Genealogy Report: Descendants of Benjamin Jones
Descendants of Benjamin Jones
2.JOHANNAR2 JONES (BENJAMIN1)77 was born Bet. 1750 - 1755 in Bute County, North Carolina78, and died Aft. 1817 in Wilkes County, North Carolina78.She married JOHN GILREATH79,80 Bet. 1771 - 1774 in Bute County, NC81, son of WILLIAM GILREATH and MARY ARRINGTON.He was born Abt. 1752 in Granville County, NC81, and died December 1802 in Wilkes County, North Carolina81.
Notes for JOHANNAR JONES:
[Gilreath.FTW]
Johannar Jones is probably the eldest of seven daughters of Benjamin and Johannar Jones.Although she is not named in Benjamin's will, and the other six daughters are, the will gives her husband, John Gilreath, full possession over Benjamin's land on behalf of widow Johanna Jones.He was also a legatee under the will.
She went with John and her children to settle in Wilkes County, North Carolina sometime around 1782.In February 1806 she became the guardian of a John Dougherty, probably the son of her daughter Sarah who married a John Dougherty (Dorety).
Notes for JOHN GILREATH:
[Gilreath.FTW]
John Gilreath was the oldest of five sons of William Gilreath.His name is first found on the Bute County tax lists in 1771, living apart from his father.No record of his marriage to Johannar Jones has been found but there seems to be general agreement among Gilreath family researchers that this is a fact. After his marriage to Johannar Jones, it appears that they lived on the farm of her father and mother, Benjamin and Johannar Jones.In his will, made in 1776, Benjamin Jones leaves John Gilreath in full possession of the farm, for his widow's behalf, and gives him a share of his estate.There was clearly a close relationship between John Gilreath and Benjamin Jones.
Although in 1778, John and his father, William, refused to sign a loyalty oath in support of North Carolina and against King George 3rd, he and two of his brothers were soldiers in the Revolutionary War.Why they refused to sign the oath is a mystery.That same year, John and his brothers James and William signed a petition to divide Bute County into what became Warren and Franklin counties.The Carolina legislature approved and, in 1779, the part of Bute County where the Gilreaths lived became Warren County.Sometime before 1782,his family moved West to Wilkes County, North Carolina following in the footsteps of his father and brothers William and Alexander. He remained there for the rest of his life.Although he received land grants in Wilkes County ranging from 50 to 100 acres during the 1780s, the land his family seemed to have retained after his death was a tract of 106 acres purchased in May 1794.
John and Johannarhad three daughters and four sons.Three of his sons moved on from Wilkes County to Whitley County, North Carolina.His will was proved in the Wilkes County, North Carolina court on December 19, 1802.In it he names only one child, Sarah Dorety (Dougherty?).Other children are named in a deed from the heirs and legatees of John Gilreath to John Saint Clair in the Wilkes County, NC Deed Book L, p. 275, dated October 18, 1817.His widow, Johannar, was still living on the land at this time.
John Gilreath was a soldier in the Revolutionary War but he died long before pensions were authorized for war veterans.
More About JOHN GILREATH:
Will Proved: December 19, 1802, Wilkes County, North Carolina82,83
Children of JOHANNAR JONES and JOHN GILREATH are:
6. | i. | WILLIAM3 GILREATH, b. Abt. 1774, Bute County, North Carolina; d. Abt. 1828, Whitley County, Kentucky. | |
ii. | NANCY GILREATH84, b. Abt. 1775, Bute County, North Carolina85. |
Notes for NANCY GILREATH: [Gilreath.FTW] On the 1850 census she was single. |
7. | iii. | MARY SUSANNA GILREATH, b. August 23, 1784; d. August 18, 1840, Jackson County, Alabama. | |
8. | iv. | BENJAMIN JONES GILREATH, b. Abt. 1785, Wilkes County, North Carolina; d. September 03, 1864, Whitley County, Kentucky. | |
v. | SARAH GILREATH86, b. 1790, North Carolina87; m. JOHN DOUGHERTY88. | ||
9. | vi. | JESSE GILREATH, b. Abt. 1794, Wilkes County, North Carolina; d. 1825, Wilkes County, North Carolina. | |
10. | vii. | GIDEON GILREATH, b. September 28, 1797, Wilkes County, North Carolina; d. 1867, Whitley County, Kentucky. |
3.ADAM2 JONES (BENJAMIN1)89,90,91 was born Abt. 1759 in Virginia92, and died October 01, 1830 in Warren County, Georgia93,94.He married (1) FRANCES FOWLER ?95.He married (2) SUSANNAH DENMARK96,97,98 Abt. 1780 in Unknown99,100, daughter of WILLIAM DENMARK and ANNE MOYE.She was born May 26, 1765100, and died May 13, 1821 in Warren County, Georgia101,102.He married (3) NANCY BEXLEY JONES103 September 20, 1821 in Warren County, Georgia104,105.She died Bet. 1843 - 1845 in Warren County, Georgia106,107.
