Haplogroups

Brick walls come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and thickness.  Recently, the use of DNA analysis has produced all kinds of new brick walls.  Looking to your genetic past will often help give new directions for the family search, or solve some types of questions that have come to the forefront.

My own DNA analysis took some time to get to the lab, because I was worried that it might show that all my 50 some years of genealogy would be incorrect.  At any rate, the following table shows that there are a number of different genetic pathways that involves the surname JONES.

The figure begins with the year 2011.  It then shows the percent of each haplogroup that was found in those with the surname JONES and chose to have their Y-DNA analyzed.  Seventy-five percent of those were found to be in the R1b1 haplogroup. [n=275]  This was followed by a number of different haplogroups.  Eleven percent were those of Scandinavia decent, followed in decreasing order by E, G, J, R1a, and Q.

The most recent analysis [2016, n=257] suggest that a number of folks from several haplogroups are new to the JONES surname family tree.  Haplogroups B, N, and O were not present in the 2011 group.  There has been some changes in the percent of the various haplogroups which suggest that there are many other genetic groups that have connections to the JONES surname.  There has been a 14% decrease in R1b1 with an increase in I, G, J, and R1a haplogroups. 

All this to say that the origin of your Y-chromosome may show something amazing. Likewise, not all with the surname JONES have their roots in the same genetic family tree.

Networking : A New Blog

The JONES surname comes at you from all angles and many different places.  This new blog is presented to help those who share this surname, or have an interesting in exploring the branches of this vast family tree.  It is organized around many themes [subjects] that play an important role for the genealogist.  These are geography (g.), chronology (ch.), DNA (d.), key variables (k), individual researchers (i.), resources (r.), and coat of arms (a.). The blog can be found at http:// tjgnjg.blogspot.com.    Come join the networking...perhaps it will help with some of those brick walls.

Where To Look

Resources that aid genealogical research are everywhere.   Readings, references, and resources are to be part of the hunt, and can provide the tools for those brick walls.   For the surname JONES, the following is a wonderful resource for getting help in times of need.

Started by Mrs. Darla M. Jones, [Pialto, CA], in 1973, it consists of 19 volumes of reprints from this magazine.  Published quarterly, until 1992, it provides all sorts of information for the JONES surname.  Information from all states are contained.  Genealogist from all around provided their contributions to this newsletter.  The volumes are indexed. (Which helps a lot.)  There is no cumulative index, which means you have to examine each volume one by one.

Volume 19 ends 1991-1992.  The genealogical information for the JONES surname is contained within.  Where to look, a place it is.

[Note: All genealogical information needs confirmation and I have found some errors.  A complete set is located at the Joseph Wheeler Jones Memorial Library, Danville, KY.]

Finishing The Task

Genealogy is a way to find our family's past.  The roads we follow to discover this past are often full of curves and bends that seem to block our way.  Family stories give us some direction in this tree climbing process, but they may not always be correct.   My own genealogy experience has followed a lot of family stories told me during my childhood.   One such story was "W.C.". 

The kitchen table was the location of my grandmother's family stories.  She could remember that the first JONES was named W.C.  She did not know what the W.C. stood for, but she was certain that he lived and was buried at the mouth of the Red River.  It would take me some 20 years to find this family cemetery, and discover the "W.C." stood for William Carter.

In 1999, my father and I managed to walk back the road to the ground that contained this cemetery.  It was a rainy day, and my plan to chalk his head stone was dampened by the rain. [My chalk and paper were wet.]  The head stones were buried, and it took a good effort to raise the stones.   The following picture shows me and ground that surrounded our family cemetery.

Lots of grass, lots of dirt, and a cast iron fence kept us company.  After raising the stone, and cleaning its surface, I used my t-shirt to make a impression of this headstone.  This impression now hangs in my library. [Along with several other impressions of grandfather's headstones.]

The following picture shows this headstone as it came up from the ground.

 "Peaceful be thy silent slumber" it reads.  For me, it was finishing the task.

"Blog - O - Rama"

Several folks have written thanking me for "The Brick Wall Protocol". Genealogy for generations has been a personal motto. For those who have written, you are welcome.

I wanted to pass on to fellow time travelers other blogs and sites that I have been writing. You may or may not find them helpful, but they are centered around my 50 plus years of genealogy. My name is Jerry Jones, and the following sites have been written since July 2010:

thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com/ - intended to give my genealogy travels from age 9 years old.

twitter.com/jonessurname - intended to give comments and titles to daily posts.

thejonessurname.blogspot.com/ - intended to concentrate on the history and origin of the surname JONES.

http://ge-ne-al-0-gy101.blogspot.com/
http://ge-ne-al-0-gy201.blogspot.com/
http://ge-ne-al-o-gy301.blogspot.com/ - intended to help those think outside the box.

http://thejonessurnamedna.blogspot.com/ - intended to help the genealogist understand DNA.

http://welshgenealogy.blogspot.com/ - intended to help those with Welsh background.

http://cadwalladerjones.blogspot.com/ - an example of genealogy on My Heart's Blood.

On facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jones-Surname/105264796202869
www./facebook.com/pages/The-Jones-Genealogist/154376591254070

It is my hope that these blogs and sites will help the next generation of tree climbers. Remember, we are the chosen.

A New Blog: Cadwallader Jones

For those who would like to read about "Primary Documents" and "Secondary Documents" relating to tree climbing, I have started a new blog titled: Cadwallader Jones. [ca. 1650-1703] I hope to tell his life story using these types of documents. The link is:

http://cadwalladerjones.blogspot.com/

come see what the documents tell.

BWP(35): Your Own Research - An Example

There often comes a time when things just seem to go nowhere. No helps, no records, no documents, no leads, and no direction to help get you around those brick walls. What is one to do?

At this point in my own tree climbing, I would begin to do my own research. What do I need to know? Where do I need to go? What questions can I try and answer for myself?

The following two figures represent such a research attempt. I wanted to know if those who shared the JONES surname were more likely to go to Oxford or Cambridge. If so, would there be an area of the county which they would more likely come. I wanted to try and bridge that part of colonial history which sent their sons to England for their "higher" education. I was hoping this would connect my Virginia JONES family back to an area of the "mother country".

These first figure shows that the JONES surname attended Oxford roughly 3 to 1. This would help me decided to go to Oxford first, looking for my "Richard Jones".



The second figure shows a map that outlines the counties from which those JONES originated. Blue for Oxford, and pink for Cambridge. Yellow showed those counties that had did not have a single JONES for the time period under study. I would at least know that the JONES surname would not come these counties.

This study also showed me that Wales seemed to send their boys to Oxford. The eastern counties seemed to send their boys to Cambridge.

This at least gave me some ideas as to where to start looking.

BWP(17): A Family Coding System

Over time, the family tree grows. The number of folks that share the same name, and the same geographic location, begin to get confused with one another. It was evident, fairly early in my own tree climbing, that a coding system would be helpful. This system is discussed in a post titled: "My JONES Family Coding System". This was presented as a method to help those who need a simple way to keep everyone in the family tree straight. The blog is:

http://thejonessurname.blogspot.com

and the post date is January 19, 2011. If you need a simple coding system, please check it out.

BWP(15) : Additional Helps

During the past year, a number of blogs have posts written by me, relating to topics intended to help the genealogist. These are scattered about, some dealing with concepts, some dealing with principles or methods, and some giving tools which might aid in your tree climbing. I will try and present these post in some order, so that the genealogist may find them and use them.

First, there are eight blogs that I have developed during the past year. Each approach genealogy from a different angle, and have a different theme. "The Jones Genealogist" tells my personal story from childhood, when I started doing genealogy at age nine! "The Jones Surname" approaches genealogy from a specific, difficult surname like JONES. A third blog called 'Welsh Genealogy" approaches from a historical perspective, placing the JONES surname in its context. A forth blog, called "The Jones Surname DNA", describes DNA written from the ground up, to help the genealogist understand this difficult topic. [I use my own DNA as an example.] A final set of blogs called Ge-ne-al-0-gy 101, 201, and 301 are written to help those who are just beginning to get an interest in genealogy, and need help getting started. [They also give a method called the "geneogram" which is a way of recording your family outside the box.]

The next series of post will list these helps as they seem to make sense in relationship to "The Brick Wall Protocol". I will give them as "Additional Helps" and will try to list the blog, title, date of post, and some description of the content. The "official" blog listings are:

http://thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com [started July 2010]

http://thejonessurname.blogspot.com [started July 2010]

http://jonessurnamedna.blogspot.com [started September 2010]

http://welshgenealogy.blogspot.com [started December 2010]

http://ge-ne-al-o-gy101.blogspot.com [started August 2010]

http://ge-ne-al-o-gy201.blogspot.com [started August 2010]

http://ge-ne-al-o-gy301.blogspot.com [started September 2010]

http://thebrickwallprotocol.blogspot.com [started August 2011]

Please make a visit!

BWP(1) The Brick Wall Protocol

Frequently, "brick walls" present themselves to the genealogist. How to go around or demolish them becomes quite a task. Having faced many such "brick walls" in my 50 some years of doing genealogy on the surname JONES, I have come to accept them as part of tree climbing.

The following blog will present what I have used to help get over and around these proverbial "brick walls". It is intended to be a help to those who wish to continue their genealogical experience in spite of facing a wall. It is called The Brick Wall Protocol. It will be presented as I have developed it in a "work book" approach. The pages of the work book will be presented as if you are using the actual protocol intended.

The pages and text will be published as designed. Each post will have a number identified as "BWP(#)" so that a reader can following in order. This is BWP(1), meaning "Brick Wall Protocol, reading #1. Post will follow in sequence so that the reader will be able to utilize the information as intended.

The pages will be presented in order and hopefully make sense to the frustrated genealogist. They should be used in sequence to be most helpful.


Please make any comments or suggestions using the comment space at the end of the post.



The first three figures show the title page, purpose, and copyright. First published in 1989!


The next post will describe "Step 1".








I trust this protocol will be helpful to genealogist for generations to come.