Please Join In The Fun

The last two posts have outlined a fair number of JONES surname groups. Most of these groups do not share the Y-chromosome! For those who share the JONES surname, and you know your family originates among one of these JONES groups, please join the fun and identify your family group. This might help those who are researching their family from one of the areas identified. You can leave a comment giving the location of your JONES family. Anyone that shares this location, may a direct connection. The JONES family locations are:

Hereford, 1690, and 1823,

Denbigh (North Wales)

Ireland: Ulster, Sligo,

Somerset, London, Oxford, Lancaster, York, Rutland, Middlesex, and Worcester,

Montgomery, Monmouth, and Merinoneth in Wales.

Any JONES families out there? Please join in the fun!

More JONES Families

The number of JONES families that have a coat of arms recorded by Burke before 1840, demonstrate the diversity of the surname. An analysis of these arms show the numbers and locations of many that do not share a Y-chromosome. This post continues the listings for families that have "a lion ramp." (rampant) for a symbol. (charge) Some share the same coat of arms, and some show variation in tinctures (colors of symbol and shield). They are:

Jones of Somerset (Kelston Park): "erm. a lion ramp. az." [a blue lion on a fur shield]

Jones of Worcester: "ar. a lion ramp. gu." [ a red lion of silver shield]

Four that share, "or. a lion ramp. gu." [a red lion with gold shield]

Jones of Oxford
Jones of Oxford and Berks
Jones of Monmouth and Worcester
Jones of Denbigh

Eleven families that share, "or. a lion ramp. az." [ a blue lion with gold shield ]

Jones of Hereford - Sugwas, Poulstone, Cleve, and Mountcraig
Jones of Middlesex (Stratford, Bow)
Jones of Middlesex and Hereford
Jones of Gloucester
Jones of Somerset
Jones of Lancaster
Jones of York
Jones of Rutland
Jones of London
Jones of Merinoneth
Jones of Merinoneth, Dol-yn- Edrienion

Perhaps starting points for several Y-chromosomes!

Family Groupings

A recent post on my Jones Surname blogspot, introduced The Jones Classification System. Using the Jones surname cost(s) of arms, the families that were responsible for producing at least one JONES surname (family) were shown. This used the "primary charge" and "colors" recorded for the folks having coat of arms before 1840 England, Ireland, and Wales. They were then linked to their ancestors family which would place a starting point for their Y-chromosome. Thus a series of families have been identified that represent the origins of many Jones surnames. Family groupings [those that used the symbol "a lion rampant"] can then be identified. The first sets of families are as follows:

House of Trevor , North Wales

House of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, North Wales [ Three sons each produce a JONES line.]

Jones of Hereford, 1690

Jones of Denbigh, North Wales

Jones of Sligo (Ireland)

Jones of Ulster 1661, Ireland

Jones of Somerset

Jones of Hereford 1823 [ a distinct line from above ]

Jones of Ulster (Ireland)

Jones of Montgomery

Jones of London

and much more to come.

The study was first published in my newsletter The Jones Genealogist, Vol.VIII, No.3, Sept/Oct 1996. Some of these families could share the same Y-chromosome, but many are not genetically related.

Thirteen Surnames Y-chromosome Connected

Much has been written to shown that those who share the surname JONES are not always related by the Y-chromosome. For my own Y-chromosome, there are many "other" surnames that shared a direct match to my 12-marker test. [See post "Well, It's About Time", May 2, 2011.] The Welsh surnames that do share my Y-chromosome have been presented in a general sense on the post entitled, "Associated Surname", Jan.1, 2011. [Under Blog, http;//thejonessurname.blogspot.com.] The following post will give the connections for these surnames that share my Y-chromosome.

My JONES family begins in the Welsh genealogies with Tudor Trevor (JC-1). [See post, "Tudor Trevor", Dec. 27, 2010, under the blog: The Jones Surname.] His children are given in the post of January 26, 2011, under the title: "The Children of Tudor Trevor". The branches of these generation are given in a series of posts coded by the colors "Pink", "Orange", and "Blue" to help keep all the later generations identified as to their beginnings.

Only two sons of Tudor Trevor (JC-1) produce male descent; the second son, Llydocka (Llyddocka) (JD-2), and the baby of the family, Dingad (JD-3). Those who share this Y-chromosome by surname are listed below. The documentation for each surname is found in Dwnn, volume II, with the page numbers given.

First through Llydocka(JD-2):

1) Edwards, D(II) p. 327, 2) Eytyn, D(II), p.358, 3) Moiston, D(II), p. 307, 4) Trevor, D(II) p. 307, 328, 5) Young, D(II), p. 314, 6) Lewis, D(II), p. 325, 7) Dymock, D(II), p. 313, 8) Deckaf, D(II), p. 357, and 9) Eton, D(II), p. 360.