Notes for ADAM JONES:
[Gilreath.FTW]
Sometime before the Revolutionary War, Adam Jones came with his family from Virginia to the Hawtree Creek area in the Granville District of North Carolina, an area that in 1764 became Bute County.We know little about his life there since there are but few mentions of him in official records. An older Adam Jones was in the same area for at least part of this period, perhaps an uncle for whom he was named.
The first record of his owning land in Bute County was when he received a warrant for 250 acres on April 19, 1778 for land at the head of Davis' Creek bordering D. Jeffreys and Os Jeffreys.The abstract states: "sent by T. Vinson; no land to be found".So maybe he did not get this tract after all.
Before coming to Georgia, according to family legend, the Rev. Adam Jones served in the Revolutionary War.In 1785 he settled on Long Creek in Wilkes County, Georgia near where the Long Creek Church was later built. His neighbors included Thomas Jones and his son Benjamin, who were his brother andnephew, respectively, and James Jones, another brother. Nathan Fowler and two of his sons, a family that would have a long association with the Jones', lived nearby.
Adam Jones was raised as a Methodist but, since there were no Methodist churches in the area where he settled, he joined the Long Creek Baptist Church when it was organized.However, it took the new convert some time to fully accept the Baptist principle of total immersion in baptism. In Mercer's History of the Georgia Baptist Association it was written: "Like many others, he appears to have been afflicted with a singular kind of hydrophobia upon this subject.A cold shuddering took hold of the good man's feelings, when the thought of being 'buried with the Lord', according to Baptist usage came across his mind".He was ordained by the church congregation as a minister in 1792 and took over as pastor at Long Creek church in 1807 where he served until 1825 when he resigned due to old age.The records of the Long Creek Baptist Church are on microfilm in the Georgia Department of History and Archives in Atlanta and the Library of the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville.
In 1786, when the Long Creek Baptist Church was formed, he was in Captain Ledbetter's tax district.He became a substantial landowner along the Long Creek.On the 1805 Warren County tax list, Adam Jones, Sr. was taxed for 400 acres granted from one Mitchell, who owned property next to Thomas Jones, and 108 acres granted by Fowler (probably Nathan since by then he had moved to Jackson County).Adam Jones, Jr. was taxed for 220 acres.
The Rev. Jones was married three times and had eight sons and three daughters, most of them by his second wife, Susanna.It appears that the three earliest born children may have been by Frances Fowler, his first wife, who was probably related to Nathan Fowler.
The house in which Adam Jones lived was still standing, although unoccupied, in the 1980s.The large old house, which in the 1980s belonged to Allen Howell,stands high on a bank off the left side of Georgia Highway 16 about nine miles from Warrenton when heading toward Jewell.The iron fenced private burial plot containing the graves of Rev. Jones, Susanna Jones and J. W. H. Jones, a grandson, is located in a field about 300 yards behind the house.
More About ADAM JONES:
Will: October 14, 1826, Will signed; proved November 30, 1830108,109
Notes for SUSANNAH DENMARK:
[Gilreath.FTW]
Susanna is buried in the Jones Cemetery in Warren County, Georgia.
