Parents of Louisa (Jones) Royce,
Wife of Titus Royce
Wife of Titus Royce
Louisa Jones is one of my 3rd great-grandmothers and the wife of Titus Royce. They were the parents of Eliza Ann Royce, who became the wife of Carlton Braley. Titus and Louisa Royce were the actual owners of the land in Jasper Co., Iowa, that in 1864, they sold to their grandson, Alson Henry Braley, and that he cleared and farmed after the Civil War.
My original knowledge of the parents of Louisa Jones comes from undocumented papers left by my father, Alson Emmons Braley. From somewhere he got that Louisa Jones was the daughter of “Bard” Jones and his wife Mary (--?--) Jones. I now believe that he may have gotten that information from his grandfather, Alson Henry Braley, the first child of Carlton and Eliza (Royce) Braley and a great-grandson of Louisa Jones’ parents. As a child my father was very close to his grandfather who died when my father was 15. Unfortunately, my father left no documentation of his grandfather as his source.
When I began doing my own research I eventually found this book: History of the Town of Northfield [Vermont] by Hon. John Gregory, Pub. Montpelier, VT, Argus and Patriot Book and Job Printing House, 1878, p. 210, Biography of Titus Rice: “He married Louisa Jones, who was born in Charlestown, NH, May 1, 1801.”
John Gregory knew Titus Rice/Royce and his book was written when Titus and Louisa were still living. He also wrote in this bio. “He lives on the old homestead on the West Hill.” and “... he attended our last town meeting, and took quite an interest in town affairs.” (My wife and I found that house in 2002.)
I have also seen a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) file for Louisa Jones, it doesn’t help much, but it does indicate that she was born in Charlestown, and that she and Titus Royce were married 22 Oct 1826 in Claremont. I also know from that book that Titus Royce/Rice’s father, Silas Royce/Rice, was living in Claremont, during the several years following 1811 when he started clearing land in Vermont. Titus spent much of his boyhood in Claremont.
Both Charlestown and Claremont are now located in Sullivan Co., New Hampshire. Sullivan Co. was organized from Cheshire Co. in September, 1827. In May 1801 and October 1826 Charlestown and Claremont were in Cheshire Co., New Hampshire.
From these sources I thought that Louisa probably was born in or near Charlestown, NH, and married Titus in Claremont, NH. So I went to the censuses and started looking for someone who might be called Bard Jones.
Bard is most likely a nickname, but I was not sure for what given name. In the 1800 US Census of Charlestown, NH, I found Benjm. Jones with a good sized family -- which according to that census, was the only Jones family in Charlestown. I think that “Bard” might be a nickname for Benjamin. I did some additional investigation to try to satisfy myself that he and his wife could reasonably be Louisa’s parents.
1800 US Census, NH, Cheshire Co., Charlestown
Image 4 of 7 on Ancestry.com
Benjm. Jones 21202 21210 00
Persons in household:
2 M 0>10
1 M 10>16
2 M 16>25
2 M 45>* - Benjamin is probably about 45 and other man might be his father or father-in-law or a farm laborer.
2 F 0>10
1 F 10>16
2 F 16>25
1 F 26>45 - Mary?
I estimated dates of their children’s birth as approximately every 2 years or so.
4 0>10 - Say born; 1799, 1797, 1795, 1793
2 10>15 - Say born; 1789, 1787
4 16>25 - Say born; 1784, 1782, 1780, 1778
Therefore their first child was probably born about 1778. If the wife was about 20 in 1778, she would be ~42 in 1800 and could be the mother of a child born 1801.
I could not find a likely Benjamin Jones in the 1810 census of New Hampshire.
In the 1820 census of Claremont, Cheshire Co. there is also a Benjamin Jones, and there is no Benjamin Jones in Charlestown. I have also done some investigation to find out if they could be the same family
1820 US Census, NH, Cheshire Co., Claremont
Image 9 of 19 on Ancestry.com
Benjamin Jones 001101 00111 2
Persons in household:
1 M 16>18 - son b. 1802-1804
1 M 16>26 - same son as above.
1 M 45>* - Benjamin
1 F 16>26 - could be Louisa b. 1794-1804
1 F 26>45 - ? dau. b. 1775-1794
1 F 45>* - Wife
2 employed in Agriculture
So it seems to me that it is certainly possible that this Benjamin Jones family is the remains of the 1800 Benjamin Jones family. Most of the children living in 1800 have left the parents home and there are only two children born probably soon after 1800. I think this is pretty strong evidence that this Benjamin “Bard” Jones and his wife, possibly Mary, could have been the parents of Louisa Jones. Of course none of this is “proof” that Louisa Jones was the daughter of Benjamin Jones and his wife Mary.