Second through Dingad(JD-3):

1) Eytyn, D(II), p. 358, 2) Pennant, D(II), p. 308, 3) Lloyd, D(II), pp. 348, 23, 362, and Broughton, D(II), p. 315.

Thirteen surnames recorded in Dwnn. Anyone connected?

Dwnn, L., Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches, Vol. I, Vol. II, Welsh MSS. Society, Llandovery, 1846.

Jones Surname DNA : A Haplogroup Hypothesis

A hypothesis is defined as a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical (based on observation or experience) consequences. Having my DNA tested, I have observed the results in a variety of settings. See the following post: 1) "Where Our Genealogy Begins", Oct. 26, 2010, 2) "Basic Principles", Nov. 5, 2010, 3) "Causes of Mutation", Nov. 13, 2010, 4) "Our Address Book", Nov. 19, 2010, 5) "Terms, Terms, and More Terms", Dec. 22, 2010, 6) "The Gene Tree, Haplogroups", Dec. 30, 2010, 7) "Haplogroups to Haplotypes", Jan. 2, 2011, 8) "Haplogroups by Geography", Jan. 10, 2011, 9) "Dominate Haplogroups by Geography", Jan. 15, 2011, 10) "The Rift Valley", Jan. 20, 2011, 11) "On Up The Valley", Jan. 26, 2011, 12) "Melting Pot and Launching Pad", Jan. 29, 2011, 13) "R1b1b", Feb. 2, 2011, 14) "The Delta of the Danube", Feb. 6, 2011, 15) "A Horse", Feb. 10, 2011, 16) "Show me the money!", Feb. 15, 2011, 17) "Celtic R1b1", Feb. 20, 2011, 17) "The Celtic Tongues", Feb. 22, 2011, 18) "Celtic DNA Among the Islands", Feb. 25, 2011, 19) "Celtic Tribes to Welsh Tribes", Mar. 2, 2011, 20) "According to the Story", Mar. 14, 2011, 21) "Well, It's About Time", May 2, 2011, 22) "The Right Branch", May 7, 2011, 23) "The Next Panels", May 11, 2011, 24) "Markers, Markers, and more Markers", May 16, 2011, 25) "Those Other Jones", May 20, 2011, 26) "Where in the World?", June 1, 2011, 27) "Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)", June 5, 2011, 28) "Tag Your It", June 9, 2011, 29) "Lining Folks Up", June 13, 2011, 30) "The Jones Surname: Not Genetic but Phonetic", June 18, 2011, and 31) "Multiple Roots", June 22, 2011.

Whew...what a list! All leading to the following hypothesis.

Genetically, by DNA, the JONES surname has multiple origins. Sharing the JONES surname does not mean that we come from a common ancestor. On the contrary, having the JONES surname means we are more likely not related by surname, but by a series of historical events leading to the surname. [See under blog http://thejonessurname.blogspot.com, "Impact, The Act of Union 1536", Feb. 24, 2011.] For those of us who do carry the surname, it would appear that we do share the following haplogroups.

First, haplogroup P seems to be a common root for all those with the haplogroup R. I would suspect this represents the Proto-Indo-European language group dating genetically from around 35,000 years ago. Haplogroup R appears around 30,000 years ago as the roots of the Indo-European languages, clustering around the Black Sea area. R1b, forming a linguistic branch ca. 25,000 years ago, most likely being the Celtic-Ital0-Tocharia branch. Arriving in central Europe, the R1b1, and the R1a split into the Proto-Celtic (us), and Balto-Slavo-Germanic groups (them). Moving along the Iberian peninsula and onto the island (Albion), the Brythonic branch R1b1a evolved into the Welsh R1b1a2.

Now, if you analyze those who have joined the JONES surname DNA group [at my analysis, 275 folks had joined], 78% had the haplogroup R. [R1b1 76%, R1a 2%]. Of those remaining, 11% had the haplogroup I [those Vikings]. Haplogroup E [African Americans?] showed 6%. Haplogroup G, 3% [Asia Minor], and haplogroup J, 2% [Middle East] made up the rest joining the JONES DNA group. Only one showed Q. [Native American].

So there you have it. Haplogroup R for most of us. Haplogroup R1b [76%] , with my JONES DNA R1b12a. [Haplotype in 92% of a Welsh study group!]

Please post any comments?

Multiple Roots

The English system of heraldry is well established. The origins are based upon the fact that a man in full armour was unrecognizable. Since full armour was usually worn with the intent of inflicting great bodily harm at very close quarters, it was necessary to know who was on the "giving" and the "receiving" ends of the conflict. Therefore, each man wore a distinctive coat by which he could be recognized. [As you know, this became known as the coat "of arms".] These distinctive symbols were displayed on banners, horse cloth, and shield. It was often the case that if one had been dismembered and disfigured beyond recognition, this coat was the only means of identity.

