JONES
Unfortunately for me, I have several JONES families in my family tree, and all were genealogist's nightmares, except for this JONES line, which has been well documented.
Lewis Jones was one of the first to settle in
Watertown, Massachusetts arriving with Ann, his wife, arrived with her
family on 15 April 1635 on the ship “Increase”.
They joined the church of Reverend John Eliot, the pastor to the
Indians. The Joneses lived in Roxbury
and then in the part of Watertown that is now Belmont, Massachusetts.
His son, my 8x great grandfather, Josiah Jones,
served in King Philip’s War and was made the captain of the Watertown
militia. He removed to Weston,
Massachusetts and became a church deacon.
WILL OF LEWIS JONES
Lewis Jones died April 11, 1684,
will made Jan. 7, 1678.
In the name of God Amen, I, Lewis
Jones, in Watertown, in New England, being at p'sent of p'fect understanding
and memory, though weak of body, committing my soul into the hands of Almighty
God and my body to decent buryall, in hope of a Ressurrection into eternal
life, through the Merrits and power of Jesus Christ my most gracious Savior and
Redeemer; do thus dispose of that estate which God has graciously given unto
me--; Considering the weak and helpless condition of my dear wife, Ann Jones,
and of my son, Suball Jones, my will and pleasure is, that the whole of my
estate (after the discharge of my debts and my buriall) be improved for their
supply, the benefits of it, and also the principal, if they stand in need
thereof. And my further will and pleasure is y't when the Lord shall please to
remove either of them by death, that then that which remaineth shall be wholly
to the use of the other so long as either of them shall live; & if the Lord
shall so dispose that anything remaineth after their death, that when what
remaineth be divided, two parts to my daughter, Lydia Whitney, if she be then
living, & one part to my son Josiah; but if Lydia be dead, that w't
remaineth be divided equally to my son Josiah, if living, or such of his children
as shall be living, and the children of my daughter Lydiah that shall then be
living, & of this my last will, I do constitute my son Josiah my sole
executor and do earnestly desire my loving friend and Brother John Stone to be
overseer, to assist my son in the managing of ye estate so as may be best for
the comfort of my poor wife and child aforesd, and in confirmation hereof I
have hereunto set my Marke and seale The
Marke -??- & seal of
Lewis Jones.
This 7th day of ye 11th, 1678
A Codicil annexed to ye above sd
will, 19, 2, 1682 (after
the death of the wife of the
testator):
As a further addition to my last
Will and Testament, I do nominate and appoynt my assured friends, Simon Stone
& John Stone of Watertown, to be guardians unto my son
Suball Jones, to whose prudence
and wisdom I do commit & send the governm't of my sd son, and the disposal
of all that estate as well real and p'sonal to my sd son bequeathed: & I do
hereby authorize and empower sd Guardians, or the longest liver of them, to make
sale of any part of my house and lands as there shall appear to them needful
for the belief of my sd son Shuball Jones
his mark
x
Lewis Y Jones
x
The above will was proved June
17, 1684.
Jonath. Remington, Clericus.
My lineage from Lewis Jones:
Generation 1:
Lewis Jones, born 1605 and died 11 April 1684 in Watertown,
Massachusetts; married in England to Anna. Four children.
Generation 2:
Josiah Jones, born 2 October 1643 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, died 9
October 1714 in Watertown; married on 2 October 1667 to Lydia Treadway,
daughter of Nathaniel Treadway and Sufferana Haynes, born 1 September 1649 and
died 18 September 1743. Ten children.
Generation 3: Anna Jones, born 28 July 1684 and died
1736; married before 1704 to Joseph Mixer, son of Isaac Mixer and Rebecca
Garfield, born 9 August 1674 in Watertown, died 10 December 1723 in
Watertown. Nine children.
Generation
4. Joseph Mixer m. Mary Ball
Generation
5. Lucy Mixer m. Andrew Munroe
Generation
6. Andrew Munroe m. Ruth Simonds
Generation
7. Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint
Generation
8. Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson
Generation
9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill
Generation
10. Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my paternal grandparents)
Divided
We Stand: Watertown, Massachusetts 1630 – 1680 by
Roger Thompson, Amherst, Mass:
University of Massachusetts Press, 2001
Genealogies
of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown,
Massachusetts, by Henry Bond, Boston: Little, Brown,
& Company, 1855
History
of the Jones Family, by William Henry Jones, 1834
manuscript at the New England Historic Genealogical Society MSS C 5012 (Genealogy
with charts of the descendants of Josiah Jones and his wife Lydia Treadway)
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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
This will reads a little like my 3 x g grandfather's will. I love the feel of this prose because it makes death sound as momentous as it really is. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteI've been tracing my family history and it seems that Lewis is my 9th great grandfather and his son Josiah Jones is my 8th great grandfather (paternal side)
ReplyDeleteInteresting history
I've been tracing my family history and it seems that Lewis is my 9th great grandfather and his son Josiah Jones is my 8th great grandfather (paternal side)
ReplyDeleteInteresting history