9002(».44" J4J-

MEMO'EIAl

6t TUB ' LAli'

HONOEAELE DAVID S. JONES.

WITH AN APPENDIX,

CONTAIl^G NOTICES OF TH£

JONES FAMILY, .OF QUEEN'S COUNTY.

NEW- YORE;
STANFORD AND 'SWORDS, 137, BROADWAY^
AND FOB SALE BY
BANKS, GOXJLD, & Co., 144, NASSAU-STEEET.

1849.

J. E. M'GOWN, PRINTER,
57, Ann-Street.

inteOducti.on.

In making up this little volume, the principal object of
the present writer was to collect together the differ
ent obituary notices of his late honored Father, in a
form less ephemeral than those in which they originally
appeared.*^ And in addition, to reprint the biogra
phical skitches of the more prominent members of
the family of Jones, of Queens County,
The memoir which precedes the obituary notices
may be jregarded as an illustrative commentary upon
them, a siiflple statement of fafcts, necessary to a more
eomplete view of the career of the subject of such
sincere and hearty eulogium.
The influence of the character of Mr. Jones, was
as extensive as the knowledge of it ; and a record
of the testimony of the best judges to his purity;
integrity, and elevation, is justly due to his good
fame — the richest legacy he has left his children.

IV
So circumscribed, however, is professional repu
tation, more especially in the case of the able lawyer,
than in that of the popular divine, or skilful physician,
that unless connected with distinguished p^Dlitical
standing, it appears to be comprehended almost
entirely within the limits of the profession. The
instance of Mr. Jones, furnishes no exception to this
position. He was known chiefly to the elder mem
bers of the Bar, his contemporaries, (for whom this
tribute is especially prepared,) and to the best por
tion of the society of New- York. But he should be
known to many more, and it is hoped that this slight
memorial may bring others acquainted with his name
and sterling attributes, who might not otherwise
liave become acquainted with either.
W. A. Jones.
June 20th, 184&.

MEMOIR.

David S. Jones, the sixth son of Hon. Samuel
Jones and Cornelia Haring, (a highly respec
table old New- York family,) was born at his
father's country-seat, West Neck, South Oys-
terbay, Queens county, November 3, 1777.
At an early period he came up to New-
York to school, and after the usual preparation
entered Columbia College, the head of his
class, a position he maintained throughout
his college course, graduating with the high^.
est honors, a member of the class of 1796.*
* May 4. — The sole surviving memlDers are Andrew
Grarr, Esq., and Dr. Wm. Turk, at one time, a surgeon in
the navy. 2

To his latest days the effects of a thorough
early training were evident; in. his literary
taste, correct and elegant ; a memory, strong,
quick, and ready, full of classic instances ; a
love of exactness and simplicity in language,
and a judgment naturally clear and pene
trating, rendered still clearer and stronger by
the study of mathematics, to which, no less
than for philological nicety, he had a natural
fondness. Soon after leaving college he was appoint--
ed private secretary to Gov. Jay, (between
whom and his father there existed a strong
and intimate affection,) and in whose family
he resided, at Albany, between two and three
years. On his return to New- York, Mr. Jones
became a student at law, in the best possible
school, that of his father, and eldest brother.*
It is needless to inform any person who is
at all acquainted with the history of the New-
* At present, one of the Judges of the Court of Appeals.

York Bench and Bar, for the last century, of
the professiorfg.! celebrity of this name. In
Thompson's history of Long Island, under an
historical memoir of Hon. Samuel Jones, may
be found a succinct but clear account of the
ancestry of Mr. Jones, two of whom were
ante-r evolutionary judges of the supreme
court of the colony. And since their day
there have been three generations of able
lawyers, preserving the succession of legal
.eminence, amongst whom are to be counted
three judges^ ^^jrith distinguished political par-
tizans in the senate and assembly of this state.
At that epoch of New- York society, (New-
York was theri a country town, the northern
boundary of which, within the memory of the
subject, of the present sketch, was St. Paul's
church,) every gentleman occupied that place
to which he was justly entitled from birth,
education, talents, professional skill, and per
sonal character-
First, among the first, Mr. Jones was pro-

minent as a gay and accomplished man of
fashion, a character he sustained with spirit
and vivacity. He took part in all the current
amusements and popular associations of the
day : as a young man, and ever afterward " a
knightly, gallant worshipper of the ladies." —
New- York has now grown to be a large city,
a cosmopolitan pietropolis, a western London
and Paris combined, of course very consider
ably smaller than either, and less elegant than
the latter ; yet possessing something of the
characteristic traits of both great cities, with
scarcely anything of Nieuw Amsterdam left
to declare its original. In gome wards, it is a
German colony ; in others, a French faubourg ;
here a Jews' quarter, and there a confused
mingling of the various British races. Qf
Americans residing here, a large body is from
New England ; and, it must be confessed,
there are few Knickerbockers left — but few
veritable New-Yorkers, in New- York.
Local feeling is weaker here than perhaps

in any city of the Union. A little band at
tempt to keep alive the spirit, but it is almost
extinct. Two of the latest addresses before
the St. Nicholas Society, on the last two an
niversaries, by Mr. C. F. Hoffman aiid Presi
dent Duer, show what might yet be done to
keep fresh the memory of the days and the
men -that are either gone, or rapidly passing
away. A history of -the colony and state, by
the first gentleman, and which would come
fitly from him, would crown an already en
viable reputation, literary and personal, by
superadding the graces of historical narration
to the united talent of the agreeable poet and
spirited prose-writer ; who is at the same time,
what so few American writers can justly
boast of being, an accomplished, liberal-
minded gentleman. President Duer is pre
eminently well fitted to write the social
history of the city, not only of the last quar
ter of the last century, but of this first half
of the present. No person has had better

10
opportunities than he of a wide and intimate
acquaintance with the first men of his day,
and with the various, changing history of the
city and of its society.
We may have gained vastly as to wealti^
and the increase of business, in trade and
manufactures, in the arts of life and elegan
cies of living, but we have lost ground iij.
sopae particulars. The old gentry are almost
all gone, the glories of the Bar have become
^natters of tradition.. The stateliness and
ceremonial of the old school of manners, are
considered unmeaning and ridiculous ; the
pleasing courtesies of conversation are met
rarely, save in a still lingering specimen of
the same old school, or in one of those few
gentlemen by nature, " God Almighty's gen
tlemen," who commence new families, and
are almost as rare as men of genius.
But the present writer, is altogether too
young a man to have a right to talk thus ; he
represents the views of .current conversation

11
of his elders, whom he has been accustomed
to defer to ; and although he does not feel
quite at liberty to dissent from their judg
ment, should not, perhaps, incur the censure
of being " laudator temporis acti," until his
head is greyer than it is now.
Before the Revolution, there existed un
questionably an aristocracy, which gave the
tone to the' colonial society, at the head of
which stood the chief officers of the crown,
the highest almost invariably being of no
ble fam.ily, at least, of gentle blood ; and
immediately after them ranked the most emi-^
nent professional characters, the clergy and
law almost on the same footing, and in ad
vance of the faculty ; the great landholders, '
6r patentees ; and the merchants, of the first
class. The bar, however," was pre-eminently
then the profession of a gentleman, and the-
republican road to politicg,! influeiice.
The profession of the law, is, and" always*
lias been,- the leading profession of the coun"'

12
try, from Boston to New Orleans, and partic
ularly here in New- York, even in this com
mercial metropolis. A good reason for this,
is found by the most sagacious foreign critic
of our government, De Tocqueyille, in the~
fact, that the bar forms essentially the bul
wark of political liberties, that it is pre-emi
nently the intelligent and fearless defender
of political rights ; at the same time, the true
conservator of law and order ; and while most
in harmony with the spirit of the best Repub
licanism, " the most powerful existing security
against the excesses of the democracy."
It has given the ablest orators, the finest
writers, the most sagacious statesmen, to the
country. Of our presidents, we believe, nine
out of the twelve had either been lawyers in
practice, or at least read law, with a profes
sional object.
The profound spefculatist quoted above
explicitly declares, " If I were asked where I
placed the American aristocracy, I should re-'

13
ply, without hesitation, . that it is not com
posed of the rich, who are united together by
no common tie, but that it occupies the judi
cial bench and the bar."
The Bench and Bar of that era, and of the
period preceding it, presented a galaxy of
talent since unequalled. From an interesting
discourse by President Duer, before the St.
Nicholas Society, last winter, we transcribe a
retrospection :
" In my attendance upon the courts, I
witnessed some of the best efforts of some of
the greatest men that ever adorned the bar.
I have listened in blind admiration to the
black letter learning of the elder Samu«l
Jones, and with breathless emotion to the
lucid and impassioned eloquence of Hamilton.
I have sometimes felt in danger of fascination
by the imposing self-possession and sententi
ous brevity of Burr, and actually captivated by
the graceful rhetoric of the classic but sarcas
tic Harison, the candid ingenuity of Brockholst

14
Livingston, and the legal acumen and Nisi
Prius tact of the elder Ogden Hoffman.
Nor did I the less appreciate the more homely,
but not less forcible, logic of Cosine and
Troup ; the special dry pleading of Caleb S.
Riggs ; or the elaborate arguments of the in
defatigable Pendleton, my old master, to whom
I was indebted, not merely for my professional
education, but for a friendship extended to
me when most needed, and ending only with
his life."
And, also, from an eloquent and discrimi
nating tribute, by Daniel Lord, Esq., to. the
memory of Chancellor Kent, on the occasion
of his decease, at a meeting of the bar, Dec.
14, 1847, we extract the following fine pas
sages : —
" The Bar who surrounded the court of
that day, our honored predecessors, were men
not to be forgotten. There was the sagacious,
the complete Hamilton; the honest-minded
Pendleton; Harison, the learned, the elabo-

rate ; Hoffman, that ingenious, polished master
of the advocate's art ; the deeply learned,
wide-searching Riggs; — these were the bar
over whom this youthful judge was to pre
side, the conflicts of whom he was to govern,
upon whose arguments he was to decide.
" And, coming to a later 'period, there was
a scarcely less brilliant array of mighty spirits.
Not daring now to name the living, now pre
sent with us, (and long may it be before it
shall be allowed to us in this way to name
them,) let me bring up to your view Emmet,
whose enlarged and extensive learning was
equalled by his child-like simplicity of heart ;
Colden, the polite scholar^ the speculative
philosopher, the able lawyer; also that model
of all that is venerable in our memory. Van
Vechten, whose teeming eloquence was Ci
ceronian, and charmed every heart ; the terse,
the highly gifted Henry ; the younger Jay,
full to abounding in every noble trait ; and
that union of scholar, lawyer, orator and gen-

