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The Jones Family in
Flintshire, Wales

Contents

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Introduction

Welcome to my family history website.  This page covers the family of Harriet Ellen Jones' father, Sgt. Richard Evan Jones and his parents, John Jones and Ellen Evans. The Jones family were industrial working-class folks from Flintshire, Wales where their ancestry can be traced back to the early 1800s.  If you are just arriving here for the first time then you may wish to start here.

Please Note: This page is intended only as a narrative historical overview of this family.  There is additional detailed information available for almost ever person presented on this page.  To avoid the unnecessary work of double-entering some data, the additional information can be found in the accompanying GEDCOM database.  Please make sure you click on the INDEX button at the bottom of the page so you don't miss out on potentially valuable additional information.

Acknowledgments

The research presented on this page is not mine alone.  It contains information submitted by all the Fellow Researchers listed below.  I am indebted to them for their generous contributions.  This page is intended as a place for researchers to freely and cooperatively share our research with each other.  It would be too cumbersome a task to reference each piece of data as to which researcher it has come from.  The information shown on this page should be understood as a product of ALL of the Fellow Researchers.  I am merely the editor and not the sole author. - Ryk

Origins Of The Surnames Jones and Evans

Jones and Evans are both patronymic surnames. Jones is an abbreviation of "Johnson" which means "son of John". Under normal circumstances this would mean that our Jones family is probably descended from an ancestor whose father's name was John. However, in the case of the Welsh there is a different story, which we'll get to after we look at the name Evans.

Evans is an abbreviation of "Evanson", which means "son of Evan". Evan is a Welsh form of John, so Evans also means "son of John". Thus Evans and Jones are really the same name.  Evans and Jones are also by far the two most common Welsh surnames.

Prior to the imposition of English naming customs in Wales, the Welsh people, like their Celtic cousins in Scotland and Ireland, were known by patronymic names such as "Evan ap Dyffyd", which means "John, son of David". ("Ap" is the Welsh form of the Gaelic "Mac" meaning "son of".)  Legend has it that when the English imposed their surname system on the Welsh, the Welsh responded by having everyone take the name Evans or Jones, which to the Welsh were really just the same name.  This was apparently done just to confound the English bureaucrats. Whether this legend is based in truth or is just folklore to explain the popularity of the two names may never be known, but it's certainly a good Welsh tale.

Click here to learn more about surnames.

The Jones Family in Flintshire, Wales

John and Gwen Jones

The earliest traceable ancestor in our Jones family is John Jones who was born around 1800 in Flintshire, Wales. However the first two generations shown here are not based on solid evidence and should be considered unverified.  This John Jones married a woman named Gwen.  Her last name is unknown.  They had the following children:

1. Richard JONES b: 5 JUL 1824 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales.  He is believed to be the Richard Jones who married Sarah Williams.  Their story continues below.

2. David JONES b: 10 OCT 1826 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales

3. John JONES b: 19 NOV 1828 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales

4. Jane JONES b: 8 APR 1834 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales

Richard Jones and Sarah Williams

Richard Jones was born in 1825 in Towyn, Merioneth (Flintshire), Wales.  Richard married about 1845 in Wales to Sarah Williams and they had two known children: 

1. Catherine JONES b: 17 SEP 1846 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales
2. John JONES b: 31 OCT 1848 in Towyn, Merioneth, Wales.  It is suggested that he may be the John Jones who married Ellen Evans.  Their story continues below.

John Jones and Ellen Evans

The earliest verifiable ancestor of our Jones family is John Jones who is recorded in census records as having been born in 1848 in Flintshire, Wales.  No birth record can be found for such a person.  However a John Jones born in 1848 in Towyn, Merioneth, which by today's boundaries is about 2 miles from the border with Flint.  It is possible that Towyn may have been considered part of Flint.  John worked as a bricklayer for most of his life.  Because of the commonness of his name he cannot be confidently identified in the 1861 and 1871 censuses, thus his earlier origins.  Sometime prior to his marriage he moved to Manchester, Lancashire, England.

At some time between 1883-1887, John Jones moved his family to the town of Bolton, just outside Manchester (now a suburb of Manchester). Bolton was experiencing a similar industrial boom to Manchester, but being a smaller town was somewhat cleaner and subject to less corruption and exploitation…somewhat less.

