We wrote the following article for Jones family members, particularly my eleven grandchildren who I am trying (with some success) to interest in family history. We hope it will be of interest to some of our readers.

Between 1712 and 1726, a young man named Mark Catesby came from his home in England to the area of North America that later became Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, to study the animals, birds and plants of the "new world" as it was called at that time. His drawings and writings became very popular and much in demand in England for a few years. His popularity decreased, however, due to several reasons, and he was not well known for nearly two centuries.

Recently, there has been a renewed interest in his works. An interesting article about him and his work, including some illustrations, appeared in the September 1997 issue of "Smithsonian" magazine. A new touring exhibition of his works is travelling around the United States, and will be at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia from March 3 through May 10, 1998.

Thanks to a book written by Judge L. H. Jones of Winchester, Kentucky in 1891, I discovered that there is a (distant) connection between Mark Catesby and the descendants of Roger Jones. The attached article will tell you more about Catesby and about the Jones-Catesby connection. Also, you can read more about him and see some samples of his work by searching for "Mark Catesby" on Yahoo or some other World Wide Web search service.

Joe L. Jones, Orangeburg, SC
September, 1997

About 300 years ago, there was a Captain in the army of King Charles II of England named Roger Jones. Captain Jones was born about 1625-35. During his military career, among other adventures, he was sent to America, in charge of an English ship, to fight the pirates in Chesapeake Bay. He also lived in this country for a short while, but went back to London, England, where he died in 1701. He was buried at Mansfield in the county of Nottingham.

Captain Jones had two sons, Frederick and Thomas. Both sons came to America and lived in Virginia. The descendents of Frederick, the older brother, migrated to North Carolina, then to South Carolina and, later, some went further west. Thomas' descendents migrated to Kentucky and other states.

One of Frederick's descendents was Jeremiah Jones, who eventually settled in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. His descendents now live in Salley, North, Orangeburg, Sharpsburg (Ga), Scottsboro (Al), Texas, California, Washington, DC and other parts of the United States.

Thomas' wife, Elizabeth Cocke Pratt Jones, was the eldest daughter of Dr. (Secretary) William Cocke and Elizabeth Catesby. Elizabeth Catesby Cocke (the mother) was a sister of Mark Catesby, the naturalist and artist. Elizabeth Cocke (the daughter) married first William Pratt, a merchant of Glouchester county, Va. After his death, she married Thomas Jones, son of Roger Jones and brother of Frederick Jones. She and her uncle Mark Catesby were apparently close, and, as indicated by letters which are reproduced in Judge L. H. Jones' book, "Captain Roger Jones of London and Virginia", she apparently assisted in his work by sending samples of flora and fauna from this country, while he repaid her by sending copies of his work including prints of his drawings.

Mark and Elizabeth kept in touch, although they were usually on opposite sides of the Atlantic. In fact, on page 120, Judge Jones mentions that his family had (in 1891) "some hundred sheets of his Natural History, which were sent to Mrs. Jones as they were published." It also appears that she may have helped in his research - in his letter of December 30, 1731 (page 219 - 220) he says "I am much desirous of a ground squirrel if it lies in your way conveniently to send me one" and, in his letter of 1st March 1729-30 (?) from England, he is apparently requesting that she send him cones, acorns and seeds from Virginia.

One of the most interesting bits of information is Mark's letter to Elizabeth from "Charles City June 22 - 1722" (page 218). According to the biographical sketch of Mark Catesby on page 221, he arrived in South Carolina in 1722, so "Charles City" appears to be what we now call "Charleston".

Since Mark Catesby was the brother of a direct ancestor of Judge L. H. Jones of Winchester, Kentucky, and his descendants, I hope that some of those Kentucky Joneses will read this. If you know anyone that might be of that line, please give them the virtual address of this page:

If you have already read our "Objective" for this page, move down to the end to read about the renovation of the old Edisto Theater in Orangeburg, SC

As we continue to develop this page, our objective is to celebrate the past, present and future of the geographical area known as the Edisto River Basin of South Carolina, along with the adjoining areas on the east and west. In other words, our area of emphasis will extend from the Savannah River (the Georgia border) on the west to the Congaree and Santee Rivers on the east, and from the headwaters of the North and South Edisto Rivers on the north to the Atlantic Ocean on the south.

When nearer completion, (it will never be completed), this site will tell the story of the area’s rich history and its contribution to the birth, survival and growth of our country. It will provide a source of genealogical information for present residents and for the descendants of those who were born here and left to settle the more western States.

For the present residents, it will also provide a cyber-version of the old “meeting houses”, which were found in this back-country three hundred years ago. Information about family reunions, class reunions, local theater productions, concerts, and anything of mutual interest will be collected and displayed for all to read. Festivals, such as the world-famous “Chitlun’ Strut”, “Raylroad Days”, “Rose Festival”, “Grits Festival”, “Peach Festival”, “Watermelon Festival”, etc., will be covered, hopefully with the e-mailed help of the local sponsors.

Since the page is largely “river” oriented, the growing interest in canoeing on the famous black waters of the Edisto will be featured. We’ll also go back in time to tell you how lumber destined for England and other foreign ports was milled by water power on the remote streams of the Edisto in the 1700’s and 1800’s, then floated to a point near Charleston for shipment.

This area provided the land and people to build and operate the vast Savannah River Site which played such an important part in our winning the Cold War. As we develop this site, we hope to provide links that will demonstrate how the same people and the same land are being readied for the challenges of the future of this great land.

If you live in or near the Edisto River Basin, or, if your ancestors did, we hope that you will become a regular visitor to this page. We would like for you to be a contributor too - we’ll tell you how real soon. Visit us again SOON. ... the welcome mat will be out.

Orangeburg's "Part-Time Players"community theatre group has completed the intial renovation of the former Edisto Theatre in downtown Orangeburg, to make it into their new "home" for amateur theatre productions. Two productions have been presented to capacity crowds (as of August 30, 1998)

The former movie theatre, dates back to the early days of movies in Orangeburg. Many of the older generation remember seeing their favorite Hollywood idols there, especially the stars of the western movies that played on Saturday afternoons.

The building was given to the local theatre group by the Gressette family, and will be named the "Bluebird" in their honor. Another theatre, named the Bluebird, was owned by James Islar Sims, well-known Orangeburger and grandfather of James Gressette Jr.