Washington, George Jones, Sr.

Contributed by Sue Burns Moore

George Washington Jones, Sr. was born, according to the 1820 census of Claiborne County, Mississippi, before 1775, and died by November of 1833, according to letters of administration issued to son William in Claiborne County, Mississippi. His will was dated September 12, 1833, and filed in Claiborne County.

He married Eva (Eve) nee unknown, who was born in VA in 1765, according to the 1850 census of Claiborne County.  In the 1840 census of Claiborne County, she is evidently living in the household of her son Willam Jones.  George was not in the Spanish Census of the Natchez District taken in 1787.  Either he had not arrived in the area, or he was not of age.

Children of George Jones and Eva were:
JESSE JONES, b. 1799, MS. He married (1) SARAH GIBSON January 30, 1823 in Claiborne Co. MS.  He married (2) JULIA ANN MILLER TORREY August 31, 1842 in Franklin Co. Ms.
DAVID JONES, b. Bef 1800.
JAMES JONES, b. Bef 1800; m. MARGARET STEVENSON, March 20, 1817, Jefferson Co.  MS.
   SALLY ( SARAH?) JONES, b. Bef 1800; m. JOHN W. SLATER, April 07, 1817, Jefferson  Co.  MS.
PEGGY (MARGARET) JONES, b. Abt 1800. She married PAUL ROBERTS January 09, 1823 in Claiborne  Co. MS.
GEORGE WASHINGTON JONES, JR. b. Bef 1810, MS; d. Copiah Co. MS .  He married HARRIET M. GRIFFING October 11, 1835 in Jefferson Co. MS, daughter of Robert Griffing and Elizabeth Shaw.
JONATHAN JONES, b. Bef 1810, MS; m. AMANDA S. GRIFFING, November 06, 1841, Jefferson  Co.  MS, daughter of Robert Griffing and Elizabeth Shaw.
PHEOBAH "PHOEBE" JONES, b. Bef 1810 .  She married (1) WILLIAM GOING/GOWENS.  She married (2) JOSEPH WAX June 23, 1835 in Claiborne Co. MS.
POLLY (MARY?) JONES, b. Bef 1810; m. JAMES BAILESS.
   THOMAS JONES, b. Bef 1810.
   WILLIAM F. JONES, b. June 7, 1794, Jefferson County, MS, married SARAH SIMMONS July 4, 1822, Jefferson Co. MS
   MALINDA JONES, b. Bef 1820; m. JESSE CASON, March 03, 1839, Claiborne  Co. MS.


George Jones was listed in the following records:
 
1791 present in district according to testimony given in Natchez Court Records, Book F, pgs. 303-04.
1792 Spanish census-Jorge (George)  Jones-  Villa Gayosa (Coles' Creek)
1797 Earl Marble married Anna Jones 1795 MARRIAGE: Spanish Marriage Records, page 515: Marble, Karl, a Calvinist of North America (Abner & Jerobia Marble) m. 26 Jan 1797 at Natchez, Anna Jones, a Calvinist of Illinois (James and Sara Jones, res. of this place for 8 years) wit. Jacob Stampley, age 34 years & of North Carolina & George Jones of Virginia, age 30 years (SJO-84B, 7) also (SJO-83, 39) St. Joseph's of Baton Rouge.
1798-1799  Persons Taking Oath of Allegiance to US in Natchez
1802  Petitioner List- MS Territory
1803  Jefferson Co. MS Deed Book A-2 July 30 1803 registered brand
1805 Jefferson Co. MS- Census
1807-Register of Land Office West of Pearl River- 640 acres on Coles' Creek (donation grant) Date of order of survey or settlement-March 30, 1798/ adverse British claim of Augustine Prevost settled in favor of George Jones.
1808- Jefferson Co. MS census
1810 Jefferson Co. MS- census
1816  Inhabitants of the Natchez District-Jefferson Co. MS
1820 Claiborne Co. MS-  1834 Claiborne Co. Tax List- George Jones Estate
 
Natchez Court Records by May Wilson McBee, pg. 277:
Book F, pgs. 303-304.  Wm. Hamberlin VS Charles Collins.  Wm. Hamberlin made oath that in 1791, I was informed that Winlock made his escape out of the country.  I went to see Mr. Charles Collins and inquired where said Winlock was and Mrs. Collins made answer that he went to his plantation.  I told her I had been by his plantation and he was not there, etc.  16 Aug. 1794.  Before John Smith at Villa Gayosa- George Jones appeared, 16 Aug. 1794 and made oath that in 1791 he and Charles Collins were hunting in the woods, met with Winlock and Gilbert riding and asked Winlock where he was going and he said to Bayou Pierre and Winlock called Collins aside and and when Collins returned from Winlock he told me that Winlock had cleared out.  Winlock cautioned Collins not to inform anyone of their escape.  He, Charles Collins, asked me to go down to Hamberlin's with him.   He told him that Winlock was going away and he had better follow him as he was his security and if the tobacco did not pass he would have to pay him. Sig. John King//In suit of Wm. Hamerlin VS Charles Collins, having considered the disputes of the parties,and perceive by every circumstance that Charles Collins must have been conscious of Winlock making his escape out of the country, I therefore give judgement against said Charles Collins which is transmitted to Your Excellency, 16 Aug. 1794, sig. John Smith// pg. 304, In obedience to Your Excellency's order I have examined the proceedings and think from the evidence that Charles Collins knew that Winlock was leaving the country and was in colusion and he must pay the cost.
 