16
tleman, John Wells. These were the men
whom the times brought forth, and who re
flected and also gave an illustrious light.
"Look also at the bench during the period
of which we speak. The ingenious, polished
Livingston ; the sound and judicious Radcliff;
Thompson, the honest, steady, and stanch
friend of all that was true and just; Van Ness,
the accomplished man of genius ; Piatt, the
sedate, the sober-minded ; and last, him, who
in every trait and lineament, in every part
and member, was every way a giant, Spencer.
With these associates, as competitors and co
adjutors, did Judge Kent dispense, justice. To
whom of them all was he unequal ?"
In the quasi war with France, Mr. Jones
was first lieutenant in a volunteer company,
commanded by Peter A. Jay.
About this time, Mr. Jones was a member
of a literary society, (qf which the late Peter A.
Jay was president,) composed, among others,
of Nathan Sand ford, Charles Baldwin, John

17
Ferguson, Jas. Alexander, Rudolph Bunner,
Goveurneur Ogden, the first Philip Hamilton,
William Bard, Wm. A. Duer, Philip Church,
John Duer, and Beverley Robinson ; of whom
the last five are the only survivors.
" For several- years after his marriage,"
writes President Duer, in a letter valuable for
its personal details, and still more for the
generous and kindly spirit it breathes, " he
observed a prudent but liberal economy in his
household and personal expenditure, and was
rewarded for his self-denial and forbearance
by such an increase of the fortune he in
herited,* and that subsequently acquired by
* From his father's marriage into the Herring family,
he became, through his wife, heir to a noble estate, of -which
Mr. Jones's share was large. Of that property, now so
yaluable, he died o-wning not one foot. He had made many
purchases, from time to time, of real estate ; but all that
he held at the time of his death lay in other sections of the
city. To give a general idea of the extent of the old Her
ring estate, it will be only necessary to mention, that the
farm enclosed upwards of a hundred acres, in the very best

1»
his own industry and exertions, as enabled
him freely to indulge the generous impulses
of his nature."
The same true friend writes thus of the
personal character of his old associate, with
whom he preserved an " intimacy cemented
by personal intercourse, and which soon ri
pened into mutual esteem and confidence,
uninterruptedly continuing for nearly half a
century. I had, therefore, ample means of
knowing the character of your father, and the
more I learned of it the more I learned to
respect, esteem, and love him. * * *
I can safely affirm, that from his youth his
moral character was unimpeachable, and that
he was early distinguished for that high
and nice sense of honor that accompanied
him through life. It was, no doubt, as much
part of the city ; and that, at the time of its division among
the heirs, in 1784, it ranked as the second landed estate in
the city. The Bayard farm alone exceeded it in value : the
.Stuyvesant farm was very far inferior to it.

19
to this chivalrous trait as to his professional
skill, that he owed the confidence so unre
servedly reposed in him by his clients, in
cases of the utmost delicacy and importance."
Duelling was, then, a fashion. Custom
had rendered it imperious to accept a chal
lenge or to incur the penalty of exclusion
from society in the event of a refusal to fight.
And hardly a lawyer of respectability, or gen
tleman of mark at that day can be mention
ed, who had not been engaged in an affair of
the kind.
A comparatively trifling cause led to a
hostile meeting between Mr. Jones and an
eminent advocate, and which, happily, result
ed in no serious injury to either party. It
was in compliance with the requirements
of public sentiment that Mr. Jones became
involved in an encounter of this nature.
The practice was then considered not only
defensible, but essential, on the ground of pre
serving a nice sense of honor and of cherish-

20
ing a delicate regard for the feelings of others.
It served as a check upon familiarity and
rudeness, and inspired sentiments of generosi
ty and devotion.
The estimation in which Duelling was
then held exists still in certain districts of
the South, where a condition of things is to
be found similar to that which prevailed
here in New- York formerly, and which gave
the tone to the manners of that period.
Masonry, too, was then a fashion. Mr,
Jones became a Royal Arch Mason, Master
of his Lodge, and Templar. In a prudential
and social point of view, this was a good school.
" Had the Institution of Masonry," says
Dr. Hosack, (Memoir of Dewitt Clinton,)
" been otherwise than the means of diffusing
the blessings of benificence and of that cha
rity, that best of virtues, that binds man to
man, it would never have received the uni
form support of men distinguished for their
intelligence, integrity,' and piety ; on the con-

21
trary, could it even tacitly have sanctioned
any departure from the strictest rules of recti
tude or honor, it would long since haye been
abandoned by the virtuous and wise.
'j^ While quite a young man, Mr. Jones's per
sonal intimates were Peter A. Jay, Maltby
Gelston, Beverly Robinson, Rudolph JBunner,
Philip Church, William A. Duer, John Duer
^nd Elbert Herring. The friends of his
youth were the friends of his age, and those
with whom he had been early familiar, re
mained his nearest friends , to his latest mo
ments. In later life, the names of John
Wells, and of Clement C. Moore in particu
lar, with that of Peter A Jay, ought to be
added to his list of near friendsi
With professed authors or artists he asso
ciated little, save those with whom he had
been early connected in New York society.
Irving and Cooper were among his personal
friends. Cooper, ^the actor, he often met in
society when young, and from him derived a
4

22
taste for elocution admirable for 'its impres-
siveness and dignity.
With some of the gentlemen above men
tioned, and certain others with whom he was
hardly less intimate, Mr. Jones was connected
in Columbia College and the City Library, *
* The New- York Society Library is one of the few old
New- York Institutions still remaining. The Charter was
originally drawn up by^^the Hon. Samuel Jones, in 1754 ; (a
collection having been in existence for nearly half a century
before, but had never been incorporated by an Act of
the Legislature.) During the war the Society was
broken up and most of the Books dispersed. So, that, at
the peace, only fragments remained of the former collection.
A few years after the Charter was confirmed by a special
Act, since which time the advancement of the Library has
been steady. With the exception of a locum tenens of one
year, and a longer interregnv/in, during the minority of the
present able and worthy Librarian, when his uncle occupied
the office, the duties of it have been fulfilled by father and
son, exclusively, since its creation. For both of these gen
tlemen Mr. Jones entertained a strong feeling of esteem and
confidence, which was warmly repaid by a genuine feeling
of respect and admiration. — This Library has been, and

23
(of which his father had drawn up the origi
nal charter,) two old New- York Institutions,
as Trustee ; in the former Institution, from
1820 to the day of his death; and in the lat
ter, from 1817 to 1836, with the intermission
of two. years — 1832-34.
A list of Mr. Jones's intimate associates,
(which should also number all of his clients,
who adhered to him through a long career,
and cherished a strong personal regard, be
side the early friends he never forsook during
middle life and up to the day of his death,)
would embrace the names of the first lawyers
of his time, and the foremost public characters
of the day in politics, the church, and general
society. With regard to the intercourse that sub
sisted between his most attached and confi-
should remain, the City Library, and ought to be liberally
sustained by prominent and wealthy individuals. It pro
perly serves as an upper college to the alumnus, and
miites also an agreeable resort for the general reader.

24
dential friends among these, and himself, we'
may quote the remark of Emerson — " I know
nothing which life has to offer so satisfying
as the profound good understanding which
can subsist, after much interchange of good
offices, between two virtuous men, each of
whom is sure of himself and of his friend."
With regard to the efficiency, and value of
his labors in the College Board of Trustees, we
quote the emphatic language of ex-President
Duer, which occurs in an address before the
alumni, July 24, 1848, critically just and warm
from his heart : — " There are others more re
cently deceased, who in their lives acquired
an honorable fame, and in their deaths were
deeply honored by their contemporaries — a
second Jay, an Ogden,' and a Jones* —
all of the same profession, and pursuing
the same walks in it ; preferring its more re
tired and confidential, to its more prominent
* Peter A. Jay, Thos. L. Ogden, and David S. Jones, Esqs.

25
and litigious paths. The intercourse and
sympathies of business drew closer between
them the ties of personal friendship. They
were more than able lawyers — they were
Christian gentlemen and scholars ; and in
their lives and deaths exemplified those cha
racters. They were not only among the most
meritorious of the Alumni of this College, but
among the most useful and active of its trus
tees ; and the counsel and support I received
from them in its superintendence vividly ex
cited my gratitude, encouraged me in diffi
culty, brightened the chain of mutual friend
ship that had existed between us from early
youth, and justify, whilst they prompt, this
passing tribute to their memory." (Page 25.)
And in a paragraph of the address before the
St. Nicholas Society, December 1, 1848, the
following generous tribute occurs, prompted
by the cordial friendship of the same distin
guished gentleman, to the memory of Mr.
Jones. The orator had been recording the

26
deaths of associates of the society during the
past year. " The other, (David S. Jones,) a
chivalrous and polished gentleman, a kind-
hearted and devoted friend, and a skilful prac
titioner in the more private and confidential,
though not less arduous and responsible,
branches of the law."
From early manhood, Mr. Jones was a
churchman and a federalist ; though, at one
period, so infrequent in his attendance at
church, that Bishop Hobart, who admired him
extremely, was accustomed to speak of him,
for his zeal and liberality, as a pillar of the
Church, but an outside pillar. When at his
country seat on Long Island, however, his
attendance was more constant, and he was
generally seen every Sunday morning, in his
pew in St. George's Church ; the Rev. Dr.
Carmichael, Hempstead, then rector. For
many years (from 1821-29 inclusive, with
the exception of the "year 1822) he was a lay
delegate from St. Mark's Church, New- York,

