William Jones (1764 - 1807)

by Clorene Jones Lawson and Christine Jones Dunst

William Jones was born June 19, 1764, the son of Hezekiah and Mary Ann Sowell Jones, in Amherst County, Virginia. On Nov. 27, 1785, he married Nancy Wren, the daughter of Nicholas and Elizabeth Jenkins Wren. Nancy was born March 1, 1767. In August of 1787, William paid a store bill in New Glasgow (now Clifford), Virginia, probably in preparation for a move to North Carolina. Eight years later, he is mentioned in Kentucky Records. The Wren family also moved to Kentucky in the early 1800's. It is possible that several of the relatives moved as a group.

In 1796 William bought 260 acres of land for $155 on the south side of the Green River in Green County, Ky. Earlier, he had bought 2 lots in Greensburg, which he later sold. William was a carpenter, as were several of his sons and later his grandsons. In 1801, he was involved in a lawsuit brought by a Nathaniel Owens. William also made whiskey, and on Dec. 26, 1807, he was killed in a fight at his still. His youngest child was not born until over two months later.

An inventory of William's personal property in April 1808 lists among other items: 4 cows and 2 calves, 1 yoke oxen, 1 mare and colt, 1 horse, 2 sows and pigs, 304 ft. of walnut plank, 100 ft. poplar, sundry carpenter tools, 1 loom, 1 set warping spools, 1 flax wheel, 2 cotton wheels, 7 pair knitting needles, 18 lbs picked cotton, 17 books, 1 gun, 3 feather beds, and other household goods. The total value was estimated at $409.60.

Several of the Jones children eventually moved to Barren County. Sometime before June 1, 1844, William's widow, Nancy, married Richard Morrow, and they were living in Warren County, as her son, John, wrote her at that time saying he was teaching school in Barren County and that he had married Polly Young two weeks earlier. John also mentioned that his grandmother, Elizabeth Jenkins Wren, was living in the neighborhood where he taught with her son Isaac Wren.

The children of William and Nancy Wren Jones were:

1. John James, the eldest, was born in Virginia Sept. 9, 1786. He was 21 years old with his father was killed in Green County, Ky. He later bought large tracts of land in Barren County, Ky. John also taught school. He was very much against slavery, and this make him unpopular among a lot of the citizens of Barren County. John married Mary (Polly) Young (1793 - 1843) and they had eleven children. Some of their children were very active in the Underground Railroad.
2. Sophia, married Josiah Bingham on Jan. 31, 1811.
3. Elizabeth (1791 - 1835), married a Mr. Sherril.
4. Charlotte (1793 - 1863) went with her brother, John Jones, to Missouri about 1819, married William Houx, and spent the rest of her life in Missouri. We have several letters exchanged between her and her brothers.
5. Robert (1796 - 1877) married a Miss Sherril, sister to Elizabeth's husband.
6. Anna (1798 - 1870) married John Collier Goode. Anna's husband died young, and Anna's brother, Nicholas Wren, provided for them.
7. William Sowell (1800 - 1888) married Mary Hodges Twyman, and two of their sons had a store and post office at Coral Hill in Barren County for many years.
8. Mary Ann Sowell (1802 - 1815)
9. Nicholas Wren (1805 - 1884), our direct ancestor, married Mary Glazebrook. They lived in Barren County in a section between Nobob and Summer Shade that later became part of Metcalfe County.
10. Thomas (1808 - 1873) first married Cynthia Twyman, and they had two sons. Their sons died in 1841 from eating poisonous nettles, and Cynthia died soon after. Thomas then married Sally Doughtery, a widow. He lived in Glasgow, worked as a "house joiner", and we have some of his letters.

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