“The James Jones family’s first reunion was held in Meade, Michigan, on January 1, 1853,” says Association president Chris Thompson. “Our ancestors gathered to celebrate the first wedding anniversary of James Jones’ daughter Elizabeth Ann to Theodore McDonald.”
The date was changed to July 4 in 1865, to better accommodate the growing number of James Jones family members in an outdoor venue. Since then, the reunions have been held at various locations; sometimes a farm home in the Meade vicinity, or at a park where facilities favor a larger gathering.
This year’s reunion will be held at Heritage Park in Canton, Michigan, the first time it’s been held outside Macomb County.
“We gather each year to play volleyball, softball, enjoy a pot-luck lunch and renew family ties,” Thompson says. “We find we all share a number of common interests. The main one is probably an appreciation of family, and a belief that the family unit is the rock our county was built on.”
James Jones family members travel to Michigan from as far away as California, Georgia and New York state.
The family’s namesake, James Jones, came to America from Baisenstock, England, in 1832, settling in Meade. He bought 100 acres of land at the bargain price of one dollar an acre. He was prominent in his church, business and society. He was a prosperous farmer who, with his wife the former Elizabeth Funnel, bore nine children. He died in 1895.
The James Jones family Association is a group of people, some 5,000 strong, all descendants of James Jones, who came to America in 1832.
We gather each July 4th to renew family ties. we play volleyball, softball, enjoy a pot-luck meal and renew acquaintances of cousins we haven't seen for a year. Along the way, we find that we share many common interests - the first of these is probably an appreciation of family, and a belief that the family unit is the strength upon which our country was founded.
We know that while we may not see each other again for another 12 months, it is important to have this "touchstone", this knowledge that we belong to something special.
And apparently this current generation of Joneses isn't alone in this feeling.
The James Jones family has been meeting once a year for 160 years.