27
to the Diocesan Convention. He was a trus
tee of the General Theological Seminary from
its final establishment in New- York in 1822.
At the time of his decease he was senior
warden of St. Saviour's Church at Ma^peth,
L. I., which church he contributed greatly to
establish. In politics, too, though he took a decided
stand, he was anything but a politician, in
the common sense, for he always preferred
any sacrifice of ordinary advantages, rather
than resign his personal independence. Once
only, we believe, he, in common with others
of the same politicail fa.ith, voted for the de
mocratic candidate for President. If we do
not mistake, he voted for General Jackson,
impressed as he was by the force and energy
of his personal character, which he could not
but admire.
Mr. Jones held few public offices — but we
shall mention that in 1812-13 he was ap
pointed Corporation Attorney, an office then,

28
perhaps, of greater labor and responsibility
than at present. About this time, or a little
earlier, probably in 1806, during the first pro
fessional visit of the artist to New York, his^
portrait was painted by Sully, one of his ear
liest pictures in New- York, and a spirited
head full of power. *
He was married three times — first, to
Margaret Jones, of an entirely distinct family,-
daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones, t and grand-
* This head, considered by many as a defective like
ness, the writer had intended to procure an engra-viug of,
but desisted, in compliance with the opuiion of those who
knew the original, early in life, and who pronounced it un
faithful as a resemblance.
¦j- Dr. Thomas Jones was, perhaps, more eminent as a
whig than as a physician. He was a man of fortune, had
married a Livingston, and afterwards confined his practice
very much to his family connexions. He was a brother of
Dr. John Jones of Philadelphia, of revolutionary celebrity ;
and both were distinguished among their contemporaries as
scholars and gentlemen. — From " Reminiscenes of an Old
New Yorker," number five, a series of capital papers, fuU.-

29 -
daughter of Philip Livmgston, the Signer, one
of, whose sisters became, afterwards, the se.;
cond wife of De Witt Clinton. Second, to
Susan Le Roy, daughter of Herman Le Roy,
of the old firm of Le Roy, Bayard & Co.,
whose younger sister became the second wife
of Daniel Webster ; and third, to Mary Clin
ton, eldest daughter of De Witt Clinton. ^
By these several marriages Mr. Jones had
eighteen children, of whom nine are nov/
living.
of character and incident, and pleasant retrospection, pub
lished in the Americail Mail during the months of June,
July, and August, 1847.
Dr. John Jones, " ever to be remembered as a physi
cian to Washington, and the surgeon to Frankhn." — Dr.
J. W. Francis — .Armiversary Discourse before the New-
York Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Jones was one of the first Professors of Surgery in
Columbia (N. Y.,) College, under the Royal Charter, 1767-
1776 ; and also one of the Founders of the New- York Hos
pital. He was a medical writer of some eminence, and a
prominent Npohtician. His hfe has been written by Dr.
Mease, Dr. J. W. Francis, in Ency. Americana, &c.'
5

30
After a long and laborious professional
life, (of nearly fifty years, including the years
after his return to the bar,) Mr. Jones left
the city of New- York, April 1836, to realise
a project cherished from his youth, of passing
his latest years in retirement, amid the favo
rite scenes of his boyhood, and on the pater
nal soil. He bought an extensive property,
on which he built a noble mansion, and
made many and judicious improvements.
He called his domain Massapequa, after the
Indian name of the region. But owing to
disastrous circumstances, the fall of real
estate, and consequent pecuniary embarrass
ment, he lost heavily; gave up the place,
and returned to town and to the practice
of his profession during the winter of
1840. Few men have displayed equal manli-
ness in meeting a change of fortune : at
once he made an alteration in his style of
living, and applied himself to business with

31
the diligence of a young practitioner commen
cing his career. Just previously he had been
appointed Judge of his native county, which
office he retained but one year. Subsequently
he 'received the title of LL. D., from AUe-
ghany College, Meadville, Pa.
In the country he occupied himself chiefly
with building and laying out his grounds.
He was fond of making designs, and had the
eye and judgment of a good architect. These
employments ke|)t him much in the open
air, and stood in place of the more customary
yural occupations. The only country amuse
ment, out of doors, h@ cared for, was trouifish-
ing ; a legal sport, involving an exercise of the
meditative subtilty, congenial to the mind of
an equity lawyer and conveyancer. " Idle
time," as Sir Henry Wotton says, '* not idly
spent." To indulge this taste, he had formed
a noble pond, almost a lake, from a small
stream, the Massapequa Brook, * that ran
* ]\Jassapbqua. — The name of this Brook is an obvious

32
through his farm. Exercise, in the common
sense, Mr. Jones never took. At no period
of his life a pedestrian, and though fond of
horses in earlier years, yet latterly compara
tively indifferent about either riding or driving.
In his house the apostolic injunction of
hospitality was now, as ever, fully carried
memorial of the Massapequa Tribe, who formerly occupied
this territory. It is said that the import of this name has
been recently ascertained, ap-d is supposed to have origina
ted from the exclamation of some child of the forest, who
after slaking his thirst" in the purling stream, arose from
his hands and knees, with this expression — "Massapequa ;
Iliave drank enough, and more tlmn enough." — Prime's
History of Long Island.
The Massapequa, or Marsapeague Tribe, had their
principal settlement at the place called Fort Neck ; and
from thence eastward to the bounds «f Islip, and north to
the middle of the Island ; being the usual boundary of all
the tribes by a kmd of common consent. The only remarka
ble battle between the whites and Indians was fought with
this tribe, when their fort was taken and demolished by a
force under the command of Captain John Underbill, about
the year 165o. — Thompson.

33
out. He always loved to see a house and table
full of guests, whom he well knew how to
entertain. For the south side of Long Island, as his
birth-place and the seat of his ancestors for
several generations, he cherished from boy
hood a peculiar predilection. Strangers gene
rally find it uninteresting : it is remarkably
level, and lacks variety : being near the sea,
it has few trees, and is altogether unpicturesque.
But it had its distinctive charms for Mr. Jones.
He greatly preferred a champaign to a hilly
country, in all probability from early associa
tion, and partly, no doubt, from the character
of his mind, which was comprehensive and
liberal. A pleasing sense of solitude and re
moteness from the bustle of the city, " the
busy hum of men ;" the bracing salt air, de
lightfully cool in summer, and invigorating
at all seasons ; the admirable roads ; to say
nothing of the warm hospitality of the family
/connexions, and a common local interest in

34
the place ; rendered it an agreeable residence
for several years.
The last four or five years of Mr. Jones's
life were divided between his town residence
and his country seat at Maspeth, ^the former
seat of De Witt Clinton.) It is a charrning
spot, cool and sequestered, overshadowed by
noble trees, and situated in the midst of a
pleasant country. Mr. Jones employed him,-
self here as at his former place, Massapequa,
though upon a very much smaller scale. One
of his very latest wishes was to visit this place,
and he confidently expected to become well
enough to go there for the summer, only a day
or two before his death ; while, indeed, he
was dying.
He died Wednesday, May 10, 1848, in his
71st year, at his residence, 77 Fifteenth-street,
after a very brief illness. He had been at his
office on the previous Saturday, but looking
miserably, and, as he confessed, feeling far
from well. Yet neither his family nor him:

¦ 35
self had the least conception of the nearness
of his death. A violent cold, giving rise to a
peculiar affection of the throat and lungs,
(Typhoid pneumonia, according to Dr. J. W.
Francis, and fatal in three days,) acting upon
an exhausted frame, was the proximate cause
of his decease. Anxiety of mind, in relation
to business concerns, in particular, had a large
share in hastening the progress of his disease,
which was fearfully rapid.
During his illness he uttered not a com
plaint : having little or no faith in medicine,
he occupied his mind with matters of serious
import and reflection.; though, up to within a
few hours only of his departure, he had no
idea of its extreme closeness. He suffered
comparatively little (to all appearance) in
body, except from extreme debility, and his
mind was unclouded and clear to the last.
His death was without ostentation, though
marked by an unaffected dignity.

36

" And which is best and happiest yet, all this,
With God not parted from him,
But favoring and assisting to the end.
Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wad.
Or knock the breast ; no weakness, no contempt.
Dispraise or blame — nothing but well and fair,
And what may quiet us, in a death so noble."
He was happy in the circumstances of his
death : it came -with comparative suddenness.
But when' is death other than sudden, how
ever long expected ? It almost always gives
a shock. This mode of death he had always
desired, arid used to say that he could not
join heartily in that petition of the Litany
against " sudden death." The noble passages
of Shakspeare against fear of death were among
his favorite quotations. (Julius Caesar, act
iii., scene 2nd, and Measure for Measure, act
iii., scene 1st.) He would die, if Heaven
pleased, with no long illness preceding ; not
enfeebled by age and misery ; in full vigor of
mind ; with manly decorum. The infirmities
of age he dreaded, and never lived to experi-

37
ence. Death-bed repentance with the wisest
and best he justly held to- be doubtful and^,
tardy; that a man would be judged by the^
general tenor of his life and conducj.: and
that when it came to the last, we were in the
merciful hands of our Almighty Father, on
whose providence we might safely rely, if..
seriously repentant. He thus died, himself
realising the motto of the Jones family 
" Trust inljod."
Premature burial alone he ever expressed
a natural horror of; and his requ^t, stated
repeatedly for years previous, that his body
should be kept for three full days and three'
nights, was obsepred beyond the letter. He
expired Wednesday, May 10, seven a.m., and
was buried the snoceeding Saturday, five p.m.'
His funeral was " an old New-York fu
neral," as some one remarked at the time,
and attended by the best portion of the bar.
The pall bearers w'ere — Professor Clement C.
Moore, LL.D., Hon. John L. Lawrence, Hon.
6

