Founding Families
Ebenezer West |  Waite Carr West  |  Increase Jones |  Hannah Bowen Jones  |  William Hill | Elizabeth Hill 
Edward Talbot  |  Sarah "Sally" Martin Talbot  |  ​Absalom P Morse  | Lydia Tallman Morse 
Alfred P White | Huldah Symonds White  |  ​Robert Shaw  |  Jane Talbot Stiles Shaw​

Hannah Bowen Jones
A story of movement, endurance and adaptation

Explore Hannah's Story

Early Years in Rehoboth
There is not much information to be had about Hannah (Bowen) Jones, wife of Increase Jones. The little we do know allows us to make only a few inferences about her life.
Hannah was born on August 19, 1759, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, to Vinton and Mary Polly (Conner) Bowen. 

Marriage During Uncertain Times
Hannah married Increase Jones in 1776, when she was sixteen and a half years old. Increase’s parents died in 1777, and the two newlyweds moved to Vermont. Hannah and Increase’s first daughter, Deborah, was not born until five years into their marriage. While women marrying at such a young age was fairly common in those times, the first child arriving after five years was less so. Hannah went on to give birth to nine more children over the next twenty years, meaning infertility was not the issue.

Timing, Movement, and Motherhood
Between their marriage and the birth of their first child, the couple moved at least five times. They left Massachusetts after the death of Increase’s parents and settled somewhere in Vermont, most probably Putney, where Deborah was born in 1781.
​wing Family Across State
Over the next two decades the family moved between Putney, Vermont, and Granville, New York.... By 1784, the family was living in Putney, Vermont, where sons Increase (1784) and Charles (1786) were born. By 1789, the family was back in Granville, where Elijah arrived in 1789, followed by Elias in 1790, Hannah in 1794, Daniel in 1795, James in 1798, and Levi in 1800.

The Move to Minerva
When Levi was four, Increase moved the family to Minerva. According to the 1810 census, James, Daniel, Hannah, Elias, and Elijah made the move as well. Although several of the Jones children accompanied their parents to Minerva, most eventually established lives elsewhere. By tracing census, cemetery, and family records, it is possible to follow their movements to Granville, Chautauqua County, Vermont, and Meigs County, Ohio.

Faith, Fracture, and Legacy
Records from the Baptist Church show that Hannah was baptized there in 1807, the day after the church was organized. Sadly, they also show that she was excluded in 1815 for neglect of the church. There is no indication that Increase was a member of the church, which may have impacted Hannah’s devotion. Ironically, Hannah’s son James moved west to Chautauqua County with Elder Ravlin and Alfred White in 1832, and her grandson, also named Increase, went on to receive a license to preach in the Baptist Church.

Final Years
Hannah died on May 25, 1830, and was buried beside Increase in the Minerva Baptist Cemetery.  Although many of her children eventually established homes elsewhere..., one branch of the family remained. Through her youngest son Levi Bowen Jones, Hannah's descendants continued to shape the community for generations. David Jones established the Jones Store, later operated by his son Clarence, linking Hannah's family to one of Minerva's best-known businesses.

A Note About the Records
The surviving records are not entirely consistent regarding which of the Jones children accompanied their parents to Minerva around 1804. Hannah's name appears in conflicting sources, and because she later died in Granville, it remains possible that she did not make the move or returned there at an early date.
Illustration of an early American hearth and household interior, representing the domestic labor and endurance of Hannah Bowen Jones, a Founding Mother of Minerva, for whom no known portrait exists.
No portrait of Hannah Bowen Jones survives. This image represents the domestic spaces where women like her labored, adapted, and sustained families during the early settlement of Minerva.

Timeline of Hannah (Bowen) Jones
​(1759–1830)

August 19, 1759
Born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts to Vinton Bowen and Mary Polly Conner Bowen.
April 14, 1776
Married Increase Jones in Rehoboth at age sixteen.
1777
After the death of Increase’s parents, the couple moved to Vermont.
1781
First child, Deborah Jones, born, likely in Putney, Vermont.
1784
Son Increase Jones Jr. born in Putney, Vermont.
1786
Son Charles Jones born.
Late 1780s
Family relocated to Granville, New York.
1789–1800
Seven additional children born:
Elijah (1789), Elias (1790), Patty (1792), Hannah (1794), Daniel (1795), James (1798), and Levi (1800).
1804
Several of Hannah’s children moved with their parents to Schroon (later Minerva), New York.
1807
Baptized into the newly organized Minerva Baptist Church, the day after the church was formed.
1815
Church records note Hannah was excluded for neglect of the church.
1830 – May 25
Died at age 71, five years after her husband Increase.
Buried beside him.