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Greed,
Revenge or Religion, Jones vs. Burns Catherine Burns was the only
daughter of Patrick Burns who died in St. Mary’s County in 1737. A few years before her father’s
death, Catherine married Solomon Jones, son of William Jones and Mary
Thomas. These families lived in St.
Michael’s Hundred, in St. Mary’s County near present day Ridge,
St. Inigoes, and Obviously it was not a problem
for Patrick Burns since his will dated December 13, 1737, devised 4,500
pounds of tobacco to his son-in-law, Solomon Jones directing that he buy a
slave for his son (and Patrick’s grandson), James Jones. We’ll never know if this
had been a problem for William Jones as we don’t know if Solomon was
married at the time of his father’s will in 1735, but we do know that
William devised half of his dwelling plantation, “Scotland”, to
Solomon. Mary (Thomas) Jones made her
will in 1746 naming only her children Susanna Biscoe, Joseph Jones, and John
Jones. Had Solomon been left out of
the will, one could surmise that his mother disapproved of his marriage, but
his brother, William wasn’t named either. Solomon Jones died shortly
after making his own will on March 6, 1749.
He devised to his wife, Catherine, 1/3 of his lands and to his son,
James he left a horse, saddle, and bridle.
The remainder of his estate was to be divided among his other
children, Margaret, Monica, Solomon, and Walter stipulating that if his wife
was then with child, the new baby was to have a share as well. Unfortunately, Catherine died
in February of the following year. Her
will, dated February 3, 1749/1750, was probated just a little over three
weeks later on February 28. Catherine’s
will did not name her son, James and it can be concluded that he had died
after his father. Catherine devised to
her son Solomon a horse, saddle, and bridle (presumably the same bequest made
to James in the will of Solomon) at the age of 18. The remainder of her estate was to be
divided among her other children, Margaret, Monica, Walter, and Bridgett (the
unborn child alluded to in the will of Solomon Jones). Catherine specifically
requested that her children and their estates remain in the care of her
brothers, Dennis and James Burns until her sons arrived at age 21 and her
daughters at age 16 or marriage. That should have been the end
of this story, but it wasn’t. A
few months after Catherine’s death, William Jones (brother of Solomon),
filed suit to have the children and their estates put under his control. The following is a part of the official
record: At a Council held in the Council Chamber on Thursday
the 29th Day of May in the 37th year of his Lordships Dominion Anno Domini
1751. Present: His Excellency Samuel Ogle, Esqr., Governor,
Benjamin Tasker, Esqr.,
Col. Charles Hammond, Col. George Plater, Daniel Dulany, Esqr., Edmund Jenings, Esqr., Richard Lee, Esqr., Benedict Calvert, Esqr. William Cuming, Esqr.,
produces to this Board a transcript of a record from St. Mary’s County
Court, which follows in these words.
Saint Mary’s County ss. At a County Court of the Right Honourable Charles Absolute Lord and Proprietary of the
Provinces of Maryland Avalon Lord Baron of Baltimore &c. held at Leonard
Town for the County afsd. On the first Tuesday and
sixth day of November in the 36h year of our Dominion &c. Annon Domini 1750, before the Worshipful Thomas Aisquith, Captain Zachariah Bond, Mr. James Mills, Mr.
Philip Clarke, Captain James Biscoe, Mr. George Bowles, Mr. John Cartwright,
and Captain Gilbert Ireland, Gentlemen, Justices by his Lordship’s
Commission of the Peace in and for the County aforesaid lawfully authorized
and assigned. Richard Ward Key, Clk., Robert Chesley, All of the men named above were Protestants. Further, keep in mind that Catholics were
not allowed to hold public office, nor had they been since 1696 when the
Puritans seized power and suspended religious toleration. On the Motion of William Jones to this Worshipful
Court. Command was given to the
Sheriff of St. Mary’s County that he Summon Dennis Burne
and James Burne of this County that all excuses and
delays set apart they be and appear before the Justices of our County Court
to be held at Leonard Town in the County aforesaid on the first Tuesday in
November then next and bring with them the children of Solomon Jones, late of
the County aforesaid deceased thereof they were not to fail &c. At which said first Tuesday in November that is to say
now here at this day to wit the sixth day of the same month Anno Domini 1750
being the day of the said summons.