I recently had correspondence with researchers of an Alfred Jones who was born 1802 in Claremont, and they believe that Alfred Jones was a son of Benjamin Jones and his wife Mary Jones. He certainly could be the son 16>18 in the 1820 census above. They have discovered the death and burial of Benjamin and his wife Mary Jones in a book Grave-Stone Records of Claremont, by Chas. B. Spofford, NH, Jones burials in West Part Church Yard, and one of the earlist records is Jones, Mary, wife of Benjamin. April 23, 1805, 44y. Later he lists a record Jones, Benjamin, Aug. 15, 1837, 86y. This confirms that Benjamin's wife, when Louisa and Alfred were born, was Mary Jones. Previously I was pretty sure that Benjamin was Louisa's father, but now that I know that his wife was Mary Jones, this story is even more beliveable, and they apparently were the parents of both Alfred and Louisa Jones.
Sometime after Mary Jones died Benjamin apparently married a second time. In the 1850 census of Claremont, Alfred Jones, 44, now married to Elizabeth Woodell, has several children and a Betsey Jones, 72, who could be his mother, or more likely his step-mother in their household. No one knows when Benjamin married Betsey, but with two children under five when Mary died, it was probably soon after her death.
Another factor that links Alfred and Louisa Jones is the striking similarity in the names that Louisa and Alfred gave their children.
Children of Titus Royce/Rice and Louisa Jones:
Married: 22 OCT 1826 in Claremont, Cheshire-Sullivan Co., NH.
Children born Northfield, Washington Co., VT:
1. Mary Hatch Royce b: 13 JUN 1828 <Mary (Hatch?) mother of Louisa>
2. Eliza Ann Royce b: 28 JAN 1829
3. Ellen Jane Royce b: 15 FEB 1834
4. Edgar Alonzo Royce b: 8 MAR 1836
5. Benjamin Royce b: 12 MAR 1838; d: 12 MAR 1838 <Benjamin father of Louisa>
6. Betsey L. Royce b: 12 MAR 1838 <Betsey Step-mother of Louisa>
7. Marcus Miner Royce b: 2 AUG 1840
8. Francis L. Royce b: 20 APR 1843
9. Franklin L. Royce b: 20 APR 1843
Children of Alfred Jones and Elizabeth Woodell:
Married: Abt. 1833 in Claremont, Cheshire-Sullivan Co., NH.
Children born Claremont, Cheshire-Sullivan Co., NH:
1. Margaret Joanna Jones b: SEP 1834
2. Edward Hatch Jones b: JUN 1836; d. 1839
3. Mary E. H. Jones b: 9 FEB 1838 <Mary E. (Hatch?) mother of Alfred>
4. Edward H. Jones b: 1840 <Prob. also Edward Hatch Jones>
5. Benjamin Franklin Jones b: 1 JUL 1847 <Benjamin father of Alfred>
6. George A. Jones b: 1852
Both used the middle name Hatch for at least one of their children. Both seem to have named a child after their father Benjamin, and their mother Mary. I think it is very likely that their mother, Mary Jones, was Mary (Hatch) Jones. At the very least, persons very important to both Louisa and Alfred Jones were named Mary, Benjamin and had the surname Hatch.
All of this has convinced me that Louisa and Alfred Jones were both children of Benjamin “Bard” Jones and Mary (--?--) Jones. By conventional genealogy research I have also found and added to my database portions of four generations of ancestors of Benjamin Jones.
Alternate Parents
There are some researchers who feel that Louisa Jones, wife of Titus Royce, was the daughter of William Jones and his wife, Sally Babbitt. William Jones was a prominent resident of Northfield, Vermont, and he also has a biography in the History of the Town of Northfield, p. 87, Biography of William Jones.
“WILLIAM JONES
Came to Northfield with his father, and after a few years, settled on Judge Paine’s turnpike, near the toll gate, and commenced keeping a tavern in 1811 on the farm now occupied by Timothy Holland. This was quite a public place of resort in those early days of staging; horses used on the through line to Boston were changed here.
Mr. Jones married Sally Babbitt, born in 1773 and had thirteen children:
Charles, b 1805; Lucy Ann, b 1807; Louisa, b 1809; Emery, b 1810; William, b 1812; William, Jr., b 1814; Lamira, b 1816; Sarah, b 1818; Rebecca, b 1820; Prudence, b 1821; Seth, b 1823; Harriet, b 1825; Luther, b 1827. All born in Northfield.
Mr. Jones died in 1840, aged 63 years; Mrs. Jones died in 1829, aged 44 years.”
Louisa Jones, daughter of William Jones and wife Sally Babbitt, was born 1809 in Northfield, Vermont.
I have found Louisa/Loiza Royce/Rice, wife of Titus, in four censuses: in 1850 she is age 49, b. NH; in 1860 she is 59, b. NH; in 1870 she is 69, b. NH; in 1880 she is 79, b. NH; all indicate that she was born about 1800/1 in New Hampshire. Louisa Jones, daughter of William and Sally (Babbitt) Jones, is at least 8 years younger, and was born in a different state than Louisa (Jones) Royce.
I have concluded that William and Sally (Babbitt) Jones were not the parents of Louisa (Jones) Royce.
Alson D. Braley