Isaac Jones in Virginia???

The first obstacle one must get past when examining the whereabouts of Isaac Jones prior to 1801, is the illusion that Isaac was in Surry County, North Carolina as early as the 1780's. This belief finds it's origin with the presence of an Isaac Jones on the 1790 Census for Surry County, in addition to, several deeds going back to the 1780's involving an Isaac Jones purchasing land in the far northern part of the county around Tom's Creek and the Dan River. This same Isaac Jones is believed to also have purchased land and resided at times across the state line in Grayson County, Virginia leading some researchers to even  speculate that Isaac, the subject of this blog, had come to North Carolina from Virginia. Upon closer examination, the truth of the matter is that the Isaac Jones in Surry County records prior to 1801 was in fact a Quaker father and son team both named Isaac Jones. The elder of the two resided in Grayson County, Virginia while his son lived along Tom's Creek in Surry County, North Carolina until his death on March 12, 1791 as recorded in the Westfield Meeting minutes serving the Quaker community located on Tom's Creek. Quaker records also show that this particular Jones family arrived at the Cane Creek Meeting House in Orange County, North Carolina before 1762 and were eventually granted certificate to relocate to the Mount Pleasant Quaker community in Grayson County, Virginia on December 4, 1773. Not long after this is when you begin to see an Isaac Jones pop up in the Surry County land records involving land purchases near the Quaker settlement along Tom's Creek just across the border. The younger Isaac's death in 1791 and the absence of any Isaac Jones on the 1800 Census for Surry County is further evidence that this is nothing more than a case of mistaken identity.