38
John Duer, Hon. David B. Ogden, Hon. Philip
Hone, Hon. John A. King, General Edward
W. Laight, and Beverly Robinson, Esq.
The full funeral services were performed
by Rev. Drs. Seabury and Wainwright, and
Rev. Messrs. Southard and Walsh, in St.
Mark's Church. His body was deposited in
the family vault in the churchyard.
After the admirable characters drawn of
Mr. Jones, and which appeared shortly after
his decease, it would seem almost a work of
supererogation to attempt any thing further of
the same kind. This the present writer has
no thought of doing ; but even so slight a
sketch as the foregoing appears to demand a
few words in addition, to be derived from
personal reminiscence.
To preserve the truth of portraiture, it is
but just to display the different qualities of
the same character ; and, to obviate the cen
sure of those who may consider concealment
of even venial faults to be equally a defect

39
with over-praise, we do not hesitate to speak
of the defects of his character.
Vices he had none ; of meanness he was
utterly incapable ; bat he had his weaknesses,
and a portion of those failings, some (more or
less) of which fall to the lot of every human
being. In temper Mr. Jones was quick and
irritable, the effect of temperament, and the
accompaniment of a generous and impulsive
character ; but malice or illiberality found no
place in his heart. Though choleric and hasty,
he was prompt to atone for the least error of
speech or act; and sought to repair the ill
effect, even of unconscious prejudice. Self-
consideration he appeared sometimes to carry
to excess ; but his frank, genial egotism could
offend none who knew his genuine merit.
Like most cordial men, he often talked freely
of his affairs and opinions, and seemed to lay
too much stress upon them ; but his vanity
never exposed him to assumption of undue
importance. He occupied no position the

40
duties of which he did not exactly fulfil. He
rated himself justly ; though he could not but
feel an instinctive superiority within himself
over the majority of mankind.
He was proud, and with good reason, of
his family, his profession, his standing in it
and in society, and of his chosen friends.
Content with the esteem and affection of these,
he cared little for popular applause, (much as
he was gratified by the just and cordial ap
probation of the wise and the good,) and was
perhaps a little careless in expressing his low
estimate of it. Hence, he passed with many
for a proud and haughty man. That he was.
in truth, very far removed from this character,
we may appeal to the best witnesses, the
friends of his youth, the friends of his man
hood and of his latest years. Of the features
of his character, on which they have expati
ated, and with so much sincerity and warmth,
and generous devotion to his memory, we
shall not attempt to draw a sketch; only

41
adding our personal testimony to the perfect
genuineness of the picture, painted in such
lively and lasting colors.
Mr. Jones was eminently a lover of home,
its quiet and comforts. Except, however, at
dinner, he saw little of his family, as most of
his time was spent in his study, (this was
more especially the case before he left town,
in 1836, for Long Island,) hard at work, often
protracting his labors until late in the night.
His habit wa& to' sit at least an hour at dinner,
at which he loved to indulge in conversation.
He talked much and well, with readiness,
spirit, and variety of resources. His table was
a school for his children, where he sought not
only to teach the minute decencies of etiquette,
but took occasion to impress principles and
lessons of manly duty and generous conduct,
which he illustrated in his own life.
As a host he was unrivalled. Few men
could so skilfully harmonize the sometimes
discordant materials of a large formal dinner.

42
He knew the proper place of every guest, and
gave him that attention and courtesy which
was his due.
But his dinners, professional or general,
were so managed as seldom to require tact of
this kind ; and without effort, at the head of
his table, among chosen friends, he was gay,
friendly, and sincere.
All the minor accomplishments of an ac
complished gentleman were possessed by him,
and served to fill up the intervals of repose
or recreation from business.
The depende-iits of his bounty never felt
the weight of obligation from his ungracious
ness or assumption. In giving aid or counsel,
generosity of spirit, and considerate manner
always accompanied a generous act.
He was beloved by his personal atten
dants, with whom, without art, and in spite
of occasional defects of temper, he, in almost
every case, became an object of admiration as
well as of gratitude.

43
The personal appearance of Mr. Jones
was commanding, emphatically that of a gen
tleman. His head was cast in a classic
mould, and his features finely cut. His eye
was remarkable for intelligence and expres
siveness ; it combined sweetness with spirit,
and reflected every emotion of his soul. His
figure was above the ordinary height, and
so formed that all the movements of if were
graceful without' design. His carriage wais
stately, his manners dignified, and his pres
ence noble.
His voice was uncommonly cleat, deep,
and sonorous, well adapted to grave oratory,
and had not his legal genius taken a different
bent, and the important trusts confided
to him, engrossed his attention, he might
have attained the first rank of forensic repu-
tation. As it was, he was an impressive
speaks, especially in the Court of Chancery,
or before the Bench of fc.e higher Courts.
His reading was eminently fine, spiritedy

44
and imjiressive, (lacking, perhaps, a little in
flexibility of tone,) especially in the Bible
and Shakespeare ; the pointed couplets of
Dryden and Pope, he gave with effect. In or
dinary conversation, the tones of his voice
Were varied and musical,
Mr. Jones was thoroughly well read in
Shakespeare and the English poets,~from Dry
den down, and, in a word, he had that ac
quaintance with classical and modern litera
ture, with history and the topics of general
good conversation, possessed by well educated
gentlemen of his own standing. In the current
literature of the day, except in the very light
est works of amusement, he took little inter
est. And the very modern poetry had little
attractions for him. His reading lay more
peculiarly among the Augustan writers of
Anne and George III. For purely Belles-let
tres studies, since early manhood, he had not
found time; and exc%t for a few masterly
writers, hardly retained a predilection.

45
His opinions on moral, political, social,
and religious questions were invariably sound
and just. He took up no idea or theory
hastily ; had no crudie fancies. His mind
was eminently practical and clear. No man
of his class and rank, spoke or wrote with
less irrelevancy or with less of point and di
rectness. His letters were altogether occu
pied with business : (Mr. Jones had no taste
for original composition ; he had travelled
little; only on occasions of business, and on
the fashionable excursions of summer tourists,)
and he preferred talking upon politics and
about books and individuals, to writing On
either of those subjects. Hence the material
of his correspondence is wanting in general
interest. The style of his letters was brief,
pointed, and direct. He was peculiarly direct
and perspicuous in his law papers, also : which
were models of their kind. In his case, chiro-
graphy served as a true test of character, and
which was marked by decision and strength.
7

46
We do not know that we can better con
clude this brief sketch than by quoting the
following admirable portraiture of Mr. Jones
in his judicial character, from the pen of A.
J. Spooner, Esq., well known both at the
New- York and Long Island Bars, and also, in
his connexion with the Brooklyn Star, for cour
tesy, intelligence, and genuine worth : —
"In his character as judge he had one
merit, which is always a leading qualifica
tion — decision. He invariably decided every
thing submitted to him while the matter was
freshly in mind ; and I do not recollect an in
stance where for any reason he kept hope de
ferred, or delayed to pronounce a judgment
for fear of offence. His mind was eager, his
attention close, his conclusions rapid, and
promptly uttered, with the reasons which en
forced them. I have no recollection of any
judgments of his which were found to be
erroneous on review. I had the opinion — and
this, I know, was entertained by several of

47
the Bar of Queens — that his former exclusive
devotion to chancery practice had left him
more limited in the ready knowledge of the
common law and its practice than would
otherwise have been the case. ' A strong lean
ing towards equity would always manifest
itself; though, when the rule of law was ren
dered clear by authority, he was ready to
admit and adopt it. Had he lived in the day
of the present reformed practice of the courts,
his attainments upon the Bench would have
found wider scope, and been generally ac
knowledged. " One thing is certain. On the County
Bench, no sinister influence dared approach
Judge Jones. I believe his integrity to have
been perfectly crystalline, and it gave him
the confidence of the Bar and of the county.
" There was, it is true, a seeming imperi-
ousness and self-will about Judge Jones. It
was difficult for him to submit his judgment
to that of the lay members of the Bench, in

48
a very few cases where they overruled him:
He did not hesitate, however, to pronounce
their judgment courteously, while he expressed
his own dissent, and his self-love soon relaxed
into the most cordial kindness and good will.
" He was most careful to enforce and pre
serve all the decencies and proprieties of a
court of justice. He was rigorous in exacting
of grand jurors and others a strict attention
to their duties. He evidently desired fully
and conscientiously to do his duty ; and I do
not know that in his brief judicial career he
was ever charged with, or suspected of, sacri
ficing the public business to his own private
affairs, or an inclination to consult his own
ease."

OBITUARY NOTICES

OBITUARY NOTICES.

From Courier and Inquirer, (0. King, Esq.) May 11th,
1848.
In announcing the decease of David S. Jones,
we are called upon to-day to record the death
of an old and valued friend, of an able and
upright lawyer, of a zealous and spirited
citizen, of a man of honor, and a gentleman,
in all the best acceptations of these words.
Mr. Jones was so widely known as to render
any general notice of his career superfluous.-
Identified with this city frOm his earliest
youth, taking a deep interest in its prosper
ity and improvement, and himself largely
interested therein, he has witnessed, and con
tributed not a little to its growth, from a
village to a metropolis.

52
As a lawyer, and especially in the prepa
ration of legal instruments, upon the accuracy
and fidelity of which the rights of property
so largely repose, Mr. Jones was of approved
skill, caution, and regularity, and he was con
sequently widely consulted and employed.
In the higher departments, too, of the profes
sion, as advocate and counsel, his practice
was large ; and in the discharge of his duties
as a lawyer, not less than in the daily inter
course of life, he was guided invariably by
the same high principles. He stooped to no
unworthy or questionable practices, and was
as incapable of trick as of treachery. A man
of sound understanding, of strong . attach
ments, of most liberal and generous conduct,
of frankness and manly speech, of approved
integrity, and acting always under a lofty
and conscientious sense of duty to God and to
man, he has left behind him on earth not one
of whom, more truly than himself, can be said,
there was a Man.