Notes for NANCY BEXLEY JONES:
[Gilreath.FTW]
Nancy Bexley Jones first husband was the Rev. Adam Jones, pastor of the Long Creek Baptist Church from 1812 until 1825.After his death in 1830, she married Thaddeus Camp, a prominent member of the church and a recent widower.
Child of ADAM JONES and FRANCES ? is:
i. | AARON3 JONES110. |
Children of ADAM JONES and SUSANNAH DENMARK are:
11. | ii. | MARTHA3 JONES, b. Abt. 1780, Washington County, Georgia; d. March 16, 1861, Warren County, Georgia. | |
12. | iii. | ELIZABETH JONES, b. Abt. 1780, Virginia ?; d. Abt. December 1843, Desoto County, MS. | |
13. | iv. | ELIJAH JONES, b. Abt. 1780, Virginia ?; d. August 21, 1847, Rankin County, MS. | |
v. | PATSY JONES110, b. 1781, Warren County, Georgia111; m. (1) ? FOWLER112; m. (2) ? FOWLER112. | ||
vi. | SIMEON JONES112, b. 1787, Warren County, Georgia113; m. UNKNOWN114. | ||
vii. | NATHAN JONES114, b. June 12, 1787115; d. Unknown, Warren County, Georgia115. | ||
viii. | THOMAS JONES116, b. November 15, 1789117. | ||
ix. | AARON JONES118, b. November 25, 1791119; m. JESSIE FREEMAN120, January 13, 1809, Warren County, Georgia121. |
Notes for AARON JONES: [Gilreath.FTW] Elijah Jones' will refers to AAron as a half-brother and expressed a desire for Thomas to support him.Apparently, Elijah was handling Aaron's legal affairs because of he was mentally incompetent. |
14. | x. | ADAM JONES, b. July 14, 1794, Warren County, Georgia; d. May 11, 1885, Warren County, Georgia. | |
15. | xi. | STEPHEN JONES, b. 1795, Warren County, Georgia; d. DeSoto, Co., MS. | |
16. | xii. | SUSANNAH JONES, b. April 02, 1802, Warren County, Georgia; d. August 04, 1862. | |
17. | xiii. | SEABORN SOLOMON JONES, b. Abt. 1808, Georgia; d. Bef. 1866, Grenada, MS. |
4.THOMAS2 JONES (BENJAMIN1)122,123 was born Unknown in Scotland ?124,125, and died Bef. April 26, 1803 in Jackson County, Georgia125.He married MARY SMITH ?126.She was born Unknown127, and died Unknown in Warren County, Georgia128,129.
Notes for THOMAS JONES:
[Gilreath.FTW]
According to Oliver Jones' memoirs, Thomas Jones came from Scotland in 1755.That may be true but not yet proven.However, he probably landed in Virginia, not Georgia,because by 1764 he was living in Bute County, North Carolina with his father Benjamin Jones.After the Revolution he migrated South to Georgia along with many other settlers seeking free or cheap land.His brothers, Adam and James Jones, arrived in Wilkes County, Georgia at about the same time, probably coming in the same wagon train.Nathan Fowler, who would later have a close relationship with the Thomas Jones family, migrated to Georgia from Virginia in the same movement.
An early record of Thomas Jones' presence in Bute County, North Carolina is May 11, 1778 whenhe and Charles Darnall gave a security guarantee for Ann Young, Thomas' sister, as administrator of the estate of her deceased husband, David Young.So he must have been of age at that time.On June 8, 1778,Thomas Jones bought 120 acres from John King Rosser for 25 pounds "proclamation" money.This land adjoined that of David King, John Ellington and Benjamin Jones, his father.Less than a year later, on January 5, 1779, Thomas sold this tract for a substantial profit to Benjamin Ellis, receiving 52 pounds, 10 shillings in Virginia money. However, Thomas' name does not appear on local tax lists for this period.He may have then been involved in the Revolutionary War.When the property was sold the adjoining property owners were Benjamin Jones, James Jones (probably his brother), John Ellington and David King.The deed was witnessed by James Young and James Jones and proved in February Court 1779 by James Young.After the sale of his land, we know nothing of his life until he appeared six years later in Wilkes County, Georgia.
