Person talk:James Jones (245)

War of 1812 [4 May 2015]

I wanted to throw this out for discussion and see where it goes.

Finding evidence of James Jones' participation in the War of 1812 is definitely a challenge. The only evidence I am aware of is the widow's pension application (#44135) made by Polly Jones...and that information is sketchy (my opinion).

For arguments sake I am going to assume James Jones did serve in the War of 1812. I am also going to assume that although James would have been young he could have served (not uncommon during that period). I don't think we have an exact date of birth for James (about 1797 - 1800), and since the War of 1812 did not end until 1815 James could have been between 15-18 years of age.

The needle in the hay stack than is trying to find what "James Jones" we are looking for since there were many. I looked at the listing found on familysearch.org (United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815 - https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1916219) and you can get a bit blurry eyed trying to figure out which one to focus on.

...So I am going to make another assumption (LOL...this will probably get me in trouble).

Let's assume James Jones was somewhere in the now State of Wisconsin when he served. At the time Wisconsin was part of the Illinois Territory (http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-014/?action=more_essay) so I focused on the Illinois Militia and found only one James Jones (rank of Private as indicated in the widow's pension application).

This James Jones was listed as assigned to Captain Jacob Short's Company, Mounted Vols (1815), Illinois Militia (War of 1812) - https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21916-8084-80?cc=1916219&wc=M6Y6-B29:203164401

I am stuck at this point and am hoping to possibly find evidence that James may have worked with a mounted unit (at his age and rank he probably was not a mounted soldier, but I guess it is possible). I am also looking for more information on Captain Jacob Short's Company (in the year 1815)...possibly a muster roll or other information.

Anyway...this is just for discussion...I know, a lot of assumptions, but who knows it might be the right puzzle piece.

Thanks.

Dean--Metro09 17:15, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi, Dean,

Boy, if you can pull this off, that would be fantastic!

I've gone through my notes and done some moderate up-dating (adding source notes) for James. And, looking at some of the other notes I collected many years ago. I'll try to pull them into some kind of coherent order and either add them here or email them off to you.

I agree that James likely did serve in the War of 1812 -- but where; and did he serve in a local militia or in a federal unit?. I would be more inclined to look either in PA, or (tentatively) in NC. In my notes I see some potential clues that I would not have recognized back when I was researching James; plus there are some other potential "clues" that stick in my mind, but I don't see in my notes. So where did I put them? (Sigh) --GayelKnott 22:05, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Well I at least want to kick some ideas around and see if anything gets uncovered. James Jones is a bit of a road block in my tree, and it would be fun to find more information on him. I had a similar issue with my Great Grandpa Toth...took almost 2 years before I finally found some information on him (Hungarian records)...but it was just dumb luck and being stubborn enough to keep looking.

I did see some James Jones' as part of PA and NC militias...I will need to check again, but it might be setting me back to square one because of the numbers of individuals listed.

If I find anything of value I will let you know.

Happy Family Tree Hunting.

Dean--Metro09 11:20, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Stubborn is good -- I've had more success that way than any other way.

Good Luck, Gayel --GayelKnott 06:21, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure if you have the pension file, but it looks like the entire file is now on Fold3.com...and free to download. About 18 pages (fronts and backs).--Metro09 00:28, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Dean. I'm not sure which pension file you mean. I do have Polly's widow's pension file, which I got years ago. When I get a chance, though, I'll have a look at Fold3 to see if there is anything else I can see.

This is Polly's pension application that is on Fold3.com...sounds like you already have it. I guess if anyone else comes along and is looking they should be able to download it from the site.--Metro09 13:45, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Some miscellaneous notes that may or may not be relevant [3 May 2015]

These are some of the less "out there" bits and pieces of miscellaneous stuff I picked up back when I was researching. The reference to the AIS is because at that time nothing was on the internet, and this was the most useful index for multi-state searches. I don't think anyone uses it any more.

Silas Jones
History of Iowa County refers alternately to Capt. James and Capt. Silas Jones, as if they were the same. Is this confusion on the part of the writers, or was Silas an alternate name for James?

1836 – Michigan Territory – Silas Jones is a Petitioner (Automated Indexing System; old index of Census records) I think this refers to a petition recorded in the U.S. Territorial Papers for Michigan, with a Silas Jones in the Detroit area. James Jones was in Grant “Township” of Iowa County, WI Territory in 1836, having returned from Territory of Iowa. (Two different Silas Joones? or Silas and James as two different people?)

1838 – Silas Jones listed as a voter in Highland, Iowa County, WI, along with Levi Gilbert and Daniel Moore (History of Iowa County, WI, p. 796). No indication of where James Jones was

Two brothers of James Jones
Vol. 29, No. 2, September 1982, Grant p. 62 - from The Independent American, Platteville, Wis., Nov. 24, 1854, Deaths
"In Placerville, El Dorodo county, California of congestion of the brain, Mr. JOHN W. JONES, formerly of Grant County, Wisconsin. He was a brother to James Jones of Grant county, Wisconsin and William M. Jones of Rockingham county, N. C. and others."

Which James Jones? This James Jones? or
James A. Jones who lived in Lancaster? or
(less likely), the James Jones, b. abt 1823 in Virginia, found in 1860 Census, Town of Lancaster, HH 987, who first purchased land in 1851?

War of 1812 Service in Indiana
Digital Collections of IUPUI University Library (accessed 29 Sept 2007) (rechecked 10 April 2015)
Vol. 1 (Index), Muster, pay and receipt rolls of Indiana territory volunteers or militia of the period of the War of 1812, deposited in the Office of the U.S. Adjutant General.
Jones, James, 464a-466a, 559-563 (400 pgs are Vol 3; 500 pgs are Vol 4
(This is a miserable site to work with)

But -- I'd still be more inclined to look at Pennsylvania for War of 1812 Service. Polly says she first met him in Indiana in 1825 and it seems unlikely that he would have gone from Illinois back to Montgomery county, Indiana, where she was at the time. There was a James and John Jones there in that time frame, but I didn't research them enough to eliminate them as possibilities.

BTW - Ancestry has indexed the War of 1812 Service Records.

James Jones, license with signature
Iowa County Heritage, Volume IV, Jo Daviess Co., the Fieldhouse Foundation Inc., Dodgeville, WI, 1968 (UW-Platteville)
Smith Letters and Papers, 1826-1829 [Mr. Charles Smith, US sub-agent at Galena, responsible for the mines and issuing of mining permits. [Microfilm of permits is at the Galena, IL public library]
p. 3 - permits granted miners, Fever River [Galena], June 1826:
James Jones (with signature)
(I didn't have our James Jones' signature at the time I got this reference, but it would be interesting to compare now. There was another James Jones, from Illinois, who was active in the lead mining area about this same time period, so it would be useful to compare signatures. But travelling to Galena is a bit much at the moment. Maybe they would photocopy and mail????)

Gayel --GayelKnott 07:13, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Galena is a few hours drive for me, but I have thought about going there (possibly this Summer). Last year I went to Platteville and explored the mining museum. I didn't find anything "Jones" related, but it was interesting to see how the miners lived during the same time period.

I might need to move Galena up on my vacation list.--Metro09 11:26, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Just saw this. If you ever get back to Platteville, you might check with the Special Collections at the Univ. of WI -- they might have Polly Meadow's divorce record from Richard Palmer. I was there sometime before 2000, but so naive I didm't pursue it. Of course, I could also get organized and write for it. Gayel --GayelKnott 19:00, 3 May 2015 (UTC)