53

From Commercial Advertiser, May 13, 1847.
" The late David S. Jones. — At a meeting
of the Bar of the city of New- York, called for
the purpose of testifying their respect for the
inemory of their deceased friend and brother,
David S. Jones — whose funeral is to be at
tended to-day — David B. Ogden, Esq., was
called "to the chair ; George Griffin, George
Wood, Beverly Robinson, and David Codwise,
Esqs., were appointed vice-presidents ; and
Francis B. Cutting, J. Prescott Hall, and
James Lorimer Graham, Esqs., secretaries.
Mr. Duer,* from the committee appointed
at a previous meeting of the Bar for that pur
pose, reported the resolutions that follow,
which he introduced with some appropriate
remarks in relation to the professional and
personal character of the deceased.
He spoke, in substance, as follows :
* Hon. John Duer, at present one of the Judges of the
Superior Court of this city.
8

54
We have lost, Mr. Chairman, one of the
oldest and most valued of our personal friends,
and the Bar one of its most esteemed and
honorable members — David S. Jones. We
are now assembled to testify our respect to
his memory, and for that purpose I have been
instructed to offer a series of resolutions, that
I doubt not will be found to express the sen
timents of all who are present. Before the
resolutions are read, however, there are a very
few words that I wish to say. I do not mean
to offer a formal eulogy on our deceased friend,
but there is a tribute of praise to which he is
most justly entitled, and which, as one of the
oldest of his friends, I feel it my duty to ren
der. I shall not dwell upon his professional
merits and attainments, but I am sure that
all to whom he was as well known as to you
and to myself, will bear me out in saying,
that as an equity lawyer, and a real-property
la-wyer, he had few superiors in our profession.
" There was none to whom the difficult

56
and responsible task of drawing a complex
will, or an intricate marriage or family settle
ment, could be more safely entrusted. There
was no man more cautious and vigilant in
watching over the interests of his clients ;
none who had a deeper sense of the responsi
bility which the relation of lawyer and client
creates ; none who was more conscientious,
more arduous, or more faithful in discharging
the duties which the relation imposes. But
it was chiefly of his personal qualities that I
meant to speak, and, if I mistake not, there
is a single word, that, properly and fully un
derstood, will be found to express his character
— the character that all admitted him to pos
sess, and which, throughout his life, and under
all circumstances, he uniformly sustained.
" David S. Jones was emphatically a gen
tleman. He was so in the truest and fullest
sense of the term. I mean that he was not
merely a man of polished manners, attentive
to the best forms and observances of society.

56
but that his feelings were pure and lofty, his
sentiments refined and elevated — I mean that
he was a man of a delicate sense of honor, of
stainless integrity and perfect truth. Nor was
this all : he was a man of warm and generous
affections — of strong and enduring attach
ments — exemplary in all the private relations
of life, and to those who possessed his esteem
and confidence, a steady, zealous, devoted
friend. Nor was he merely a sunshine friend.
In the hour of trial and difficulty, and the day
of adversity, he shrank from no personal sacri
fices that the claims and duties of friendship
seemed to demand. In short, Mr. Chairman,
we have lost a man whose character and vir
tues rendered him an ornament to society,
and an honor to our profession ; and we should
be forgetful of our duties, and recreant to our
honor, if we failed to render a suitable tribute
of respect to his inemory. It is with this con
viction that I offer the following resolutions,
and move their adoption : —

57
The resolutions were then read, arid being
duly seconded, were unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That the members of the Bar
of the city of New- York have heard with deep
regret of the sudden and unexpected decease
of their respected friend and brother, David
S. Jones, who has for many years held a dis
tinguished rank in the profession, and an
elevated position in society, for his high-toned
integrity, his generosity and benevolence, and
the possession of all those qualities and attri
butes that constitute the character of a gen
tleman. Resolved, That the members of the Bar
deeply sympathise with the family of the de
ceased in their bereavement, and wear the
usual badge of mourning for the ensuing
month. Resolved, That these proceedings be pub
lished, and a copy of the resolutions, signed
by the presiding officers, be transmitted to the
family of the deceased."

58
From The Churchman, (Rev. Dr. Seabury,)
May 20, 1848.
" It becomes our painful duty to record
the death of the Hon. David S. Jones, who
expired, at his residence in this city, on Wed
nesday, May 10th, in the 71st year of his age.
Mr. Jones was a man of strongly marked
character, of noble and generous sympathies,
of high sense of honor, vigorous intellect,
and inflexible integrity. A son of the Hon.
Samuel Jones, " the father of the New- York
Bar," inheriting many of his father's traits of
character, and trained under his eye to the
legal profession, he formed in early life those
habits of discrimination and research, of accu
racy and promptitude in business, which paved
the way to his professional eminence. Before
the age of twenty-one, he was appointed by
Gov. Jay, his private secretary, a delicate and
responsible office, which Mr. Jay had himself
filled in the eventful period of the Revolution.
In this situation, Mr. Jones was brought into

59
intercourse with some of the most distin
guished men of the day, and laid the founda
tion of intimacies and friendships' which were
afterward the pride and solace of his life, and
were continued with unabated warmth until
they were interrupted by death.
But, though favored by his early advan
tages and associations, Mr. Jones did not rely
on them to build up for himself a factitious
reputation ; but, devoting himself to his pro
fessional pursuits with indomitable energy and
untiring industry, he fairly earned the sterling
reputation which he enjoyed. During the fifty
years that he was at the Bar, he never failed
a day to be at his office, except on days which
religion has consecrated to higher purposes, or
on which he was detained at home by a death
in his family. As a natural consequence, h6
became eminent in that department of law to
which his attention was chiefiy directed : the
soundness of his legal opinions, the dispatch
and prompitude, the accuracy, and fidelity of

60
his business habits, combined with his lofty
integrity, gave him a distinguished position
in society, and rendered his profession a source
of emolument and honor.
In ecclesiastical affairs, Mr. Jones took an
active arid conspicious part, and enjoyed the
full confidence of the late Bishop Hobart, as
well as of the present Bishop of this Diocese,
for his sound, orderly, and conservative views.
For many years he was a lay delegate from
St. Mark's Church, in this city, to the Dio
cesan Convention. He was a trustee of the
General Theological Seminary, from its final
establishment in this city in 1822, and until
his removal from the city, a few years since;
one of its Standing Committee. At the time
of his decease, he was Senior Warden of St.
Saviour's Church, Maspeth, having been
chosen to that office, at the organization of
the parish, last year. He was also, for the
last twenty years of his life, one of the most
faithful and efficient members of the Board

61
of Trustees of Columbia College, of which
institution, he was an Alumnus. In all these
appointments, he was remarkable for his
regularity, punctuality, and diligence, in the
discharge of the duties -which they devolved
on him. Those who have been associated
with him in the conduct of these institutions,
or who have had occasion to confer with him
confidentially on their affairs, will bear wit
ness to the penetration and solidity of his
judglnOnt, and to the infiexible honesty of
purpose which determined him to the pursuit
of their true interests, even when they came
(as they sometimes did) in collision with his
cherished personal predilections, or the soli
citations of friends.
Like most men of strong natural feelings,
Mr. Jones acted much from impulse ; but his
impulses were not capricious ; they neither
interfered with the steadiness of his friend-
Ship, nor warped his convictions of truth and
equity. They were the impulses of a gener-

62
ous mind recoiling from disguise and decep
tion : of one —
Whose tongue and heart did not turn backs ; but went
One way, and kept one course with what he meant.
Who used no mask at aU, but ever ware'
. His honest inclination open-faced ; , .
and whose sympathies freely flowed forth in
behalf of every meet object that appealed to
his benevolence and humanity. His gener
osity was remarkable : when applied to by
the Bishop of the Diocese, for the furtherance
of a good object, he has been known to send
a blank check with his signature, to be filled
up with any amount which the applicant
chose to insert; and when obliged, in his
latter years, to retrench his expenses, he has
been often known to say that the Church,
and its institutions, should be the last object
from which his benefactions should be with
drawn. Mr. Jones's health was such, as to allow
him to attend to his usual professional duties

63
until a few days before his death. He re
tained the full possession of his mental facul
ties to the last ; he was perfectly conscious
of his situation ; received, at his own request,
the Holy Communion ; and met his death
with composure, resignation, and christian
faith. Since the above was written, the follow
ing appropriate resolutions have been sent us
for publication. At a meeting of St. Saviour's Church,
Maspeth, L, I., convened on the 15th day of
May, 1848, the following Preamble and Re
solutions were unanimously adopted :
Whereas, it hath pleased Almighty God
in his wise Providence to remove from our
midst our late respected Senior Warden ;
Resolved, That in the death of our late
Senior Warden, David S. Jones, the members
of this Vestry mourn the loss of a sincere
Christian, a warm friend, a kind neighbor,
and an estimable and upright man.

H
Resolved, That the eminent virtues of Mr.
Jones, his integrity, liberality, and truthful
ness, and above all, the zeal, disinterestedness,
and energy, manifested in his efforts, happily
successful, to establish the Church in our
neighborhood, claimed our admiration and
respect while he was living, and endear to us
his memory now that he is taken from us.
Resolved, That we tender our kindest
sympathies to the bereaved widow and family
of our departed friend, in their deep affliction.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions,
signed by the Rector and Clerk, be trans
mitted to the widow and family of Mr. Jones.
Acopy. James Maurice, Clerk of the Vestry.

65

The Rev. Mr. Walsh, in the very first sermon preached on
the completion of (St. Saviour's) the Maspeth parish
church, on the Sunday but one immediately succeeding
Mr. Jones's' death, paid the following heartfelt and sin
cere tribute to the memory of the deceased. The refer
ence occurred in a sermon, the text of which was the
7th verse of the 56th chapter of the Book of the Prophecies
of Isaiah.
" But while we have every reason to be
thankful to our heavenly Father, who has so
far blessed and prospered our undertaking,
yet there is one circumstance which is justly
calculated to sadden our joy, and to lessen the
satisfaction we cannot but feel, in celebrating
our first services in this church. You doubt
less anticipate me, in referring to the loss of
our senior warden, Mr. David S. Jones, who,
if not now ' absent from the body,' would,
in all probability, have joined with us in the
services of this day ; but who, removed from
us by a few days' illness, is, we trust, ' present
with the Lord.'

