Ada Jane Jones is my maternal 2x great grandmother.  This photo of hers had been mislabeled by my grandfather. When we visited our grandmothers cousin (Harriet Booth) in Virginia Beach she corrected it for us and we saw one of the originals.

She was the first Ada in a series and I am the last. It used to be a custom to name children for relatives. Now names are chosen for their uniqueness. I’m not saying that is good or bad it is just the way many names are now being picked. Before I got started on this adventure of family genealogy I knew the basics about our family and who our ancestors were. Grandma Dougherty whom I was named for, was into telling us children family stories, some of which were true and some were sort of true. Of course as a child I thought they were told literally. Grandma (Ada Richmal [Heap] Dougherty) was named for both of her grandmothers (Ada [Jones] Booth and Richmal [Hall] Heap). I knew that Ada Jane Jones mother was a Langley and her father may have been George Jones. That was about it.
I thought I would give her history backwards because that’s the way I discovered her information.
Ada Jane (Jones) Booth died on Sept 12 1911.

Her death certificate states her birthday as May 2 1841, her birth place was England, the name of her father is shown as George Jones and her mother was Jane Langley. The name of the informant is not listed.  I had sent to the New York City Municipal Archives for this way back in 1985 and received this certified copy for a small fee. This document is not available on line.

It used to be that I would go to the local LDS church and order Microfilm from the LDS church Library in Salt Lake City for the Census that I believed our ancestor to be listed in. Once it arrived at the local church I would spend hours looking through the films until I found the family listing. The following one was a very lucky find because everyone seemed to be living on the same street.

The Family History Library had a microfilm copy machine and if it was working I could make copies for 10 cents each. In this 1900 Census I found  my Grandmother Ada, my great grandmother Ada, and my 2x great grandmother Ada.

Ada Jane (Jones) Booth (61 years) is married to Joseph Booth (61) a blacksmith. This census shows how many years married for Joseph and Ada it lists 40 years. It also states they were both born in England and they had both come to this country in 1850 and had both been in this country for 50 years.

Joseph is shown as a naturized citizen while nothing is listed for Ada. The children living at home are: Walter (35), single, born in New York, a  carpenter, Chas (Charles) (20), single, born in New York, a carpenter, Hattie (25), single, born in New York, a bookkeeper, and Emma (19) single, born in New York.

In the Heap household listed before them is their daughter Ada Jane with her family and in the household before their daughter’s is their son, William Booth and his family.

The Bamber household further down the page is Edmond Bamber and his family. Edmond is the son of Mary Booth and William Bamber. Mary is the sister to Joseph Booth. If you aren’t confused by now you are suited to be a genealogist.

I have always been disappointed that the 1890 census was not available. It might have filled in those gaps we have in some of our families history. Anyway back to Ada Jane Jones we can find her in the 1880, 1870, and 1860, US census  with her husband and children. The 1910 US census is after her husband Joseph dies and she is shown alone with her daughters, Emma and Hattie.

Joseph and Ada Jane had  8 children

(1) George M. Booth was born in 1860  and married Abbice King in 1884. (2)Walter L. was born in 1862 and married Anna Denker. (3) William R. Booth was born Aug. 29, 1865 and was married twice (a) Birdie and (b) Mary Alma Corbett. (4) Ada Jane was born Oct. 9, 1867 and married Charles Heap. (5) Isaac Sylvatus was born in 1870 and married Wilhelmina  Simpson. (6) W.H. (Harriet) was born in 1872 and married  (a) Armstrong, and (b) Eugene Parker. (7) Charles L.  was born about March 1875. (8) Emma L. was born 26 February  1880 and married Joseph A. Sullivan.

A large family that lived very close to each other on Staten Island for several generations must have been a joy for Ada Jane. But what of her family. My questions for years were: Did she come to this country alone or did she come with other family members? How do I find her family in England when Jones is such a common name?

Well, I’m always looking for my family. I know that more and more records are indexed and come on line all the time and look what I found George Jones in the 1850 US. Census on Ancestry.com. After looking at a lot of George Jones.

You see Geo, Jones (46), born in England, his wife Jane (36) also born in England, son Geo. M. (16) born in England, daughter Ada  Jane (13) born in England, and daughter Eth. (2) born in New York. So for the youngest to have been born in New York the family had to have been here at least 2 or 3 years. Then I found this also thanks to Ancestry .com.

This is the Passenger List for the ship Franconia out of Liverpool England arriving New York 22 April 1844 that shows George Jones (39) listed as a Farmer. Jane Jones (30) , Ada Jane Jones (6), George Jones (4), Alfred  Jones (2), and Walter Jones (inf’). Wow I now know that they should be in the UK Census for 1841. And this is what I have found so far.

Here we find Ada Jones (4) in the household of Mary Langley (70) Ind. along with Myra Langley (40) milliner, and  Sarah Plumbridge (9). Who turns out to be Ada Jane Jones cousin. This census indicates that Ada Jones was not born in Warwick county. So were was she born? What happened to the Jones family in America after the 1850 US census? What Happened to Alfred and Walter who were on the Ship that arrived? Where were her siblings born? I will keep looking and it grows my to-do list for our trip to Salt Lake Family History Library later this year.

Next week I will be doing a story on my husbands family. Hope to see you then.