Warwick County, Virginia: The 1643 Church on Baker’s Neck and the Genealogy of Neighbor Matthew Jones

Description

Genealogist and historian Richard Dunn has devoted much of his life to the study of Warwick County, Virginia, families and their records. This Warwick County work by Dunn focuses on the 1643 Warwick County church situated on Baker’s Neck, and on the genealogy of Matthew Jones, whose home was located close by.

Part I of this book is a history of the church on Baker’s Neck. Many Warwick County records were destroyed during the Civil War, so Mr. Dunn labored diligently to piece together records concerning the church. He discusses the surviving documents from the church itself, records kept by surrounding families, and even archeological records that shed light on the church and its membership. This new edition informs readers about the social life provided by the 17th-century church–particularly the 1643 church on Bakers Neck–with a few corrections. Mr. Dunn conveys a sense of geography (Bakers Neck at the upper end of Mulberry Island) and of both the sacred and the secular life of that time and place.

Part II discusses the history and current status of the Matthew Jones House. Researchers will find maps, military records, and other supporting documents that flesh out the story of the Jones’s house and the family’s ultimate migration from the area.

Part III addresses the genealogy of the Jones family through several generations, including Matthew’s grandson, Matthew III, and great-grandson Tignal Jones. This second edition features a very much expanded view of the history of the Matthew Jones family of Mulberry Island, Warwick County, and emphasizes sources of information. It is mainly a compendium for further research, providing future researchers with the information that has been gathered so far. It includes many conclusions about the history of this family and its significant activity in the governmental affairs of Mulberry Island and other counties and states, but it also raises questions for future researchers to deal with. All students of Warwick County will want to examine this fresh examination of its early 17th-century genealogy and local history.