Staynwood
• :Proved in Ipswich court Sept. 26, 1671 by Henry Walker and Phillip Stainewood<ref>"Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts; 1635 - 1681," Vol 2:243-245 In three volumes, The Essex Institute; Salem, MA; 1916</ref>

Sources

• Descendants of William Jones, Compiled by D. Mitchell Jones, http://www.ajlambert.com/jones/desc_wj.pdf
• Benjamin Jones' Ancestors, http://jtbullock.com/Tree/BenJones.html
• Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010.
• Birth year: "My Family Research" pages of Becky Walker, https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beckywalker&id=I4114; citing: Sanborn, Melinde Lutz, comp. Essex County, Massachusetts Depositions, 1636-86. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000-. Original data: Index to the Deponent Records of the County of Essex, Massachusetts.Columbia Point, MA: Massachusetts Archives, 1988.636-86. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000-. Original data: Index to the Deponent Records of the County of Essex, Massachusetts. Columbia Point, MA: Massachusetts Archives, 1988.636-86. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000-. Original data: Index to the Deponent Records of theCounty of Essex, Massachusetts. Columbia Point, MA: Massachusetts Archives, 1988.
• Marriage: New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.:New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015, https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21175/870/426930311 (subscription required)
• Godfrey Memorial Library. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library.
• History and genealogy of the ancestors and descendants of Captain Israel Jones who removed from Enfield to Barkhamsted, Conn., in the year 1759 (1902). Parker, L. N. Jones, Asahel Washington. Pg 2-11.
• Family Records

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Anonymous Large for creating Jones-21705 on 18 Dec 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Anonymous and others.

Contributors

• WikiTree profile Jones-5309 created through the import of Lent_Vise_2011-05-11aa.ged on May 26, 2011 by Bryan Sypniewski. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Bryan and others.
• WikiTree profile Jones-6794 created through the import of BDM7-7-11.ged on Jul 8, 2011 by Brian McCullough. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Brian and others.