This Is my first appearance on
rootsweb.com, and I am hopeful that some
of you may be able to help.
My Third-great-grandfather was Thomas W. Jones, born 28 Nov. 1815 in
Wales, according to family records which do not tell us who his parents
were. Family records state that his wife Mary Jones Pugh was born 27
Sept 1819 at Tynlon Bont Ddu, Merionethshire, North Wales. They had
four children in Wales (John E. Jones, 23 Nov 1837, William T. Jones,
29 Sept 1839, Margaret Jones 1 Nov 1840, and Dorothy Jones 23 Aug
1842) all born in Tynlon Bont Ddu, Wales. The family moved to America
in the Spring of 1843 and resided in Lowville, New York for one year.
Then they moved to Steuben, Oneida, New York (until spring 1846) then to
Carbondale, Pa., in 1847, and to Pittston, Pa. in 1851. They moved to
Minneapolis in the fall of 1856 and settled in Cleveland Township,
LeSueur, Minneapolis, in Nov. 1856, where they died (Thomas on 9 Dec
1863, Mary on 4 Jan. 1864). They had seven more children born in the
USA starting with Watkin Henry Jones (30 Nov 1843, Lowvill, N.Y.) - more
information on these is available on request. I checked and found that
their (Thomas and Mary's) gravestones are in LeSueur but do not have
their parents' information, nor can I find any obituary in old newspaper
records of the day.
In June 2001, my family and I went to Wales to try to find out his
parents. We enjoyed our visit to the old Parish Church at Llanaber
where Thomas married Mary Jones Pugh - family records do not say when.
Phone calls put me in contact with the Pastor of this Parish Church, who
was helpful in pointing me to other contacts, but no solid leads arose
during our trip.
Returning to the United States, I wrote to the Dolgellau
Record Office and received a copy of the marriage certificate of Thomas
Jones and Mary Jones, dated 21 July 1837 (Hurray!) - which is reasonable
since their first child was born John E. Jones, 23 Nov. 1837 in Tynlon
Bont Du, Merions, Wales. This shows that the parents of Thomas W. Jones
were David Jones (deceased at the time) and Eleanor (perhaps Eleaner)
Jones.
Encouraged, I found a microfiche from the LDS Genealogical Society
showing Thomas christened 28 Nov 1815 to David and Eleanor (perhaps
Eleaner) Jones in "Llanllawddog, Carms., Wales". The same microfiche
shows other children of David and Eleanor Jones: Anna christened 25
Nov. 1810 at Llanllawddog, Carms., Wales,
Daniel christened 11 Oct 1812 also at
Llanllawddog, Carms, Wales.
Questions:
Are David and Eleanor Jones indeed the parents of my Thomas W. Jones?
(Above data suggest yes.)
If so, do they have other children besides Thomas W., Anna and Daniel?
And who are their parents??
Is there anyone out there also interested in this family line?
Problems: The microfiche (from the LDS Genealogical Society) says
Thomas was christened in Llanllawddog, Carms, Wales (where is that?
Does it still exist?) while our family records say that Thomas was born
in "Rhosbol, Anglesey, N. Wales." (Where is that? I can't find a
Rhosbol. Does it still exist?) Perhaps this is OK since one is a
birthplace, the other a christening place?
Any help with the questions above would be greatly appreciated as we try
to piece together this family tree!
Sincerely,
Steven Earl Jones
(stevejones(a)byu.edu)