Finding Your Folks: Ancestors of Mary Amelia Jones, Part 2

The Jones line in America, that behind Milly Tidwell Boyd (of Fayette County) through her mother, Mary Amelia Jones Tidwell (of Meriwether and Coweta counties), started in Virginia in the late 1600s, as descendants of Captain Richard Jones and his first wife, Amy Batte.

These are not only the ancestors of Milly Tidwell Boyd, but also those of my own relatives, Frances Boyd and Mark Tidwell of Meriwether and Carroll counties. Mark and Milly were brother and sister. Frances was the daughter of Robert Boyd and Rosannah Stewart and a cousin of James Boyd, Milly’s husband.

Continuing with our emphasis on female lines, we take information from Ettie Tidwell McCall’s book on the Tidwells that Amy Batte’s family has been traced to England and one Henry Batte of Okewell, who married a daughter of Richard Wilkinson of Bradford and had children, among them three sons: Henry, Robert and Richard Batte.

Robert Batte, son of Henry, was Fellow and Master of University College, Oxford England. He married Mary Parry, daughter of John Parry of Golden Valley, Herts, England, and had children, among them John, William and Henry Batte.

John Batte, son of Robert Batte of England, migrated to America and patented lands in Charles City County, Virginia in 1643. In England, John married Martha Mallory, daughter of Thomas Mallory, Dean of Chester, and had children, among them John, William, Thomas and Henry Batte.

John (Jr.), son of John Batte and Martha Mallory, drowned in the Irish Sea when he was returning from Virginia with his father. Nothing is known of his brother, William, but both his other brothers, Thomas and Henry, lived in Virginia.

Henry Batte settled in Charles City County, married, and in 1723 became the guardian for a young lady named Elizabeth Chamberlayne, daughter of Thomas Chamberlayne and his second wife, Elizabeth Stratton. About four years later, in 1727, Henry Batte’s son, Henry (Jr.) married this Elizabeth Chamberlayne.

Henry and Elizabeth, along with Peter Jones and his wife Dorothy Chamberlayne, were granted 1600 acres of land in Henrico County, Virginia. Henry and Elizabeth Batte’s daughter, Elizabeth Batte, married (as his second wife) Richard Jones, grandson of Captain Richard Jones of Charles City, Prince George and Brunswick counties in Virginia, and son of Colonel Richard Jones, with whom we left off last week. I do not doubt, but it is not mentioned, that Elizabeth Batte and Amy Batte were related.

Colonel Richard Jones, of Bristol Parish, Prince George County and Raleigh Parish, Amelia County, Virginia, was born before 1692 and died in 1759.

Quoting the McCall Tidwell book which references Augusta Fothergill’s book on the Jones families of Virginia, it is stated that Colonel Jones “... was one of those characters whose career marked advance at every step. He was evidently a man of power in his community — serving faithfully in various offices, Vestryman, Magistrate, Militia officer and Representative in the Assembly. He accumulated a handsome fortune. The son of a typical pioneer — following the frontier, breaking the wilderness, home building, using both himself and his sustenance in the interests of his community.”

Colonel Richard Jones received many patents of land in Prince George and Amelia counties, according to records (some now in Dinwiddie), and in 1735, he was sworn in the Commission of Peace for Amelia County. He represented Amelia County in the House of Burgesses from 1734 to 1736.

Colonel Jones married twice, first to Sarah Stratton, daughter of Edward Stratton and Martha Shippey (Stratton genealogy also given in Mrs. McCall’s book), and second to Margaret, maiden name unknown. Colonel Jones’ children, as named in his will in 1759, were Amy, Richard, Peter, Daniel, Prudence, Rebecca, Martha and Lewelyn. He also spoke of his step mother, Rachel in his will.

Richard Jones (No. 3), son of Colonel Richard Jones, also became a colonel in the Militia, and was born sometime before 1720. Like his father, he was prominent in local affairs in Amelia County and became sheriff in 1776. He owned land both in Amelia County and Prince Edward County.

Richard Jones (No. 3) married twice but his first wife’s name is unknown. He married second, Elizabeth Batte. Richard’s children (the book does not say with which wife or if they were a combination of the two) included Amy Jones who married Stephen Cocke in 1764; Elizabeth Jones who married Littleberry Royall; Richard; Rachel; Margaret; Sarah; Thomas; and William Jones.

It was William Jones, son of Richard Jones (No. 3) who was the pioneer to Georgia. He was born in Amelia County, Va., 17 Nov. 1758 and died in Jasper County, Ga. 15 Feb. 1841, having lived in South Carolina before moving to Georgia.

One of the family traditions handed down about William Jones was his love of horses and horse racing. This was evidently passed down not only to his children but also to his in-laws. William Jones’ son-in-law, William Tidwell, husband of Mary Amelia Jones, was said to have had a race track on his plantation on the border of Meriwether and Coweta counties.

We’ll explore more about William Jones’ family next week.

Although time does not permit me to do personal research for others, I welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizen.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!