66
" It is not my intention, in referring to our
departed friend, to speak of his character,
either as regards his public or social life.
Those tributes of respect have already been
paid to his memory ; and all of you were suf
ficiently acquainted with him to appreciate
his excellence and worth in these relations.
I cannot, however, but refer to his character
as a member of the Church, and as an officer
of our parish. Born and educated in the
Church, Mr. Jones had been, from early life,
a devoted friend to its interests. He became,
in maturer years, the friend and counsellor of
the late Bishop Hobart, and, up to the time
of his decease, was an efficient member of
various Church institutions. His endeavors
to do good were warmly manifested in his
generous responses to all meet appeals to his
benevolence. He was indeed noble in his
liberality. During the past year, I incidentally
learned from his own lips, that it was his
custom, even in the time of his greatest pros-

67
perity, to set aside nearly a tenth of his in
come for charitable and religious uses ; and I
have also heard, from a clergyman, of whose
parish he was formerly a member,' that he
had expressed to him the opinion "that it was
-too often the case that Christians, in the day
of adversity, retrenched their offerings for the
poor and for the Church, rather than their
personal expenses ; that the contrary should
be the rale ; and, for his own part, his gifts to
the Church should be the last item on the list
of his expenditure which should be reduced.'
It was therefore a matter of principle with
him to do good to all men, and especially unto
them that are of the household of faith ; and
the manner in which he acted upon it was a
plain mark of the sincerity and conscientious
ness which stamped his*Christian character.
As an officer of our paris^', ,^Mr. Jones mani
fested, from its organization, by his exertions
as well as his counsel, the liveliest interest in
its prosperity. All who have been associated

68
-with him can bear witness to the fidelity and
punctuality with which he met all his en
gagements, and to the zeal and energy with
which he interested his personal friends in
contributing to the erection of this edifice.
His great desire, often expressed within the
last few months to many of us, was to be
allowed to witness its completion, and to'
assemble with us on this occasion.,
^' But it has pleased God in His wisdom to
order events otherwise ; and we now mourn
the loss of one who was a devoted friend id
the welfare and prosperity of our parish.
" His closing hours were befitting the
Christian. He yielded with resignation to
the will of God, trusting "to realize, through
the merits of our Saviour's atoning blood, the
blessed hope of everlasting life.
"While our loss, therefore, casts a shade
over our present joy, it should also admonish
Us to renewed exertion and to greater devotion
in the Christian life. Our life is but short :

69
eternity is long. May we so strive for those
true joys which are to be found at God's right
hand, that, when summoned to leave this
world, we may with joy and hope enter upon
the eternal."

10

APPENDIX.

NOTICES

JONES FAMILY, OF QUEEN'S COUNTY.

APPENDIX

Memoir of Hon. Samuel Jones, from Thompson's
History of Long Island.
Hon. Samuel Jones.* — The first American ancestor
of this gentleman was Major Thomas Jones, -who
emigrated from Ireland to Rhode Island in 1692, and
married Freelove, daughter pf Thomas To-wnsend,
fronq -whom, in 1696, they received a large and valu
able tract of land on Long Island, called " Fort
* The memoir 'by Mr. Thompson is retained, in preference to an
original notice drawn up by a most competent hand, in which certain
points were omitted which Mr. Thompson had included ; and, indeed,
after examining all the family. records we could procure, and aided by
the best lights, we do not see how, so far as exactness and perspicuity
is concerned, it could be improved. Mr. Thompson had a peculiair
tiim for such researches, and had sifted his materials pretty thoroughly :
he has left us little to glean. It is true, he has. mingled tradition and
history ; but it is, in some cases, difficult {o separate them ; and he
has invariably stated where he relies purely upon the former.

74
Nech."^ Here Mr. Jones erected a d-welling, -which
stood 140 years, and -was kno-wn to travellers as the
" old hrick house."
f The most interesting portion of this part of the town is that
known by the name of Fort Neck, so called on account of- two old
Indian forts, the remains of which are still Very conspicuous. One
of these is situated on the most southerly point of land adjoining
the salt meadow, and is nearly, if not exactly, a square, being about
thirty yards on each side. The breast-work or parapet is of earth,
and there is a ditch or moat on the outside, which appears to have been
about six feet wide. The other fort was on the southernmost point
of the salt meadow adjoining the bay, and consisted of palisadoes set
in the meadow. Tlie tide has worn away the meadow where the
fort stood, and the place is now a part of the bay, and covered
with water. In the bay, between the meadow and the beach, are two
islands, called Squaw Islands ; and the uniform tradition of the Indians
was, that the forts were erected by their ancestors, a great while ago,
for defence against their enemies ; and that upon their approach, the
women and children were sent to these islands, which occasioned
them to be so called. The first and most substantial dwelling
erected here by the white people was the old hrick house, said to
have been built by Major Thomas Jones in 1695. It was doubtless
considered a more than ordinary specimen of architecture in that day,
and finished in a superior style. Many improbable fictions in relation
to the owner of the mansion have been preserved, and more strange,
not to say marvellous legends, have been cherished and circulated in
regard to the edifice itself, which ignorance and superstition have not
failed to magnify, and sufficient to fill the lonely and benighted tra-

75

, Of the many traditions in relation to this extra
ordinary personage, very little can be relied upon.
That he -was in some way connected with the buca-
neers of that period is not improbable, for he had
veller with fear and anxiety. A correspondent 6f the M-ew-Yori:
Mirror, (now known to be the late ingenious William P. Hawes, Esq.)
a few years since, speaking of the brick house, says : "This venerable
edifice is still standing, though much dilapidated, and is a,n object of
awe to aU the people in the neighborhood. The traveller cannot
fail to be struck with its reverend and crumbling ruins, as his eye
first falls upon it irom the turnpike ; and if he has heard the story,
he wDl experience a chilly sensation, and draw a hard breath while
he looks at the circulE^r sashless window in the gable end. That
window has been left open ever since the old man's death. His
sons and grandsons used to try all manner of means in their power to
close it up. They put in sashes, and they boarded it up, and they
bricked it up ; but all would not do : so soon as night came, then-
work would be destroyed, and strange sights would be seen, and
awful voices heard." This curious and venerable relic of bye-gone
ages stood for a period of more than one hitndred and forty years,
unscathed, except by the hand of time ; and until IBS'?, when it was
removed to make way for the extensive improvements of David S.
Jones, Esq., near which he has erected one of the most costly and
magnificent mansions in the state. The appendages to this splendid
establishment are in keeping with the principal edifice, and do credit
to the liberality and taste of their opulent proprietor. — Thompson's
History of Long Island. Town of Oyster-Bay.

76

been a soldier at the famous battle of the Boyne,
fought between the English under William III., and
the Irish under James II., in 1690 ; and as an ac
knowledgment for services rendered by him, he re
ceived from his royal master a commission to cruise
against Spanish property, which, in all probability,
he made a liberal use of, and thereby accumulated
considerable wealth. Some trophies of his enterprises
are still preserved among his descendants. He en
tered largely into the commerce of that day, the
taking of whales along shore, which gave much em
ployment to the Indians, who were very expert in
that business. In 1704 he was commissioned by
Lord Cornbury, sheriff of Queens county, and in 1710
was appointed ranger general for the island of Nassau.
He died in 1713, and, agreeably to his own desire,
was interred near the creek, at the bottom of the
upland, on his own farrn, and not far from one of the
old Indian forts. The inscription at his grave, written
by himself, is as follows :
" From distant lands, to this wild waste he came,
This seat he choose, and here he fixed his name.
Long may liis sons this peaceful spot enjoy.
And no ill fate their offspring e'er annoy."
His widow after his death intermarried with Ma-

77
jor Timothy Bagley, a retired British officer, and
died in July, 1726. Major Jones left issue David,
Thomas, William, Margaret, Sarah, Elizabeth, and
Freelove. Of these, Thomas was drowned in the
Souiid unmarried ; Margaret married Ezekiel Smith ;
Sarah married Gerardus Clowes ; Elizabeth married
Jeremiah Mitchell ; and Freelove married Thomas
Smith. David Jones, eldest son, was born Sept. 1699, and
to him was devised, in tail, most of the paternal estate.
Being educated for a lawyer, and possessed of a
powerful intellect, he became greatly distinguished-
in his profession, and was esteemed a man of very
superior juridical attainments. In 1737, he was
chosen to the provincial assembly, and was continued
in that body till 1758. For thirteen years he filled
the office of speaker, and had the firmness on one
occasion to close the doors of the assembly against
the governor, until a bill then under discussion could
be passed, and which his excellency intended to defeat
by prorogation. He married Anne, daughter of Col.
William Willett, by whom he had issue Thomas,
David, William, Arrabella, Mary, and Anne. She
died January 31, 1751. His second wife was Mary,
widow of John Tredwell, by whom he had no children,
11

78
In 1758, he was appointed a judge of the supreme
court of the colony, which he held till 1773. His
death occurred October 11, 1775. During his whole
life, and in every situation, he proved the unyielding
advocate of the rights of the people, and few men
ever shared more largely ia the public confidence
and respect.
By suffering a common recovery, his life estate was
converted into a fee, which he devised to his eldest
son TJiomas for life, with remainder, on failure of
issue, to the testator's eldest dau-ghter Arrabella, and
her issue in tail. The said Thomas Jones (commonly
called Judge Jones) was admitted to the bar in 1755,
and in 1757 was appointed clerk of Queens county,
which he held till 1775. He was made recorder of
New- York in 1769, which he retained four years, and
was succeeded, a few years after, by bis nephew, the
subject of this notice. His wife was Anne, daughter
of Chief Justice De Lancey. The stately mansion
now occupied by General Thomas Floyd Jones, was
completed by Judge Jones a short time before the
Revolutionary war. He was appointed a judge of
the supreme court, which office he held during the
war by royal commission, which probably led to the
confiscation of his estate, and his own expatriation.