Late 19th Century Bolton, England

Bolton grew slowly over the centuries from a small settlement on the wild Lancashire Moors. The town is best known for its industrial heritage. Local inventions gave enormous impetus to cotton manufacturing and the establishment of Lancashire's mill towns. It grew as a boomtown in the 19th century to become one of the leaders in the Industrial Revolution. Its population grew from 17,000 in 1801 to 10 times that number by 1901. Cotton was king, but other industries flourished also, from supporting trades such as engineering, and the building of the railways which fostered all industry, to the rise and fall of such enterprises as the now defunct mining industry.

For many people, the Greater Manchester area ended up being a hollow and unfulfilling promise of a decent living for a hard working family. It's no surprise then, as Manchester's economy was beginning to implode, that many people immigrated to the "New World" and particularly to the industrial heartland of Canada, that is, Hamilton, Ontario. In 1907, most of the extended Jones and Liptrot (see below) families, immigrated to Hamilton.

John Jones married on 2 JUL 1871 in Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire, England to Ellen EVANS.  She was born 1848 in 1848 in Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales, about 2 miles from Towyn, however her early origins are uncertain.  In 1871, she was working as a household servant in Manchester.  There are no entries in the 1861 census for any Ellen Evans born in Rhuddlan, however two possible entries have been identified.  The first is preferred:

1. Ellen Evans, b: 1849 in Rhyl (2 miles from Rhuddlan), living with her family in Llangelnwen, Angelsey, Wales. Father: Edward Evans is a brick maker. Mother: Jane. Siblings: Edward, John (Ellen's twin), Sarah, & William.  (It could be easy to explain how the daughter of a brick-maker ended up marrying a bricklayer.)
2. Ellen Evans, b: 1848 in Llanasa, Flintshire (about 5 miles east of Rhuddlan), living in Rhuddlan, working as a scullery maid in an inn owned by Owen Roberts. As she is only 13 it is presumed that she is orphaned.

In March 1907 the entire Jones family immigrated to Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada.  John and Ellen had the following children:

1. John Evans JONES b: BET JUL AND DEC 1871 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  He worked as a bricklayer and married after 1891 to Elizabeth Ann whose surname is unknown.  It is believed they had no children.
2. William Thomas JONES b: 8 JUN 1874 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  He worked as a bricklayer in England.  He immigrated in March 1907 with his extended family.  In 1915 he enlisted in Royal Canadian Forces and was killed in action in 1917.  William married ABT DEC 1890 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Elizabeth Alice HARRELL b: 1871 in Preston, Lancashire, England.  They had the following children:
   1. Arthur JONES b: ABT SEP 1892 in Halliwell, Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He married a woman named Mary who surname is unknown.  They had the following children:
      1. Leonard JONES b: AFT 1910 in Canada
      2. Patricia JONES b: AFT 1910 in Canada
   2. Edith Alice JONES b: ABT MAR 1898 in Halliwell, Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married George BARLOW.  It is not known if they had any children.
   3. Mary Ellen JONES b: ABT JUN 1900 in Halliwell, Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married to Thomas LODGE.  They had the following child:
      1. Arthur LODGE
   4. Phyllis JONES b: BET 1905 AND 1907 in Halliwell, Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married to Bruce WALLACE and had the following children:
      1. Beverly WALLACE
      2. Living WALLACE
   5. Irene JONES b: AFT 1907 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  She married Jack NICHOLSON and had the following children:
      1. Unknown NICHOLSON
      2. Living NICHOLSON
3. Daniel JONES b: 1876 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  Daniel worked as a bricklayer.  It is believed that he never married.
4. Richard Evan JONES b: 6 NOV 1879 in Harpurhey, Manchester, Lancashire, England.  He married Annie Liptrot.  Their story continues below.
5. Elizabeth Ann JONES b: ABT JUN 1883 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  She worked as a cotton winder in Bolton.  She married ABT 1905 in probably Bolton, Lancashire, England to James PILLING b: ABT 1880 in Southport, Lancashire, England.  They had the following children.  Elizabeth died giving birth to her fourth child.
   1. Harry PILLING b: 30 JUL 1907 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  He is the only one of his siblings to survive to adulthood.  He married Nora Patricia GOW b: 26 JUN 1915 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  Nora Gow was the sister of George William Gow who married Mae Angus, who can be found on the Angus Family Page.
   2. Edna PILLING b: ABT 1910 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  She died young.
   3. Doris PILLING b: ABT 1914 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  She died young.
   4. Child PILLING b: 24 JAN 1918 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  This child died at birth
6. Harriet Ellen JONES b: ABT DEC 1887 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She worked as a cotton cloth weaver and died unmarried in AUG 1906 in Bolton, Lancashire, England prior to the rest of the family emigrating.