The year 1785 found Thomas, James and Adam in the Long Creek area of Wilkes County, Georgia. These were turbulent times in frontier Georgia with frequent skirmishes between the newly arrived settlers and local Indian tribes. Thomas Jones appears in the 1785 - the first - tax list for Wilkes County.In thatyear, Thomas Jones was listed in Captain Ledbetter's district, not owning any land and paying only a poll tax. Brothers Adam and James were nearby also paying only a poll tax.Nathan Fowler and Stephen Mitchell, who owned a large amount of land, also lived nearby.On March 17, 1785, Thomas bought land on the West side of Long Creek adjoining Nathan Fowler from Stephen and Selah (probably Celia) Mitchell for 50 pounds.The deed was witnessed by Adam Jones and Thomas Rogers.Although made in 1785, the deed was not recorded until May 23, 1797, after administration of this area had been transferred from Wilkes County to the new Warren County.There are no tax records for Wilkes County for 1788 or 1789.This area of present day Warren County is near the Glascock and Hancock County lines close to the small towns of Jewell and Shoals.
Thomas was on the 1790 list of Captain Medlock's district for 90 acres of second quality land in Wilkes County and 550 acres of third grade land in Washington County.However, records show that in 1788 he had received 100 acres in Wilkes County under the Georgia headright and bounty land grant system. Most of the 1791 tax list was destroyed and Thomas is not listed on the remnant.In 1792 he was #25 in Captain Medlock's district, taxed on 150 acres of second quality land on Long Creek.Benjamin and John were also on the 1792 list but paid only a poll.So sometime between 1790 and 1792, he disposed of his land in Washington County.
By 1793 the district had a new leader, Captain Smith, and Thomas Jones paid taxes on 150 acres of oak and hickory. Later that year this area became a part of Warren County.Benjamin still did not own any land and paid only a poll.Thomas' land adjoined Reuben Winfrey who had bought 150 acres from Stephen and Celia Mitchell on October 18, 1790.On the 1794 tax list, Thomas was now in Captain Friend's district and his land was bordered by the lands of Nathan Fowler and Barnett.Benjamin and John still paid only a poll.Rev. Adam Jones' farm was close by.Other neighbors on Long Creek were Nathan Fowlers' sons Zephaniah and Hillery Fowler and a William Smith who may have married Tabitha Fowler.In 1797 Thomas obtained 80 more acres in Wilkes County under the headright and bounty land grant system.
During the 1780s many Baptist churches were formed in frontier Georgia. One of the earliest was the Long Creek Baptist Church formed in 1786 by Rev. Jepthah Vining following a community meeting held in the home of Nathan Fowler.Two years later, Nathan Fowler would deed two acres for the construction of the first permanent church structure.The church began with forty four members of whom eleven were Jones', eight males and three females.There were the brothers Thomas, Adam, Samuel also Benjamin and John, sons of Thomas and Adam Jones, Jr.A Thomas Jones, Jr. who was also on the original church rollmay have been another of Thomas' sons.Or, the "Jr." designation could have been onlyto show that he was the youngest of the two Thomas Jones'.The women were Thomas' wife Mary and Susanna and Priscilla Jones.Other original members with close ties to the Jones family were Nathan Fowler and his son Zephaniah.
The Long Creek Baptist Church is still an active place of worship.It stands on an unpaved county lane off Georgia Highway 16, between Jewell and Warrenton.It is a nice old church and has been given loving care over the years.It is situated among large old oak trees on a rise some 200 yards East of the spring on Nathan Fowler's land which served the church for so many years.The church's well kept minutes are on microfilm in the Georgia Department of History and Archives.
Thomas did not take well to the church's strict standards.On February 16, 1793, after several warnings, he was excommunicated for not attending a church conference.Apparently, remorse set in over time.On March 13, 1795 the minutes show that "Brother Thomas Jones who had been overtaken by drink made an open confession...and was fully restored".But a year later, on May 14, 1796, the church elders again discussed Thomas' continued use of "liquor" and decided to take no action for the time being.On August 23rd, 1800, the minutes show that "Brother Thomas Jones is frequently intoxicated".Three months later the church elders had reached their limit and voted to excommunicate him for "drunkenness". This action may have figured in his decision to move from Warren to Jackson County which he did sometime after the 1801 tax period.
