Thomas Jones (c. 1665 – 13 December 1713) emigrated from
Strabane, in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, to
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
. There he married Freelove Townsend, daughter of Captain Thomas Townsend, and went on to serve as a
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
. He later became an influential figure on
Long Island.
History
Thomas Jones was born about 1665. He fought in the
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...
, Aghrim, and at the capitulation of
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, serving under
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...
and under
James II of Ireland
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
. For this service he attained the rank of major.
He emigrated to America where he met and married Freelove Townsend, daughter of
Captain Thomas Townsend
Captain Thomas Townsend was an early settler of the American Colonies. Captain Townsend was the son of John Townsend and his wife Elizabeth, both early settlers on Long Island.
Biography
John Townsend, Capt. Thomson's father, and his brothers He ...
, while in
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, southwest of Boston, Massachu ...
. After that he was outfitted as a privateer and absent for three years, during which time he made many captures. His father-in-law, Captain Thomas Townsend, moved to Oyster Bay with his daughter Freelove.
Freelove Townsend was a woman of great intelligence and ability. Following her husband's death, management of his estates was given over to her, as well as the education of their children. She was baptized in 1702 by the famous
George Keith and the
Rev. John Thomas, who were sent by the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
.
In 1688, Captain Thomas Townsend had bought from the
Massapequa
Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The po ...
Indians a piece of land at
, which he gave in 1695 "unto Thomas Jones of Oyster Bay, my son-in-law, and to Freelove his wife, my daughter". In 1696, Jones built the first house of bricks so far east on Long Island.
Jones was admitted an associate freeholder under the original patent of Oyster Bay, granted by Governor Andros, on 29 September 1677. Lord Cornbury, the Governor of New York, commissioned him to be Captain of Militia in Queens County on 20 October 1702. Two years later, on 14 October 1704, he was appointed High Sheriff of Queens and, on 3 April 1706, was made Major of the Queens County Regiment. Hunter appointed Jones the "Ranger General of the Island of Nassau", the legal name then referring to Long Island. This commission started on 4 September 1710 and made him an officer of the Crown, with "Royal rights" or franchises of waifs, estrays, hunting, royal fish, treasure trove, mines, deodands, forfeitures, and the like.
Jones died on 13 December 1713 and was buried on a slight elevation on the left bank of the Massapequa. His tombstone, made of hard red sandstone of Rhode Island, bore an inscription written by himself (with original spelling preserved):
Here Lyes Interred The Body of
Major Thomas Jones, who came from
Strabane, in the Kingdom of Ireland,
Settled here, and Died, December, 1713.
From distant Lands to this Wild Waste he came,
This Seat he chose, and here he fix'd his Name.
Long May his Sons this Peaceful Spot Injoy,
And no Ill Fate his Offspring here Annoy.
Famous descendants
Judge David Jones, son of Jones and Freelove Townsend, was born on 16 September 1699. He became judge of
Queens County in 1734, and in 1763 was the 2nd Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, where he sat for ten years.
Judge,
loyalist and historian
Thomas Jones (1731–1792) was the son of David Jones and Anna Willet. He was born on 30 April 1731 at his father's house in
Fort Neck
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. He became Recorder of the City of New York and Judge of the Supreme Court, which later office he held until the close of the Revolutionary War, when he was forced to leave the country for England. There, he wrote his ''History of New York During the Revolutionary War'', which recounts how during the Revolutionary War, a party of rebels from New England broke into and plundered his house at Fort Neck in November 1779.
Namesakes
Jones Beach State Park on Long Island is named after Jones.
[Jappen, Marlo]
"Secrets of Jones Beach State Park"
'' Newsday'', 12 June 2015.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas
Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
People from Oyster Bay (town), New York
1660s births
1713 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
People of the Province of New York
People of colonial Rhode Island