Discovery: North Yorkshire Ancestors

While drafting my previous article about immigrant ancestors George Mason (1706-1774) and Jane Foord (1710-1789), I ended up digging into their roots in North Yorkshire, England.((See the post here.))  Because of online church registers, I…

House Built by 5th Great-Grandfather for Sale

A couple months ago, Lucia and I spent a weekend in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  The mushroom capital of the world lies only three miles from Longwood Gardens and 10 miles from the site of the Battle of Brandywine Creek. Kennett Square…
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Jones-Corken Double Cousins

What is a double cousin? It's when first cousins share all four grandparents, not just one set of grandparents.  This happens when two siblings marry two siblings from another family.  Imagine a young lady marrying a guy and then introducing…
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R.I.P. Joy M. Kiser (1947-2022)

Our family was stunned and heart-broken to hear of Joy Kiser's unexpected death a week ago at age 74.  She would have been 75 tomorrow. Joy was the Jones family historian.  Beginning in the 1990s, Joy spent many years researching the tragic…

Squatters in Ross County, Ohio

I've neglected my blog for two months.  But I have a good excuse.  We've been busy working on our new lake cabin and getting it furnished.  A very productive and fun time, actually, but I'm ready to dive back in now. Irish-American Robert…

House Fires in Jones Family History

The Jonnes/Jones family history includes at least three fires of significant import, all of which are tragic losses of heirlooms and ancestral records.  The three fires affected three separate generations: my great-grandparents, 2nd great-grandparents…
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The Thoughts of Our Ancestors

There are many reasons why I like genealogy.  I should do a blog post on the subject someday. But, certainly, one reason is to get to know you're progenitors more personally.  What did they look like?  What kind of personalities did they…
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Are You Sure That’s How You Spell Your Name?

The Minnesota Genealogist just published a short item in their Autumn 2018 issue about the spelling of my surname: Jonnes.  We were always one-N Joneses going back to the 17th century.  Indeed, our original patrilineal immigrant ancestor was…