Jones

The Jones family from whom we are descended originally came from Wales and from the letter of Walter A. Jones which is appended, he gave the ancestry from the Jones family who settled at Doneraile and vicinity.

The first Jones that I have definite knowledge of is John Jones shown in the Census Transcript of 1821. His wife was Mary Kavanagh, a school teacher. This information I have obtained from the death certificate of his daughter Elizabeth who married a Nowlan. Owing to the destruction of all the parish records by the Valera revolutionists of Ireland kept at Four Courts, Dublin, I have been unable to carry the record back; although the Parish record of Rahan, records the death of John Jones Sr. April 1, 1928, age 85 years, If the age stated is correct he could not have been the son of Walter Jones and Phillis Wilmot as they were not married until1748.

Walter Jones who married Jane Scott in 1718 had family Christian names of Jane, Robert, Margaret, Walter and Thomas which correspond with the Christian names of the family of John Jones and Mary Kavanagh

The census of 1821 shows two families, John Jones and Isaac Jones who had farms in the Parish of Rahan, Barony of Fermoy, County of Cork, Plowland of Ballymagooly. My impression is that Isaac and John were related, although both of their ages were given as 50 years.

Mary Ann Jones

One of the witnesses of the marriage of William Jackson and Mary Jones was Isaac Jones. Mallow is about 25 miles from Cork and Rockforest, Doneraile, Castletownrocke, Rockmills were settlements surrounding Mallow. A river called Blackwater ran through through these various towns. This was an agricultural country.

After my grandfather, William Jackson, and the family came over to this country they appeared to be soon followed by various of the other members of the Jones family who settled either in New York or Boston.

Robert Walter Jones, brother of my grandfather (grandmother?) was known as a good musician and composed a number of musical pieces.

Aunt Lillie (Elizabeth Jackson) was not very fond of him for the reason that he cracked her knuckles when she made mistakes on the piano when he was her music teacher.