Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Jones Surname by English Monarch 1485-1714
Over time, the Jones surname made its appearance in the English legal records. Gradually at first, then expanding rapidly after the Act of Union under Henry VIII. [See post: Impact, The Act of Union 1536, Feb. 24, 2011.] The table to the right shows the average number of Jones surnames that occurred in the English legal records per years for each English Monarch between 1485 and 1714.
Henry VII who brought the Welsh to the English side of things [His Tudor lineage] show that less than one Jones per year (.71) shows up during his 24 year reign. His son, Henry VIII, who produced the Act of Union, showed roughly two (2.01) Jones surnames appearing each year of his reign. The Jones surname increased under Edward VI (3.67) and nearly doubled under Mary I (6.40). [I suspect this had to do with the fact that many of the Jones were Catholic.] Finally, the last Tudor had the highest ratio of Jones surnames at more than 9 (9.07) per year. Her long rule and, more or less stable reign, produced a lot of Jones surnames.
The Stuarts cut in half the number of Jones surnames [9.07 to 4.05] when the Welsh influence was replaced by the Scots. This was reduced again under his son Charles I to 2.17 Jones per year.
The Commonwealth years [1649-1660] remained about the same with 2.91 Jones per years showing by this time that there was a balance between the warring political and religious factions.
The return of the Stuarts in 1660 showed a marked increase in the number of Jones surnames per year going from 2.91 to 6.04. This must mean that a bunch of Jones had to fight for their rights in this period of time. [Remember that these data are from the legal (court) records of the time.] James II drops the Jones surname almost in half, to 3.33 surnames per year.
When the Protestants finally take over, there is a marked increase in the Jones surname to 8.61 per years. This again most likely reflects the fact that many Jones families faced a legal quagmire during this period. By Queen Anne's time this seems to have settled a bit, with 4.67 Jones surnames appearing.
Wow, what a legal history. The Welsh fighting the English in the courts of the day.