Thomas Jones (politician, around 1492)

Sir Thomas Jones (actually Thomas ap John ; * around 1492; † 1558 or 1559) was a Welsh politician who was elected three times as a member of the House of Commons . He was the first member of the Jones family , who played an important political role in South West Wales in the 16th century.

origin

Thomas Jones was the eldest son of John ap Thomas from Abermarlais and Eleanor , a daughter of Thomas Vaughan from Brodorddyn in Carmarthenshire , making him a great-grandson of the mighty Gruffudd ap Nicolas . Little is known about his father, a younger brother of Sir Rhys ap Thomas , the principal lieutenant of the king in South Wales. Thomas anglicized his Welsh name to Jones.

Life

In 1513 Jones is mentioned for the first time in the English army that captured Tournai in the Netherlands after the battle of Guinegate . Around this time he seemed to have lived at times as a courtier at the royal court, and as late as 1532 he is known as a gentleman usher . In 1527 he was administrator of the property of the Welsh Llandovery Castle . After his relative, Rhys ap Gruffydd FitzUrien , the grandson and heir of his cousin Rhys ap Thomas, was executed as a traitor in 1531, Jones was one of the four agents appointed by the Crown to seize and administer Rhys property. Jones was able to make the most profit from this task, as he took over the administration of Abermarlais and Llansadwrn as well as Newcastle Emlyn . His main residence was Haverfordwest , Pembrokeshire , where he had become the owner of Haroldston House through his marriage to the widow of Thomas Perrot . In 1533 he acquired the guardianship of his stepson John Perrot . He leased its Haverfordwest estates, Laugharne Castle and Lordship, and Castle Walwyn in Carmarthenshire. He quickly rose to become one of the most important gentry in the region and one of the most important members of Haverfordwest City Council. In 1541 he was elected Knight of the Shire for Pembrokeshire . Presumably he was knighted at the beginning of the parliamentary sessions on January 16, 1542 . However, he was also frequent at the royal court and played an important role during the incorporation of Wales into the Kingdom of England . He was sheriff of Pembrokeshire from 1540 to 1541, sheriff of Carmarthenshire from 1542 to 1543 and sheriff of Cardiganshire from 1543 to 1544 . He achieved that when Wales was reorganized into Counties Laugharne and other rulers instead of Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, so that he could concentrate his possessions in the county. In 1547 he was re-elected Knight of the Shire for Pembrokeshire, and from 1548 to 1549 he was again sheriff of the county.

After the abolition of the English monasteries, he acquired Talley Abbey and several parishes in Carmarthenshire in 1543 . In 1544 Jones took part in the king's campaign in France. After his stepson Perrot took over the management of Haroldston, Jones leased Abermarlais in 1546, which he had previously only managed, and moved his main residence there. He was friends with the Herbert family , particularly the 1st Earl of Pembroke , and his son Henry married a niece of the Earl. During the reign of Mary the Catholic he remained largely politically inactive, while his sons Henry and Richard were elected MPs for the House of Commons. Towards the end of Mary's reign, however, Jones was re-elected as Knight of Shire for Carmarthenshire in 1558. However, he made his will shortly after the opening of parliament on January 27, 1558.

Family and offspring

His first marriage was Elizabeth, the only daughter of Sir Edward Done of Kidwelly . With her he had two daughters. In his second marriage he married Mary in 1533, a daughter of James Berkeley from Thornbury in Gloucestershire and widow of Thomas Perrot from Haroldston, who died in 1531. Mary Berkeley had been a lady-in-waiting and allegedly a mistress of King Henry VIII prior to her marriage to Perrot . By marrying her, Jones had become the stepfather of her son John Perrot, and he had at least three sons with her, including Henry Jones and Richard , and two daughters. One of his daughters, Elinor , married Griffith Rice , the son of his executed relative Rhys ap Gruffydd FitzUrien.

Web links

• PS Edwards: JONES, Thomas (by 1492-1558 / 59), of Abermarlais, Carm. and Haroldston, Pemb. (History of Parliament online; Ref Volumes: 1509–1558)
• Sir Thomas Jones on thepeerage.com , accessed October 16, 2015.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Welsh Biography Online: PERROT family, of Haroldston, Pembs. Retrieved May 20, 2015 .