Separating two Griffin Joneses (there were actually three Griffins in the area) was quite a task. The county records did not seem to record which was "Senior" and "Junior" during most of the time period, and if my folks and I had not made a trip to Caroline County we might not have figured it out at all! The key date seemed to be the tax levy of 1755 where one Griffin (Sr.) was exempted from the taxes for being "old" or "infirmed". The next year, Griffin (Jr.) was placed in charge of overseeing the road past his house. With Nicholas Jones (a son of Griffin Jones, Jr.) being born in 1762, it would mean that Griffin (Jr.) would have married before 1762, fitting when he became part of the public community 1756. It is not certain that Nicholas was the oldest, but most likely the oldest male child since he was the one taking the place of his father in the draft of 1780. Given these dates, Griffin (Jr.) would have been born around 1740 (1735-1745) with the earlier dates being more likely since the male became socially active around age 18-20.
The wife of Griffin Jones (Jr.) is Agnes, given in a deed, Deed BK K-1782-1787, p. 387. Griffin was made guardian to William, Joseph, and Griffin Kelly, orphans of Edward Kelly 18 Aug. 1774. This made me wounder if Agnes was not a Kelly?
The most significant finding was that in 1765, George Todd was to be overseer of the road from his house to: a. Mary Buckner's lands, b.Richard Roy's, c. Wm. Plunkett's Sr., d. Eliz. Mcpherson, e. Thomas Jones, f. William Dismukes, g. Griffen Jones, h. Robert Taliferro, Sr.; i. William Buckner's, j. George Holloways, k. Charles Holloways, and l. Reuben Thornton's. [Caroline Co. Court 12 day September 1765, p. 144] Can you believe it! A road map is given. This road map would prove invaluable as the brick walls came tumbling down.
Checking my DNA records with others and one of my closest matches was William Griffin from Bangor Wales. I am familiar with Griffin Jones and wonder if Griffin Jones Sr. was part of this Griffin family. My family was found in Culpepper County in 1790s. I have emailed you before and you were so kind enough to give me ideas. Thanks I appreciate your information so much.
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Barbara
Hello again Barbara...Griffin and Jones are two good Welsh surnames. Frequently, the Welsh name [like Griffin] would become a surname from the same branch of the family tree. Also, folks from the same family would take other family members last name as a first name. My Griffin and Jones families branch in many directions starting in and around Bangor-Is-Coed many, many, many, years ago. I suspect that your Griffin and Jones families united some distance up that family tree.
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