For unknown reasons, Thomas and his son Benjamin and Nathan Fowler left Warren County between 1801 and 1802.They both appeared on the 1802 Jackson County tax list.Thomas Jones was taxed by Jackson County on 50 acres located in Hancock County on the waters of Shoulderbone Creek adjoining Louis Monday.He died sometime before April 26, 1803 as on that date his wife, Mary, was given letters of administration for his estate by the Jackson County Court.
More About THOMAS JONES:
Land grant: 1788, Wilkes County, GA130,131
Tax list: 1802, Jackson County- taxed on 50 acres in Hancock County, GA131
Notes for MARY SMITH ?:
[Gilreath.FTW]
On April 26, 1803, Mary Jones was given a letter of administration by the Jackson County court for the estate of her husband, Thomas Jones. Thomas' brother James died only months later.
On April 23, 1804, following a formal complaint by George Weatherby who must have had an interest in the Thomas Jones estate,the Jackson County court ordered Mary Jones to give an accounting of her administration of the estate, ".. and particularly to show what disposition has been made with George Weatherbys bond for title to a certain tract of land, whereon she now lives".No record has been found of what action the court took on his complaint.As administrator of Thomas' estate, Mary Jones filed an accounting with the court on February 18, 1806 showing that she had paid out a total of $57.48 and 3/4 cents to five claimants: Isaac Burson, David Dickson, Wright and Keys, George Reed, Jr. and John Jones.
Mary was given two draws in the 1806 Jackson County Land Lottery, one as the widow of Thomas and one for his orphan children.
In the next year, a business establishment named Tennille and Fort brought suit against Mary as administrator of Thomas' estate and on September 27, 1807 a Special Jury found in their favor for $83.89 in damages and $12.12 and 1/2 cents in costs.We do not know what this suit was about.
It appears that sometime later Mary moved back to Warren County.On January 26, 1811, the minutes of the Long Creek Baptist Church show that a Mary Jones was "received by experience".Moving in with one of her children who stayed behind in Warren County would be a logical move for Mary Jones to make after the death of her husband.Which one? The Long Creek church minutes show that a Mary P. Jones died September 8, 1837 (or 1857).We do not know if this was Mary, the wife of Thomas or Mary, the wife of James Jones.
More About MARY SMITH ?:
Administrator: April 26, 1803, Appointed administrator of Thomas Jones' estate132,133
Bond provided: April 23, 1803, $1, 000 bond for administration of Thomas Jones' estate134,135
Court Order: April 23, 1804, Ordered by Jackson Co. court to give an accounting for Thomas Jones' estate136,137
Judgment: September 27, 1807, Jury finds against Thomas Jones' estate for $83.89 plus costs138,139
Land lottery: 1806, Jackson County, Georgia139
Children of THOMAS JONES and MARY ? are:
18. | i. | BENJAMIN3 JONES, b. Abt. 1765, Virginia; d. Bef. May 04, 1812, Jackson County, Georgia. | |
ii. | JOHN JONES ?140, b. Unknown141. |
Notes for JOHN JONES ?: [Gilreath.FTW] It appears that John Jones was probably Benjamin's brother.A John Jones appears on the initial 1786 roll of members of the Long Creek Baptist Church along with other Jones'.On February 20, 1790, both John Jones and Adam Jones, Jr., his cousin, were excommunicated by the church of the "crime" of "Dancing and keeping rude company".Brother Benjamin was excommunicated on the same day for "keeping vain company" but was not accused of dancing. It seems that all of the Thomas Jones family moved from Warren to Jackson County together in 1800 or 1801.John Jones is on the 1804 tax list in Capt. Sparke's district next to his brother Benjamin. |
More About JOHN JONES ?: Excommunicated: February 20, 1790, By the Long Creek Baptist Church141 |