Comes, as well, the said William Jones, by Thomas Clark, his attorney,
as the said Sheriff of St. Mary’s County to whom the same was directed
who makes return thereof endorsed, summoned by Robert Chesley,
Sheriff, and the said Dennis Burne and James Burne, by Jeremiah Chase, their attorney, came and
defended the force and injury when and so forth and produce to the court here
the copies of the two following wills. In the name of God.
I Solomon Jones of St. Mary’s County in the Province of
Maryland, being weak but of sound and perfect memory thanks be to God, and
being willing to settle what worldly estate it hath pleased God to bestow
upon me, do make and ordain this my last will and testament. First, I give my soul to almighty God who
gave it, hoping by the merits of my blessed Saviour,
to obtain full remission of my sins, and my body to be buried at the
discretion of my Executors hereafter named. First, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife,
Catherine one-third part of all my lands during her natural life and
one-third part of all my personal estate as her proper right forever. I give and bequeath unto my son James, one
horse, saddle, and bridle; the horse to be a likely horse of four years old
and the saddle and bridle of fifty shillings price and that to be his full
part of my personal estate. My desire is that all the remainder of my personal
estate to be equally divided amongst my other children, Margaret, Monica,
Solomon, Walter, and if my wife is now with child, that to have an equal part
with them and my will and desire is that my wife have the care and tuition of
all of my children till they arrive to the following years, viz., the boys to
the age of twenty and one years and the girls to the age of sixteen years,
and they to be brought up at her discretion and she to have the several parts
of my estate in her care until they arrive at the ages above. I do hereby revoke and make void all wills by me
formerly made and ordain this to be my last will and testament and do hereby
constitute and appoint my beloved wife Catherine my full Executrix in
execution thereof. In witness whereof
I have hereunto put my hand and seal this 6th day of March, Anno Domini
1748/9. Signed by Solomon Jones. Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of James Egerton, Robert Holton, John Jones, James Burne. On the back
of the foregoing will was thus written viz., St. Mary’s County ss. April the 24th
1739 Then James Egerton, John Jones, and James
Burn, three of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing will be duly and
solemnly sworn on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God depose and say that they
saw the testator, Solomon Jones, sign the foregoing will and heard him
publish and declare the same to be his last will and testament. That at the same time of his so doing, he
was, to the best of their apprehension, of sound and disposing mind and
memory and that they subscribed their respective names as witnesses to the
said will in the presence of the said testator and at his request. Sworn to before me Tho:
Asquith, Depty Comry of
St. Mary’s County. In testimony that the aforegoing
is a true copy from Liber DD, No. 5, folio 16. The seal of the Prerogative office at the
City of In the name of God, Amen. I Catherine Jones of St. Mary’s
County in the Province of Maryland, being weak but of sound and perfect
memory, thanks be to God, and being willing to settle what worldly estate it
hath pleased God to bestow upon me, do make and ordain this my last will and
testament. First I give my Soul to
Almighty God who gave it hoping by the merits of my blessed Savior to obtain
full remission of my sins, and my body to be buried at the discretion of my
Executors hereafter named. I give and bequeath unto my son, Solomon Jones a young
horse, saddle and bridle to the worth of five pounds to be delivered him when
he arrives to the age of eighteen years. Secondly, it is my will and desire that the remainder
of my estate be equally divided among my four children, Margaret, Monocy, Walter and Bridgett at the discretion of my
Executors hereafter named. Thirdly, it is my will and desire that all my children
and estate be and remain in the care and tuition of my two brothers, Dennis Burne and James Burne until
they shall arrive to full age; that is my sons to the age of twenty one years
and my daughters to the age of sixteen years or the day of marriage which
shall first happen. Fourthly, it is my will and desire that my two brothers
before mentioned shall settle my deceased husband’s estate with the
Commissary in behalf of my children
and it is my true intent and meaning that if the court should see fit to move
my children out of the care of my two brothers that their estates shall still
be and remain in their possession to keep for the good and safety of said
children. It is obvious from this part
of Catherine’s will that she already knew that William Jones would make
an attempt to take her children and their estates from her brothers at her
death. How sad it is to think that
this poor woman, who knew she was going to die, would go to her grave
anticipating that her wishes would be disregarded and agonizing over the
thought that her children would not have an estate to inherit. Fourthly, I do hereby revoke and make void all wills by
me made and ordain this to be my last will and testament and do hereby
constitute and appoint my two brothers, Dennis Burne
and James Burne my full and joint Executors in
executing thereof and it is my full desire that my son, Solomon and my
daughter Bridgett do live with my brother James Burne,
and my daughters Margaret and Monocy and my son,
Walter with my brother Dennis Burn. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand seal
this the 3d day of February 1749.
