I’ve spen the last week researching a new found relative, John Charles Jones. He was the brother of my Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Augustine Jones.
It was fun researching this trail. The family managed to leave several different types of documents behind. They also got themselves in the newspaper. Not so much fun for them as it was because of tragedy, but great for the future genealogist.
But why bother researching Thomas’ brother? Did I gain anying besides awhole other group of confusing cousins? Three important pieces of information surfaced with this research:
1. John Jones and Jane Hayward had more than one child. There is a gap of 7 years between John Charles and Thomas Augustine. Could there have been more children?
2. John Charles Jones was naturalized in 1867 according to the Voter Registration indexes of 1872 and 1890. That tells me he was here before that date. I am not sure how many years one had to be in the United States before they could apply for citizenship, but once I learn that I should have a rough idea when the family came over.
It does open up a question. John Charles was born in 1843. It is possible that he came over alone as an adult.
3. I have the year of birth of John Charles as 1843 in Australia. Previously I knew that Thomas Augustine was born in 1850. If John Charle’s information proves to be true, I now know that my Jones family was in Australia as early as 1843. I still haven’t figured out how many generations were born in
Australia, but this takes me back seven years before Thomas’ birth.
You never know what you’ll learn from siblings and cousins. I’m now a little further along the road than I was a week ago. I’ve got some new avenues to explore and some more questions to answer. It’s progress, which is more than this line has seen in years.