Land documents:
 
Sold land in Jefferson Co. Sept. 24, 1811, 101.67 acres to John Wells. Recorded
Jefferson Co. Book C-1, page 23 George Jones et ux to John Wells- mentions this is land on which John Wells now resides, bound by Hugh Slater on the west and George Jones on the south, part of the 640 acre donation grant.
 
Deed Book B-1 Jefferson Co.-Dec. 16, 1829- George and Eva sold more of this land to Andrew Barland described as about 100 acres lying in Jefferson Co. on Platner's Fork of Cole Creek, bound on the north by Barland, by estate of Amos Gaskins on the south, on the east by Barland and Abraham Mayberry, and on the west by Platner's Fork of Cole's Creek.  Neil Torrey is witness.
 
Dec. 14, 1829 (deed recorded in Jefferson Co. MS in 1847)George sold a plantation(330 acres of the donation grant)  to David Torrey, Sr. for $ 1,350 . The deed was dated 18th Dec. 1829, Jefferson Co. MS was RECORDED  April 26,  1847, after the deaths of George, David Sr. and Margaret....not that unusual in that time.

Genealogical material contained in the 3 page deed is as follows:
A 330.05 acre plantation in Jefferson Co. MS was conveyed to David Torrey , Sr, for which he "in his lifetime" had paid George and Eve Jones, his wife, $1350, it being a "part of a donation made by the United States to said George Jones", receipt "whereof is acknowledged", but George had not made a  title deed for the property during the lifetime of David.   The "said David Torrey Senior having by his last will and testament dated and executed 19th July AD----(unreadable)devised the said tract of land to his wife Margaret Torrey during her natural life and upon her death to his  three sons to wit: Neil Torrey, John Torrey, and James Torrey and their heirs forever."

 
At the time of his death in 1833, George still owned more than 750 acres,but because of the provision in his will that everything that he had already given his grown sons be returned to the "hotch potch", the children and inlaws became involved in a lawsuit that lasted more than 10 years with the end result that someone forgot to pay the taxes on the property.  This, in turn, resulted in its being sold at sheriff's auction for the grand total of $2.97 on April Fool's Day of 1844.  It was bought by James J.  Person, who bought the Jones land(750 acres), Stephen Minor's land(200 acres), and G. B. Gardner's land(480 acres) on the same day for under $20 total.
 
The description of the land that George owned when he died in 1833:
SE qt. of sec. 7, township 10, range 5 east =160 acres
NE qt. of sec. 18, township 10, range 5 east = 159.84 acres
1/8 sec. 8, township 10, range 5 east = 80.83 acres (bought from William and Aaron Goza)
Sec. 17, lot 2, township 10, range 5 east =269.80 acres
West 1/2 of NW qt.,sec. 18, township 10 , range 5 east = 79.92 acres
 
The appraisal of his personal estate  by Peter Headrick, John Rawls, and Jesse Cason on Nov. 25, 1833 included the following and was appraised at $1111.12 and1/2:
1 negro woman named Lett, 1 brown bay mare, 1 bay filly,  21 head sheep, 21 head cattle, 2 yoke of steers with the chain and yoke, 1 crib of cotton- about 3 bales, 3 plows, 1 ox wagon, 1 ox ring, 1 steel trap, 1 foot adz, 2 hoes, 2 axes, 2 bells, 1 pair of ----singletree and--, 1 crib of corn with about 165 bushels, 1 set of harrow teeth, 1 whip saw and 2 pairs of------, 1 box of old tools, 1 spade and 1 drawing knife, 1 wedge, 1 rasp, 1 mattocks, 1 Yankee clock, 1 desk, 5 bed furnitures and steads, 1 shotgun, 1 trunk, 2 tables, 10 chairs, 1 coffee mill, 1 pepper mill, 1 lot drawing room furniture, 1 lot kitchen furniture, 1 loom, 2  jugs, 1 demijohn, 2 sides leather, and 1 pair hand irons.
 
See George's will here.
 
**Of interest is this death notice from a newspaper abstract book:  Grand Gulf Advertiser (Claiborne Co.)- died on 3rd (May 3, 1836), George Jones, Esq., formerly of Luray, Perry Co. VA. ( This is obviously not the George Jones who died in 1833, nor his son George, Junior,so who then?  Eve was born in VA.
**Of further interest are these Joneses (relationship , if any, unknown):
SETTLERS AND INTRUDERS ON CHEROKEE INDIAN LANDS 1801-1816
Abstracted from the Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee: Correspondence and Miscellaneous Records. National Archives Microcopy M-208, Rolls 1-7, 13.
Transcribed by Janelle Swearingen 1989
Thomas Jones, Joshua Johnson and Sam’l Luna with three large flat bottomed Boats having on board ten white persons, laden with Bar Iron, Casting (so called) and Salt have permission to pass down the Tennessee River to Bear Creek without hinderance or molestation and from thence to the Natchez. . . 28 Feby 1802
Harwood Jones having charge of a half keeled boat so called having on board thirteen white persons & seven people of color his boat laden with whiskey, Tarr & household Furniture has permission to descend the Rivers Tennessee, Ohio & Mississippi on his way to Natchez. 20 March 1803