Catherine x Jones (her mark). Signed and sealed in the presence of Mary Martin, Sarah
Hopkins, John Conally (all made their marks). At the foot of the aforegoing
will was thus written: St.
Mary’s County, February 28th 1749.
Then (came) Mary Martin and John Conally,
two of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing will being duly and
solemnly sworn on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God depose and say that they
saw the testator, Catherine Jones sign the foregoing will and heard her
publish and declare (this) to be her last will and testatment. That at the time of her so doing, she was, to the best of their
apprehension, of sound and disposing mind and memory and that they saw Sarah
Hopkins sign the same as witness to the said will in the presence of the
testatrix.
Sworn to before me Tho:
Asquith Depty Comry of St
Marys County.
In testimony that the aforegoing is a True
Lib. C.B. [Seal] Copy from Liber DD No 6, folio
191. The seal of the Prerogative
Office at the City of Annapolis is hereunto affixed this 1st day of November
1750. Richard Dorsey Regr Cur. Prer. Which being
seen, heard and fully understood, mature deliberation being thereupon also
had, it is ordered by the Court that the children of Solomon Jones, who died
a Protestant, be removed from the care of Dennis Burne
and James Burne who are deemed Papists unto the
custody and care of William Jones to be brought up and educated in the
Protestant religion and that the interest of the estate be paid to the said
William Jones for the support of the orphans, and that they continue with the
said William Jones until such time as some other Protestant relation, whom
the Court shall approve of, will take and bring them up in the Protestant
religion. Whereupon the said Dennis and James, by their attorney
aforesaid, pray an appeal from the said judgement
of the Court to the Honorable Governor and Council which was granted. In testimony that the aforegoing
is a true [Seal] copy taken from the records of St. Mary’s County
Court. The Publick
Seal of the said County is hereunto Athxed this 8th
day of April 1751. Richard Ward Key, Clk Com. Predt. Upon reading and considering the aforesaid transcript,
it is the opinion of this Board and ruled accordingly, that the judgment of
the County Court be affirmed unless cause be shewn
to the contrary by Tuesday the eleventh day of June next. William Cumming, Esqr. Of
Council with James Burne on behalf of Solomon
Jones’ orphans, exhibits to this Board the following reasons for the
reversal of a judgment of the Justices of St. Mary’s County Court, copy
of which judgment was preferred to this Board on the 29th of May last. James Burne on behalf of
Solomon Jones’ orphans before the Governor and Council at suit (of)
William Jones. Reasons for the
reversal of a judgment given in favor of the Plaintiff in St. Mary’s
County Court. 1st: That
Solomon Jones, the father of these orphans, by his will in writing duly
executed, gave the tuition and guardianship of three (these) children to his
wife, Catherine Jones and sometime thereafter departed this life. 2nd: That
Catherine Jones, the wife of the said Solomon and mother of the said children
by her Will in writing duly executed, gave and left the tuition and
guardianship of the said children to her two brothers, James and Dennis Burne, which said Dennis is since dead. 3rd: That sundry people, well and intimately
acquainted with the above named Solomon Jones and William Jones, upon oath
declare that they, at sundry times, have heard the said Solomon Jones, as
well in his last sickness at the making his last will and testament as at other
times say, his brother William Jones should never have the care or management
of, or anything to do with his children, there having been for several years
a violent and strong enmity, variance and lawsuits depending and subsisting
between the said Solomon and the said William Jones. But though the matters did appear as aforesaid before
the Justices of St. Mary’s County, yet they ordered the care and
tuition of the aforesaid three (?) children to the said William Jones, their
uncle, from which order your Petitioner hath appealed to your Excellency and