He went lo England, where he remained till hiE
death, many years after. His brother David was a
lieutenant of horse in the British service, and died at
Fort Frontenac in 1758. His sister Mary married
her cousin Thomas Jones, son of her uncle William,
and Anne, her sister, became the wife of John Gale,
of Orange .county. William Jones, third son of
Major Thomas Jones, born April 25, 1708, married
Phebe, daughter of Colonel John Jackson, by whom
he had sixteen children, fourteen of whom lived to
have families ; David, Samuel, William, Thomas,
Gilbert, John, Walter, Richard, Hallet, Freelove,
(married Benjamin Birdsall,) Elizabeth, (married
Jacob Conkling,) Margaret, (married Townsend
Hewlert,) Phebe, (married Benjamin Rowland,) and
Sarah, (married John Willis,) all of whom left issue,
which are now very numerous.
Mr. Jones was a highly respectable and intelligent
farmer, and resided at West Neck, where his grand-
son, Thomas Jones, now lives. His death took place
August 29, 1779, and that of his widow May 10, 1800.
Samuel Jones, the subject of this notice, was the
second son of the above named William, and was
born July 26, 1734. His education was quite limited ;
and while young, he chose the occupation of a sailor,

80

in which capacity he made several voyages to Europe
in the merchant service. He was ultimately deteri'ed
from prosecuting the business further by the impres
sions made upon his imagination in a dream, in which
he fancied the loss of the vessel in which he was
about to embark upon another voyage. He was next
placed in the office of William Smith, the historian,
an eminent lawyer of New- York, subsequently chief
justice, and whose son was afterwards a judge in
Canada. Mr. Jones was in due time admitted to the
bar, and in a surprisingly short period found himself
surrounded by friends and honored with an extensive
and lucrative practice. For his exemplary industry,
high attainments, and great purity of character, he
presented a model for the imitation of all who aimed
at distinction in jurisprudence. His office was sought
by students, and, besides the late De Witt Clinton,
he instructed many who afterwards rose to much
distinction. At the dawn of the Revolutionary con
test, he was called into the public councils, and con
tinued to fill important and responsible offices till age
admonished him to retire to private life. He spent
the remainder of his days upon his farm at West
Neck, indulging his taste for reading and observation,
the fruits of which was communicated to the world

81
through the medium of the press. Such was the
estimation in which he was held by the legal profes
sion, that his opinions were generally acquiesced in
for their accuracy and justice. He was often in the
assembly ; and in 1778 was a member of the conven
tion that adopted the constitution of the United
States, of which body his intimate friend, George
Clinton, was president. It is well known that much
confrariety of opinion prevailed in that body, and
that the result was a matter of expediency and com
promise among the members. He drew most of the
amendments proposed, and which, were subsequently
adopted as a part of that instrument. He was, in
short, indefatigable in every situation ; and nothing
was ever permitted to interrupt the performance of
any public duty. In 1789, he was associated with
the late Richard Varick in revising the statutes of
this state, which was executed principally by Mr.
Jones, with uncommon accuracy and expedition.
He was the same year appointed recorder of New-
York, the duties of which were discharged with
ability and integrity, till he was succeeded, in 1797,
by the Hon. James Kent. In 1796, he was requested
by Governor Jay to draft a law for establishing and
regulating the office of comptroller, to which he was

S2

appointed, and which he retained for several years.
" I rely," says the late Dr. Hosack, " on the testimony
of others, when I speak of the legal talents of the late
Samuel Jones : common consent has indeed assigned
him the highest attainments in jurisprudence, and
the appellation of the father of the New-York bar.
He justly ranked among the most profound and en
lightened jurists of this or any other country, and
acted a useful and conspicuous part in organizing
our courts and judiciary system after the Revolution.
He was a liberal and enlightened whig, and advocated
the cause of Independence with zeal and success."
" No one," says Chancellor Kent, " surpassed him in
clearness of intellect, and in moderation and extreme
simplicity of character ; no one equalled him in his
accurate knowledge of the technical rules and doc
trines of real property, and in familiarity with the
skilful and elaborate, but now obsolete and mysterious,
black-letter learning of the common law."
He was distinguished for coolness, candor, and
deliberation in debate, and sought the substantial
rather than the showy part of an orator. He was
twice married — first, to Ellen, daughter of Cornelius
Turk, who died soon after ; and second, to Cornelia,
daughter of Elbert Herring, Esq., of New- York, by

83
whom he had issue Samuel, William, Elbert H.,
Thomas, and David S. Jones.* He died November
21, 1819, and his widow July 29, 1821.
* The first (-W-iUiam) and seventh (-Walter) sons, died in infancy.

84

Of the Brothers of Hon. Samuel Jones.
In the descendants of Samuel Jones the elder we
are, of course, more particularly interested ; but we
should by no means omit to mention, in connexion
with his name, those of his brothers, whose descend
ants have kept alive a strong family feeling, and
have, in different walks, sustained the name and
reputation of the family : the remaining sons of
William Jones, senior, who alone of his three brothers
left issue, and who is therefore to be regarded as the
head of that branch of the Jones family, whose his
tory we are tracing. Thomas and Gilbert went to
Orange county, and settled there : Richard settled
near Rochester. The other brothers remained upon
Long Island.
William, another of the sons of William Jones,
had two sons, Townsend and Samuel, who have both
died without issue. The latter, by his will in 1836,
established in the town of Oyster Bay a fund called
the " Jones fund, for the support of the poor," for
which public trustees were appointed by an act of
the legislature, passed 18th April, 1838. (Laws of
1838, p. 312.) — John, another son of William Jones,

85
removed to Coldspring harbour, on the north side
of Long-Island, having married Hannah Hewlett,
(a daughter of John Hewlett, Esq., and sister of the
late Judge Divine Hewlett,) who is now living, his
widow, at an advanced age. He became interested
in mills and water privileges at that place, formerly
possessed by his father-in-law, and, besides several
daughters, left five sons, who are all now living,—
William H., John H., Walter R., Joshua T., arid
Charles H. The three first named sons have estab
lished and conducted for many years manufactories
at that place. The eldest, William H., a farmer,
has assisted in the superintendence of the mannfad-
tories, and performed the duties of his situation, as a
justice of the peace, and in other capacities, public
and private. The second son, John H., besides at
tending to the manufactories, has engaged himself in
various other pursuits, and has pursued, among others,
that undertaken by the first founder of the family in
this country — the whale fishery. He and his brother,
Walter R., have been part owners, and he the active
manager and agent, of eight whaling ships, fitted out
from Coldspring harbour, nieasuring more than 3000
tons, carrying about 250 nien, and costing, with their
outfits, about #227,000. These, instead of confining
12

86
themselves near our coasts, from which the whales
have been mostly frightened away, make longer
voyages than Captain Cook did in circumnavigating
the globe. Walter R. Jones, above named, the third
son of John, at an early age engaged himself in an
insurance office in New- York, and now, as president
of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, stands
confessedly at the head of the underwriters of New-
York. His brothers, Joshua T. and Charles H., are
also engaged in various commercial pursuits. The
two oldest brothers, William H. and John H., have
each large families. Oliver H., one of the sons of
the first, is known as president of the New- York Fire
Insurance Company ; and John D., one of the sons
of the second, for some time secretary, has recently
been appointed a vice-president of the Atlantic Mu
tual Insurance Company.
The sons of Walter, who also resided at Cold-
spring, came up to town early in life, — John J., de
ceased some years since, a most estimable gentleman :
William Townsend, who has retired from business,
and spends a large portion of the year in the pleasant
village of Southampton, Suffolk county.
This will suffice to show the wide-spread branches
and extent of the Jones family, descended directly

87
from the first settler. Neither our limits nor the.
scope of our subject permits a more extended notice
of the collateral branches of the family.

SB
Judge Thomas Jones.
Jones, Thomas, op New-Yoek. — By his marriage
with a daughter of Lieutenant-Governor James De
Lancey, and a sister of the wife of the celebrated Sir
William Draper, he became connected also with the
families of Sir Peter Warren, of the British navy,
and of Sir William Johnson, of New- York. At the
revolutionary era, he was a judge of the Supreme
Court, and, in consequence of his adherence to the
royal cause, lost his estate, under the confiscation
act. In 1779, in retaliation for the capture of Gen.
Silliman, by Glover and others, a party of whigs de
termined to seize upon Judge Jones at his seat on
Long-Island. Twenty-five volunteered, under the
command of Captain Daniel Hawley, of Newfield,
(now Bridgeport,) Connecticut. Hawley and his
associates crossed the Sound on the night of Nov. 4,
and reached Judge Jones's house (a distance of 52
miles) on the evening of the 6th. There was a ball,
and the music and dancing prevented an alarm.
The Judge was standing in his entry when the assail
ants opened the door, and was taken prisoner, and
borne off. A party of royal soldiers was near, and
Jones, in passing, hemmed very loud, to attract their
attention. Hawley told him not to repeat the sound ;

89
but he disobeyed, and was threatened with death,
unless he desisted from further endeavors to induce
the soldiers to come to his rescue.
Though six of the whigs were captured by a troop
of horse, the remainder of their party carried their
prisoner safely to Connecticut. The lady of General
Silliman invited the Judge to breakfast, and he not
only accepted of her hospitality for the morning, but
continued her guest for several days. But he re
mained gloomy, distant, and reserved. In May,
1780, the object of his seizure was accomplished ;
the British commander having at that time consented
to give up General Silliman and his son, in exchange
for the Judge and Mr. Hewlett, — the whigs, how
ever, throwing in, as a sort of make-weight, one
Washburn, a tory, of infamous character. Judge
Jones retired to England, and there passed the re-_
mainder of his life, and, as it is believed, in retire
ment. — Biographical Sketches of American Loyalists,
by Lorenzo Sabine, pp. 404-5. Boston, 1847.'*
* A fine portrait of Judge Jones (commonly called the yotmg
Judge, to distinguish him from his father, Judge David Jones,) is now
hanging in the parlor at Fort Neck.