Richard Jones and Annie Liptrot

Richard Evan Jones (after whom this author is named) was born 6 NOV 1879 in Harpurhey, Manchester, Lancashire, England, but grew up in nearby Bolton. He was very musical; he sang tenor in the church choir and played the flute (so it's not surprising that his great-grandson and namesake also plays the flute). Richard, or Dick as he was called, worked as a carpenter and bricklayer. His family were staunch Methodists and were very active in Ulswater Street Methodist Church in Bolton which is where he met Annie Liptrot who was as a "beautiful contralto" in the choir. Annie's father, Richard Liptrot, worked in the cotton mills as a minder.  The story of Annie's ancestors can be found on the LIPTROT Family Page.  Dick Jones and Annie Liptrot were married 12 JUL 1902 in Ulswater St. Methodist, Bolton, Lancashire, England. Dick worked as a bricklayer in Bolton.  He, and his family, immigrated in March 1907 to Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. 

From Britain's Industrial Heartland To Canada's Industrial Heartland

Hamilton, Ontario in the early 20th century was very much the Manchester of Canada, yet with less of the social decay associated with Manchester. Heavy industry was booming and so was housing. Hamilton certainly had its share of poverty and labour concerns, but things were not as bad as in Manchester. It was the perfect place for a building contractor to settle with his immigrant family.

Dick Jones was now more than just a carpenter and bricklayer. He began taking contracts to build houses and became moderately prosperous as a building contractor. Many of the houses he built still stand today in Hamilton's north end. The family were very active in Ryerson Methodist Church (later Ryerson United Church) and Dick did the brickwork when the present sanctuary was built.  In 1916 he enlisted as a Sergeant in the 205th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force.  Dick and Annie had the following children:

1. Edna Anne JONES b: 24 NOV 1903 in Bolton, England who married on 29 JUN 1929 in Ryerson United Church, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to Clayton Anthony ZURBRIGG b: 2 OCT 1903 in Ontario.  They had the following children:
   1. Richard Evan ZURBRIGG b: 23 MAY 1939 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  He died tragically as an infant.
   2. Living ZURBRIGG

2. Harriett Ellen JONES b: 13 OCT 1906 in Bolton, England who married on 5 APR 1930 in Ryerson United Church, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to John Stewart BROWN.  Their story continued on the BROWN Family Page.
3. Hilda Mae JONES b: 10 MAY 1910 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  She married on 10 MAY 1910 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to William James HUNTER III b: 11 OCT 1910 in Ontario.  They had the following children:
   1. Living HUNTER
   2. Living HUNTER

Fellow Researchers

People researching this family include the following.  If you wish your name added to the fellow researchers' list, please contact me.

Index & Personal Information Pages (GEDCOM)

For more information on any individual person featured on this page, please:
1. click on the INDEX button below,
2. then select the first letter of the surname you are looking for.

The index button will take you to my searchable GEDCOM database hosted by RootsWeb's World Connect Project. This allows you to download my GEDCOM in 10-generation chunks.  Then you can import my data directly into your own genealogy program without having to retype it.

Legend

= This person has known descendants.

ABT = "about" and is used in three ways:

1. Where it precedes a precise date of birth, such as "ABT 3 DEC 1855", then it means that the person was baptized on 3 DEC 1795, but his/her exact date of birth is unknown.

2. Where it precedes a semi-precise date of birth with the month only given, such as "ABT DEC 1855", then that means that the birth is recorded in the civil birth registrations for the quarter ending with that month.  Thus the person's birth was registered sometime between the beginning of October 1855 and the end of December 1855, but no baptism record has been found nor any more precise birth record.

3. Where it precedes a year only, such as "ABT 1855", then it means that there is no information on the person's birth date at all and an educated guess has been made that he/she was probably born sometime around 1855.

Contact

Please post your questions, comments, corrections, or additional information to:

RYK BROWN'S GENEALOGY DISCUSSION FORUM
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I will no longer be accepting genealogical inquiries via email.
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This page was last updated on August 03, 2007