Thomas JONES - Johnstown/Carnegie/Allegheny - Pennsylvania

[Ayashi]

Hi all

I have a few DNA matches who seem to match on my JONES line. Since they all descend from the same couple (via different children) I am keen to trace back their lineage to meet mine. This has been hampered by the fact I'm in the UK with not very good access to US records and no experience researching here.

The target couple is Thomas (W, although also E and F??) JONES and Mary nee WATKINS. While I think we probably do have the right parents for Mary, it makes sense to try to progress with Thomas first, given the surname.

I have him on census- his age varies and his place of birth is only given as "Wales". His gravestone and burial card give him a date of birth of 18 Jul 1835. There is a Thomas JONES born in Bangor with this birth date on his christening, but without more proving this could be coincidence. In all of Wales, it isn't impossible to have more than one Thomas Jones born on that date. There is a Hannah JONES aged 15 living with him on the 1860 Census, potentially a sister, but I can't connect her to the potential parents and haven't seen her other than that census.

It seems to me that the best sources of information would be the marriage and his death certificate?

According to descendants, the marriage took place on either 3rd May or 3rd Aug 1856, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. However, I can't find it.

The death occurred on 24 Sep 1890, Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Again, I haven't found the actual certificate. I have seen the burial card, gravestone and newspaper obituary.

He was apparently a Civil War Veteran and I've messaged someone in the hope of finding if there is anything existing relating to that.

Any help very much appreciated.

Ayashi

[oldohiohome]

Hi. Could you please post the links to the censuses you have found him in? Or if they are from a paid site, then post the locations and family members. familysearch.org has a lot of US records, including all the censuses, and with enough information we should be able to find them there for ourselves.

The reason I ask is there were a few Joneses in Pennsylvania also, maybe not like Wales, but .. I would like to be sure he was 1) married in Johnstown, 2) died in Tioga County, and then 3) buried in Pittsburgh. That would be like someone being married in Wales, dying in Yorkshire, and being buried in London. -- But the records might show why he moved, was he a miner? was the cemetery a veteran's cemetery? were there none closer?

There were no civil records required in Pennsylvania in 1856 or 1890, so the chance of finding a marriage record is near 0 , and I think 0 also for the death record. Any other record would probably not have parents' names on it.

They were married in the US? So, then they didn't emigrate with children, which will make them hard to match with a family in Wales.

Hannah could have married by 1870, you could try for anyone named Hannah, born 1855 1845 in Wales, in the immediate neighborhood and go from there. If she died in Pennsylvania  after 1908 her death record would have a space for her parents' names, hopefully filled in correctly.

But it is not hopeless, please post the census info. Also you can sign yourself up for familysearch and search for free.

Edited. "I stand corrected"  see post below.

[oldohiohome]

He was apparently a Civil War Veteran and I've messaged someone in the hope of finding if there is anything existing relating to that.
Ayashi

He was in the same Company as my great grandfather.
Company D of the 204th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 5th Heavy Artillery.
They were mustered in in Johnstown, my gg on 3 Sep 1864, but I don't know if the date was the same for all. Some duty in northern Virginia, no major battles.

Records are at the National Archives (in Washington, I think). A very kind soul photographed them for me while she was there, so I can't help much more than that.

His military records won't name his parents; they might name his wife as a widow if she survived him and if she applied for a pension.

[Ayashi]

Dangit, I guess that's why I didn't see anything. Someone must have found something though, in order to have the marriage date. Maybe a newspaper entry?

His wife did apply for a pension.

1860 Census - Millville Borough, Cambria, Pennsylvania, United States
(with wife Mary, children Mary A, Elizabeth, David, also Hannah)

1870 Census - McClure Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States
(with wife Mary, children Thomas and Sophia)

1880 Census - Apollo, Armstrong, Pennsylvania, United States
(with wife Mary, children Thomas, Sophia, Mary, Willie, Geo W and Samuel)

The above I did get from FamilySearch. It's the only place I can find US records.

Thanks for replying
Ayashi

[oldohiohome]

You're welcome. It didn't seem right at first, him moving around like that, but he did.
here is Mary's obit in case you need it.
haven't started looking for Hannah.

[oldohiohome]

Dangit, I guess that's why I didn't see anything. Someone must have found something though, in order to have the marriage date. Maybe a newspaper entry?

Could be, or family knowledge.

The Johnstown library is very good about looking for and photocopying things like marriage announcements and death notices.

-- If you can locate the Cambria county genweb site, they used to be one of the best, way before ancestry.com even came along. Worth looking for. But I couldn't find them tonight, and it looks like they might be offline. They might be in archives.org though somewhere.

[oldohiohome]

I found the family on the censuses and will post them here for others to refer to.

1860 Millville Borough, Johnstown PO, Cambria County

Thomas Jones, 24, iron roller, Wales, $30 PE, cannot read or write
Mary Jones, 21, Wales
Mary A Jones, 2, born in Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Jones, 1, born in Pennsylvania
David Jones, 1 day, born in Pennsylvania
Hannah Jones, 15, Wales, domestic worker

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXPJ-N5G

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1870 McClure Township, Dixmont PO. Allegheny County

Thomas Jones, 45, Wales, works in rolling mill, male citizen
Mary Jones, 33, Wales
Thomas Jones, 5, born in Pennsylvania
Sophia Jones, 1, born in Pennsylvania

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZLW-GRZ

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1880 Apollo, Armstrong County

Thomas W Jones, 43, Wales, puddler, cannot read or write
Mary Jones, 42, Wales
Thomas Jones, 15, born in Pennsylvania
Sophia Jones, 11, born in Pennsylvania
Mary Jones, 9, born in Pennsylvania
Willie Jones, 7, born in Pennsylvania
George W Jones, 5, Pennsylvania
Samuel Jones, 1, born in Pennsylvania

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW6P-6BP

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1900 Carnegie Borough, Allegheny County

Mary Jones, December 1835, Wales, widowed, 19 children, 7 alive, owns the home, free of mortgage
Mary Jones, Jan 1876,
John Jones, Jan 1883,

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3MS-QBZ

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Mary's obituary in the Pittsburgh Press mentions these children, George W's marriage record in Indiana says he was born in Armstrong County, etc., etc., so this family all ties together. I wondered what happened to the 3 children on the 1860 census, but Mary said in 1900 that she had 19 children of whom only 7 were alive. And Thomas' occupation is consistent throughout the years.

Only that findagrave says he died in Allegheny County, not Tioga County, which lines up with Mary's obituary which said she arrived in Carnegie Borough, Allegheny Co, about 1885.

[Ayashi]

19 children? Poor woman. I only know about ten. The descendants come from Thomas Carol JONES 1865, William John 1873 and John Arthur 1883.

Thanks again.

[oldohiohome]

Last thought for tonight -
If you have tentative names for Thomas' parents, you can go to familysearch and enter only the parents' names in the search criteria. Then try that, plus just Hannah or just Jones for the person themselves. Maybe include 'born in Wales'. You might turn up a sibling that way, especially if they are in the same general area as your Thomas and Hannah.

Familysearch will "complain" and often gives an error message if you don't include the person's name itself, but refresh the page and it usually works the second time.