Honors and humbly prays that the said William Jones may have a short day to
answer the same and that the order made by the said Justices may be reversed
and your petitions shall ever pray & c. William Cumming. Which reasons being read and upon hearing, the
arguments of the Council and upon mature deliberation thereupon had, it is by
this Board ordered and adjudged that the judgment given in the aforesaid
cause by the Justices of St. Mary’s County Court be affirmed and it is
hereby affirmed accordingly. 30th Septemr 1751. So why did William Jones
pursue taking the children of his brother, Solomon? Was it greed, revenge, or was it religion? I have to believe it was greed
and revenge. Religion was the only
weapon he had to use. His own friends
and neighbors had testified that Solomon Jones had told them he wanted his
brother William to have nothing to do with his children and that should have
been testimony enough, but the “religion card” was played and he
won, or at least he partly won. If you take a closer look at
the decision, you’ll note that William Jones did not receive the
estates of the children. He received
only the interest for their support. Why don’t I think it was
religion? Mary Jones, William’s
daughter, married none other than Dennis Burns, Jr., the nephew of Catherine
Burns. William Jones did not
disinherit his daughter. The will of
William Jones in 1759 devised to his daughter, Mary Burns, a mulatto woman
named Eleanor. Children of Solomon Jones and
Catherine Burns: James Jones (born before 1737)
died in 1749 or early 1750. Margaret Jones (born 1738)
married Thomas Weatherington before 1763. Monica Jones (born 1742) Solomon Jones, Jr. (1743-1794)
married Ann Fenwick (daughter of John Fenwick and Monica Ford) prior to
1766. Solomon did receive his share of
“Scotland” and devised it to his son, Solomon Jones III by his
will in 1794. Solomon Jones, Jr. remained a
Catholic; married a Catholic girl; and at least one of his children was
baptized at St. Ignatius Catholic Church at St. Inigoes. Solomon and Ann also named a son Solomon
and a daughter, Catherine in memory of his parents. Walter Jones (born 1748) Bridget Jones (born 1749) The 1763 administration accounts
of William Jones, shown below, only refer to four of the children of Solomon
Jones, therefore we have to assume that either Monica, Walter, or Bridget had
died between 1751 and 1763. I have no
record of either of these children after 1752, but we know that at least two
of them were still living in 1763. 7/1/1763: Admin. accts. of William Jones, SMC. Received from: Horn Roberts, John Squires, Jos. Bennett,
Edw. Abell, John Connelly, John Beal, Chas. Smith,
Wm. Hall, Thos. Richardson, Wm. Bailey, Eliz. Hudnell,
Eliz. Thomas, James Kirk, Thomas James, Wm. Hayney,
Jos. Fitzjeffry, Lazarus Fletcher, Wm. Cope,
Anthony Underwood, John Smith, James Egerton, Mary
Martin, Thos. Biscoe, James Barn, Thomas Witherinton,
James Griffin, John Thomas, Jr., Mark Bailey, Robert Clark, James Lee, John
Langley, Sr., Joseph Beall, Jonathan Thomas, Charles Batts,
Philip Mahoney, Ann Bean, John Langley, Jr., Joshua Green, Patrick Burn,
Richard Taylor. Payments to: Wm. Holton, John Corser,
Hugh Hopewell, James Jarboe, Mev.
Lock, Abraham Barnes, Basil Biscoe, John White, John Arthurs,
Thomas Chesley, Timothy Barnhouse,
John Biscoe, Andrew Masters, Wm. Harrison & usor
(execs. of John Langley), Joshua Bean, John Payne & Pain, Geo. Biscoe,
John Eden, Daniel Dulany, Esq., John Eden for
Thomas Aisquith, two orphans of Solomon Jones (paid to their guardian, John Jones),
1 other orphan of Solomon Jones (paid to its guardian, James Biscoe), Thomas Witherington who married a daughter of Solomon Jones,
Joseph Green (orphan of John Green), Thomas Green (orphan of John
Green). Execs.: William Williams and his wife, Ann
Williams, Matthias Jones. (Admin.
accts. of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers,
46-51, 1760-1764 by V. L. Skinner, Jr.).
NOTE: This record is not on CD
#206. References: Proceedings of the Council of
Maryland, Archives of Maryland, Vol. 28, p. 507-511 Proceedings of the Council of
Maryland, Archives of MD, Vol. 28, p. 515-516. Prepared by: Linda Reno, March 15, 2006 |
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