90

Some Further Particulars regarding , the Jones
Family, of Queens County.
" The Jones family has now furnished legislators and jurists to the
colony and state more than a century." * — J. F. Cooper, Esq., in a
Letter to the Home Journal, May 6, 1848.
The name-] of Jones is so common, that different
families and individuals bearing it are frequently,
* Beside those already mentioned in the preceding shfetches, may
be enumerated Samuel Jones, jun., formerly chancellor, for many
years chief justice of Superior Court, and at present one of the
judges of the Court of Appeals ; and his brothers, Majoe -William
Jones, of Coldspring, (a member of the Assembly, 1816-1818, 1820,
and 1824-29,) and Elbeet Hekring Jones, Esq., formerly in the
Senate of the State, and delegate with Rufus King, and N. Seaman,
to convention to amend constitution of the State, 1821 ; — Sajtoel W.
Jones, Esq., (son of Major -William Jones,) formerly surrogate of
Schenectady county, mayor of the city, and, for some years past, first
judge of that county ; — of the Flotd Jones branch, Henet Flotp
Jones, member Assembly 1829 and 30, in Senate 1836-40 ; David
RioHAED Flotd Jones, his nephew. Assembly 1841-43, in Senate
1844^8, at present clerk of the Superior Court of this city ; and his
brother, Elbeet Flotd Jones, Assembly 1845.
f The favorite family Christian names which occur in every gene
ration, and in almost every branch of the family, are Thomas, David,
"WiUiam: Samuel and John are the next most frequent during the
last three generations.

91
and sometimes unpleasantly, confounded with each
other. This obliges one to use much more of par
ticularity in speaking of the different persons that
bear it than in the case of a more unusual patryo-
nymic. Like most of the Welsh surnames, (Davids,
Richards, Hughes, Williams, Edwards, &c., &c.,)'
it is plainly derivable directly from the Christian
name. The primitive orthography, Johnes, retained
by the latest (we believe) translator of Froissart,
and to be found even in this city, is undoubtedly
the correct mode of spelling it. It is sometimes
-written Johns, evidently a contraction of the for
mer, and which, again softened, appears as one of
the standard names of the Welsh race and of
Englishmen at home, and their descendants in the
United States and all other parts of the world.
The historical personages who have given character
to the name are too well and universally known
to require recapitulation here. — As an evidence of
the extreme commonness of the name, (which is its'
sole defect, for it is not liable to a pun, a circum
stance Shenstone congratulated himself upon as to
his own name,) we find, in a note in Cottle's Re
miniscences of Coleridge and Southey, the remark
of the slight diversity of the Welsh names. Thus,

92
in a list of subscribers to Owen's Welsh Dictionary,
(which only Welshmen would take,) there are to be
found of the letter J, fourty-four names, and all of
them Jones.
Apropos of this subject, we may transcribe a
pleasant anecdote that occurs in the letter of an
accomplished legal gentleman of this city, who had
himself married into the Long-Island Jones family,
a branch of that highly respectable portion of it
settled at Coldspring.
"Within a week past, I had occasion to read
the evidence on a trial of a collision suit between
an American vessel and a Welsh one, from Caer-
navon. The captain of the latter, a part owner,
was John Jones, who said it would take a good
while to tell the names of all the other Joneses who
were part owners. He named half a dozen of our
family name, and said the ownership was a family
concern. And although the name is so common,
it appeared quite probable that he was from the
same old stock, without going back so far as Adam."
Family traits are as distinctly marked as national
characters, and, in part, the former result from the
latter. The Welsh origin of the family of Jones is
evident in other respects than in the peculiarity of

93

the name alone. The family of Major Thos, Jones,
sometimes styled the chevalier, and of whose descent
from a noble Irish family, which intermarried with
one from Wales, there is a tradition, is supposed (but,
without any certainty) to have originated in Meri
onethshire .or Glamorganshire. However that may
be,, the characteristics of the Welsh race are plainly
discernible in almost every member of the family,
and are very marked in all of those who have become
prominent in any walk of life. Almost to a man,
choleric, sanguine, social, hospitable, independent,
and honorable. Judgment and penetration, with re
markable memory, have distinguished the leading
nlembers of the family. A fondness for genealogies
marks the elder members of the family, no less, than
local and personal pride, and that clannish feeling
which is so prominent among the Scotch and the
¦people of New-England.
The' extent of the family is remarkable. The de
scendants, from the common ancestor to the present
(seventh) generation, his lineal posterity, are to be
counted hy hundreds. Many of the descendants of the
third feneration have almost become heads of tribes.
The direct descendants of the , Hon. Samuel Jones
th€^ elder, grandson of the first settler, to commence
13

94
with the third generation, (and to confine ourselves
to the descendants of but one of fourteen children,
who all had families; and several of them large fami
lies,) and those of his five sons, number nearly one
hundred. This fact may give some idea of the num
ber of the descendants of Major -Thomas Jones, tOf
compile a perfect list of whom, at this late date, may
be considered as next to impossible.'
The majority of those whom we have not noticed'
particularly, are engaged in agricultural pursuits ; a
few having inherited handsome estates, and content
to enjoy their patrimony amid the pleasures of a
country life, without any desire of increasing it, but
the larger number embarking in rural occupations,
as a means of independent livelihood, from the nar
rowness of their fortunes.
In point of doctrinal belief and Church govern
ment, a singular fact is to be noticed. The whole
family, with very few exceptions, is to be divided into
the very opposite ranks of Churchmen and Quakers.
In politics, we believe most are whig, although all of
the present generation who have taken any public
stand, or filled office, have been, if we are not mis
taken, democratic. Since the death of the second
David Jones, but one of the family has bee'n in active

95
service— Lieutenant De Lancey Jones, a son of
Henry Floyd . Jones, Esq., and who displayed gal
lantry and skill in all the actions of the forces under
General Worth during the Mexican war.
In this uncommonly extensive family, so far as
we can learn, there is not, nor ever has been, but one
physician, (Dr. Philip Livingston Jones,) until very
lately ; and not one clergyman, or artist, or writer by
profession, with the exception of the present writer.
Longevity is a characteristic trait of the family ;
and, to illustrate this position, we have collected a
few instances. The subject of the preceding bior
graphical sketch died in his 71st year, the youngest
of five brothers, the four elder still surviving. His
father died in his 85th year ; his grandfather in his
71st, whose elder brother, David, died in 'his 76th.
Thq fourteen married children of William lived to a
great age, in many instances. Of these we have the
ages at about which ten of them died. David, 78 ;
Samuel, 85 ; William, 85 ; Hallett, 73 ; John, 64 ;
Walter, 71 ; Freelove, 79 ; Margaret, 74 ; Phebe,
83 ; Sarah, 84. The period of the decease of the
remaining four was late, and their career is supposed
to haVe been of the same average length as those of
their brothers and sisters. Their children, in turn,

96

have, in many cases, already lived to that period
when it is presumable, with the vigorous health they
enjoy, that they will reach advanced age. Several
have passed middle life ; some have deceased at a
mature age ; and a few may now be ranked with the
patriarchs of the family. In a word, this general
rule holds in the family, that death occurs rarely
in youth or middle life, and that most of the name
have died in early infancy, or have lived to a green
old age.
Great age is a peculiarity of the Herring family
also. The second wife of Samuel Jones, the elder,
died at the age of 80, and her mother at 73. The
father of Judge Herring, (to whom I am indebted
for these and other interesting details,) her brother,
was 84 years old at the time of his death, and his
wife deceased at ninety. At a family dinner given
by this gentleman, were present his four married
sisters : the host was the youngest of the party, and
his age at that tinie was not far from 70.

97

Of the Family of Floyd Jones.
Of the family of Floyd-Jones, now occupying the
estate of the first common ancestor of the name,
the first European settler upon Fort Neck, some
particular account is requisite, as of an important
branch of the family. For this purpose, we trans
cribe, from a genealogical notice of the Floyd family,
in Thompson's History of Long- Island, the following
section, -wbich will account for the origin of the
patronymic : —
Richard Floyd,* fourth, eldest son of Richard,
third,! of whom an obituary notice is given under
• Floyd is an ancient -Welsh name. The first ancestor of the
-Floyds of Long-Island emigrated, in 1656, from Wales, and died
about if 00. Some portion of his large real estate is owned by his
descendants of the sixth generation. The family has, in its duect
and collateral branches, produced, and been connected with, many
distinguished names. Among these are General William Floyd, one
of the signers of the Declai'ation of Independence, and Gen. Nathaniel
-Woodhull. f Of this gentleman there is an account in Sabine. From the
obituary notice we extract the following character, as au example of
liberality of spirit that does honor to human nature : — " Ws think
ourselves bound, in gratitude to the_ memory of this worthy gentle
man, to acknowledge the many favors we and the public have re
ceived in and through his means during the late war, when lie
commanded the militia in Suffolk. This gentleman was one of the

9S
article Broakhaven, settled upon his father's estate '
at Mastic, which he forfeited by his adhesion to
the British cause in the Revolution. He removed
to St. Johns, New-Brunswick, where he died in
1792. He married Arabella, daughter of the Hon.
David Jones, by whom he had children — 1st, Eliza
beth, born August 8, 1758, and married' John Peter
Delancey, son of Lieutenant-Governor Delancey,
and died May 7, 1820, having had three sons, Thos.
James Delancey, Edward and William Heathcote
Delancey,- (Bishop of Western New- York,) and five
daughters ; Anna, who married John Loudon Mc-
Adam ; Susan, wife of James Fennimore Cooper ;
Caroline, Martha, and Maria ; 2d, Anne Willet, who
married Samuel Benj. Nicoll in 1784 ; 3d, David
Richard Floyd, born November 14, 1764, married
Sarah, daughter of Hendrick Onderdonk, September
20, 1785, and died Feb. 10, 1826, leaving a widow,
and sons Thomas and Henry. Mr. Floyd, in accord-
most generous that has ever lived in this country. All ranks of people
were most courteously entertained by him, and he kept one of the
most plentiful tables upon Long-Island ; and he never failed in ex
tending his generosity to the poor and distressed. In short, his cha
racter was, that no man ever went from his house either hungry or
thirsty."

99
, ance with the will of his grandfather, and in pursu
ance of the act of March 14, 1778, added the surname
of JoneS| and the family are now known by the pa
tronymic of Floyd Jones. Mrs. Jones was born
March- 26j 1758-, and is still living, at the age of 85.*
Her sons are Brigadier Thomas Floyd Jones, born
July 28, 1?88, who married Cornelia, eldest daughter
of Major William Jones ; and Major-General Henry
Floyd Jones, born January 3, 1792, and married
Helen, daughter of Charles Watts, of South Carolina.
* Since deceased.

FINIS.

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