Capt. James Jones

Biography

Life summary. Captain James Jones helped manage Weston’s meetinghouse construction and finances and held interests in outlying Massachusetts townships. His 1753 will joined provision for his wife Sarah and descendants with obligations attached to extensive property. He died in 1770, nearly seventeen years later.

James Jones took responsibility for Weston’s meetinghouse construction and town finances. He was named among those acting for the town in a meetinghouse construction agreement in 1720, served as selectman and treasurer in 1721, and joined the committee charged with covering and enclosing the new meetinghouse in 1722. These were connected responsibilities: an institution needed materials and labor, and the town needed people to account for their cost. ^601-1

Weston, west of Boston in present-day Massachusetts, had become a separate town in 1713. Its farms lay at a distance from Watertown’s older meetinghouse. Developing a local religious and civic center reduced that separation for a dispersed population. James’s building and financial responsibilities belonged to the practical formation of this local center. ^601-3601-4

Born on September 4, 1679, he married Sarah Moore of Sudbury. Their family included eleven children. His property interests reached beyond Weston to Narragansett Township No. 6, later associated with Templeton and much of present-day Phillipston in north-central Massachusetts. An original proprietor, he served on a committee concerned with laying out lots in 1735. His work as a proprietor extended his interests beyond his home community. ^601-2

When he made his will on November 20, 1753, James dealt with a family already divided among several households and generations. His eldest son James was assigned twenty shillings in addition to land already received. Seven children of his deceased daughter Sarah Robinson were each to receive forty shillings, the boys at twenty-one and the girls at eighteen or marriage. Lydia’s four Jones children were each assigned £5 under similar age or marriage conditions. The will directed portions toward grandchildren whose circumstances differed from those of his surviving children. ^601-2

He also left £7 each to Solomon and Sarah, children of his eldest son James. The will linked some portions to earlier gifts, distributing what remained after years in which family members had already received support. ^601-2

Aaron and Isaac were assigned extensive property interests carrying substantial obligations. Aaron’s clause refers to a share of James’s mansion house, barn and homestall; Isaac’s refers separately to the house in which Isaac then lived. Both clauses refer to deeds dated October 19, 1753. Their portions also included meadow and outlying lands, with lots 5 and 99 respectively in Narragansett No. 6. Together they were charged with debts, legacies and funeral expenses. ^601-2

Sarah’s provision was different. Household goods, with exceptions for money and debts owed to James, and a third of the livestock were assigned for her use and disposal. She was also to enjoy a third of the use or income of real estate and buildings while she remained his widow. The settlement thus combined resources she could dispose of with continuing support from property passing through the estate. ^601-2

Other land lay at Paquoiagg, in the historical Athol area of Massachusetts. The will’s geography extended well beyond the family’s home town, but its obligations repeatedly returned to the support of particular people. James lived nearly seventeen more years, dying in September 1770. The published family account and reported gravestone inscription differ by a day; the will was presented for probate on 23 October. The plan presented for settlement had been written long before his death, bringing together household support, family legacies and land interests in several communities. ^601-2