Author: GARY OVERBY
Captain Israel Jones, Senior, was born in 1716, to Lieutenant Thomas and Mary (nee Meacham) Jones, of Enfield, Connecticut. Captain Jones married Jemima Clark in 1744 and to their union was born eight children. He enjoyed a prosperous life in Enfield and was elected to serve as an officer of that settlement from 1738 to 1768. He also served in the militia and was a sergeant during the French & Indian War. In August 1757, he served in Colonel Joseph Pitkin’s Regiment, Lieutenant David Phelps’s company, in the alarm for the relief of Fort William Henry, which was located at the southern end of Lake George, in northern New York.

In 1771, Captain Jones purchased land in the settlement of Barkhamsted, Connecticut, and moved his family to this wilderness area. He was the second man to settle there, Pelatiah Allyn being the first. In 1774 Connecticut decided to organize a militia for the Barkhamsted area. Pelatiah Allyn was elected captain and Israel Jones, Senior, was elected lieutenant.

Following the Lexington Alarm, Jones enlisted as a sergeant in Captain John Watson’s company. He enlisted in the 7th Connecticut Regiment of Foot in 1777. He was appointed by the Connecticut General Assembly to be a captain in the newly formed 18th Regiment of State Militia, but remained with the 7th Regiment until the 18th could be organized in 1779.

While serving with the 7th, Israel Jones was promoted to ensign and then 2nd lieutenant. He was sent by General Alexander McDougall to join General Washington’s Army in Pennsylvania and fought with the 7th Connecticut at the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777. During the winter of 1777/78 he went into camp with Washington’s Army at Valley Forge.

On June 28, 1778, Israel Jones was present at the Battle of Monmouth. In 1779 he served east of the Hudson River, in General Heath’s wing. He took command of the 13th Company of the 18th Regiment of Connecticut Militia in 1779 and concluded the remainder of the war as a captain.

It should be noted that four of Captain Israel’s five sons also served in the Revolutionary War. Samuel, Thomas, Israel, Jr., and William Clark Jones all served with distinction. What is also remarkable was that Captain Jones turned 59 in 1775 when he “took to the field” with his sons. Special credit goes to his wife Jemima and their three daughters (Mary, Jemima, & Submit), and their young son (Isaac), who shouldered the burden of keeping the homestead going in their absence.

Captain Jones enjoyed his post war days at his beloved homestead in Barkhamsted, passing away on December 28, 1798. Several of his sons went on to settle in the wilderness of northwest New York. Members of the family then pushed west into Ohio and later to all corners of the country.

A memorial plaque and a beautiful grove of Oak trees adorn Captain Jones’ resting place at East Hartland Cemetery, Connecticut. A fitting tribute to an American patriot.