Fones

The Foneses
Annie Fones Vancil's mother, Elizabeth Nash Fones was born about 1813. According to the 1870 census (Guadalupe County, Texas), J.S. (b. 1818) and Elizabeth Fones (b. 1818) had four children: Henry (b. 1846), Charles (b. 1856?) Anna (b. 1859), and George (b. 1862?). J.S Fones, Elizabeth Fones, and their children were all born in Virginia. It appears that J.S. Fones worked in a saw mill, and may have been a fireman as well (barely legible). His eldest son Henry is listed a "saw mill hand." I have the bible presented to Mollie Vancil from J.S. Fones in 1890.

Joseph Sparks Fones (1817-1908) married Elizabeth A. Nash (1818 - 1908 ) in 1840, Richmond CO., VA.

" BIO: Moved from Virginia to Texas after the Civil War during the 1870's. Richmond CO. VA. marriage records list the marriage of Joseph S. FONES & Elizabeth NASH on 12/04/1840, The parents of Joseph are listed as William T. & Ann FONES, no ages given, by the Rev. John H. Waddey."

Joseph Sparks Fones had apparently been some kind plantation foreman in Virginia before moving to Texas. According to family oral history, he considered manual labor fit for Blacks only and refused to get his hands dirty. This attitude led to his divorce from his wife Elizabeth, who moved in with her son's family.

The father of Joseph S. Fones was William T. Fones, and his mother was Jane Drake. That's a far back as I care to go right now.

An alternate spelling of Fones family is Fownes. The family is from England. "The Fones (Fownes) Families of America came from England in the 1600's and settled in New England and Virginia during the same periods. The name was spelled differently by clerks and census takers who spelled it as it sounded to them"
(http://www.fones.org/).