In a message dated 5/10/01 4:44:16 PM, gronj@home.com writes: << I just recently was able to come up with a good transcription of the will of Robert JONES who d. in Mecklenburg Co. in 1771. The copy was poor and several people have worked on this. I will send this to the Mecklenburg site soon. >> Hi Ron: Thank you so much for the transcript information. Would you be interested in posting the Granville Co., NC will of Ambrose Jones (brother of the Robert who d. in 1771 and the John Jones Sr. who d. 1791/92)? I have a full transcript of both his will and an abstract of his estate file that I made. I realize it is not Mecklenburg County but then it is very difficult to seperate the research of the two counties. Also, I am told that there were brothers John, James, Robert, Richard and Ambrose Jones, all sons of an elusive Robert Jones supposedly born in 1690. Do you know if this true? The evidence for this statement is rather flimsy, but is quoted below for what it's worth: (Dorothy Renaud kindly sent me this, and all acknowledgment is to her for sharing it): [The Heritage of Person Co., NC. -Vol. II (1983)]: "The first ancestor of Avonia (Jones Parham) was Thomas Jones who came to the Colonies in the early 1600's from Wales. The next was Richard Jones born in 1660 in Virginia. Robert, his son was born in 1690. To Robert was born Robert Jr., who remained single, living in Mecklenburg Co., Va." Author of bio: Ruth Parham Gravitt. Avonia was a descendant of Ambrose Sr. This is all the info I have on the above article.” Kindest Regards, Craig Kilby

Hi Craig, <<Would you be interested in posting the Granville Co., NC will of Ambrose Jones (brother of the Robert who d. in 1771 and the John Jones Sr. who d. 1791/92)? I have a full transcript of both his will and an abstract of his estate file that I made. I realize it is not Mecklenburg County but then it is very difficult to seperate the research of the two counties.>> I have not seen the Ambrose's will myself, only the abstract. I have not seen the estate file. I would definitely be interested in posting them. You are quite right that the two counties must be researched together. These JONES families and many of their allieds lived all along both sides of Aaron's Creek in the SW corner of Mecklenburg (eastern Halifax) and the NW corner of Granville. <<Also, I am told that there were brothers John, James, Robert, Richard and Ambrose Jones, all sons of an elusive Robert Jones supposedly born in 1690. Do you know if this true? >> I agree, very elusive! I have seen the excerpt you cited, but no one seems to know where the evidence is. This is the proverbial "giant leap of faith." Francis Toepfer is a name many cite as an expert and I finally tracked him down this past year. He cites this same excerpt. I do not accept anything past the 5 brothers. As you know, these brothers are proved by Robert's will. There were two Robert JONES, Jr.s with land transactions in Granville Co. in 1748; one of Granville and the other an attorney of Surry Co., VA. There are some transactions of Robert without the Jr., but I suspect these are the same person with the "Jr." omitted. I have not looked at the originals. I am not sure that either is the Robert who d. 1771. The latter bought land in Granville in 1752 and it states he was "of St. Mary's Parish Caroline Co., VA." He was not listed as a Jr., but I suspect these deeds are where that conclusion was drawn from. This 1752 deed is the earliest record in the area that I feel sure is tied to the 5 brothers. If you want this abstract, I will be glad to send it. By the way, Catherine COLLINS, wife of Ambrose JONES, Sr. was also said to be of Caroline Co., VA. (d/o James) Thanks, Ron