The organizational system for arranging these distinctive symbols (called blazoning, assigning, and marshalling coat armour) became the "rules" of heraldry. In principle no two men in the same region could wear exactly the same coat of arms. [Did not want to get all those bodies mixed up.] Over time, these symbols became personal marks of the owner's possessions, and since few people could read in those days, they also became a type of visual communication.

The figure above shows those JONES families who had coat armour before 1870. They are present by the English and Welsh counties from which they resided as recorded in Burke's General Armory of 1884. On pages 546-549, there are 108 JONES families listed with coat armour. These have also been listed by the counties they represented in the table below in England, Wales, and Ireland. [Those that could be identified by county.]

The highest number of families are to found in London with seven. This is followed by Hereford and Carmarthen with six. There are a fair number of counties with five, most being "border" counties such as Monmouth, Salop, Worcester, Denbigh, and Flint. Dublin and Ulster in Ireland had five each.

Sixty one coat of arms were found in England. Thirty one coat of arms were found in Wales. Fourteen coat of arms were found in Ireland. All these were recorded before Burke was published in 1884.

Most of these arms had distinctive blazoning thus representing different JONES families. This will be discussed in future posts. For now, there are multiple roots to this JONES surname!

The map and table was taken from The Jones Genealogist, Vol. VIII, No.1, 1996, p.4 and p. 6.

The analysis of coat armour was taken from The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales; comprising A Registry of Armorial Bearings From The Earliest to The Present Time, by Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, Harrison, London, 1884.

The Jones Surname: Not Genetic but Phonetic

The Jones Surname is perhaps one of the most difficult surnames to trace out the family tree. An understanding of its origin has helped clarify the DNA roots and the various factors which have influenced the beginnings of this surname.

A variety of post at several blogs have shown that the origin of the JONES surname is due to the English transliteration of the Welsh spelling of "John". This Christian name was introduced into Wales before 500 AD. It was the old English (Anglo-Saxon) spelling that was transliterated into the English legal system that became the spelling JONES. [Under the Act of Union 1536.] This produced a great number of families taking the JONES surname which were not genetically related. This means that today, there are many who share the surname JONES, but are not genetically related. This explains why so many DNA results do not match. Our Y-chromosomes are not the same. This also means that there is not a single genetic beginning of the JONES surname, but many different family sources, most having their origins in Wales.

These various historical, linguistic, cultural, and religious factors have been presented based upon my research of more than 50 years.

Under the blog - http://thejonessurname.blogspot.com see the following posts:

"The Beginnings", July 31, 2010.
"The Name of John", Sept. 12, 2010.
"Why JOHN", Sept. 14, 2010.
"How do you spell JOHN", Sept. 16, 2010.
"IOAN", Sept. 18, 2010.
"Belief Systems", Oct. 18, 2010.
"Tudor Trevor", Dec. 27, 2010.
"Associated Surnames", Jan. 1, 2011.
"My JONES Family Coding System", Jan. 19, 2011.
"The Children of Tudor Trevor", Jan. 26, 2011.
"Early Welsh Descendants", Feb. 4, 2011.
"Taking the surname JONES", Feb. 23, 2011.
"Impact, The Act of Union 1536", Feb. 24, 2011.
"The Domesday Book and John", Feb. 26, 2011.
"A Precarious Position", Mar. 5, 2011.
"1st To Record", Mar. 15, 2011.
"Early English Records and the Jones Surname", Mar. 24, 2011.
"The First JONES Surname in English Records", Mar. 28, 2011.
"Matilda Jones - The First Jones", Apr. 1, 2011.
"On and On it Goes", Apr. 7, 2011.
"Number Two Jones", Apr 12, 2011.
"Ancient Petitions A Transition Period", Apr. 18, 2011.
"Welsh Names in English Records 1301 AD", Apr. 23, 2011.
"Norman Names", Apr. 30, 2011.
"Saxon Name Calling", May 4, 2011.
"Dane Lands", May 8, 2011.
"Welsh Birth Names 1301 AD", May 12, 2011.
"Jones Surname 1273 - 1500 in England and Wales", May 17, 2011.
"Jones Surname in Wales after 1500 AD", May 21, 2011.
"Jones Surname in England and Wales 1500-1700". June 2, 2011.
"Phonetic Not Genetic", June 6, 2011.
"Genetic Bowel of Spaghetti", June 10, 2011.
"Jones Surname By English Monarchs 1485-1714", June 14, 2011.