The Story of the Jones Vintage Hockey Sticks
The wood of one of our Vintage Hockey Sticks has been radiocarbon dated to a range of 1728 – 1785 with median probability of year 1764.
As in most cultures, if the ship wasn’t returning to its origin, it would be disassembled and used as supplies. Was it?
Shantz (Jones) Patriarch. Germany – Pennsylvania
The Schantz-Jones family Johannes Schantz (anglicized to Charles Jones) patriarch was born in Gondelsheim, Baden, Germany in 1721. He and his family sailed to the US on the “Lydia” in 1749. Their names are on passenger manifest under Capt. John Randolph of Rotterdam. The family arrived in the US in Philadelphia, October 9th, 1749. Shortly thereafter, the family with others moved to a place that was eventually called Germantown in the state of Pennsylvania and stayed there to pay their passage from Germany, as the story is told.
Germantown, Pennsylvania – New Brunswick, Canada
The families were given land by the Benjamin Franklin / George Washington Land Development Company to develop in the area that became known as “Monckton” after the great Colonel Monckton.
From Germantown, they traveled on a 50-ton sloop called the “Lovey” under Captain Nathaniel Shiverick in 1766. As in most cultures, if the ship wasn’t returning to its origin, it would be disassembled and used as supplies. Was it? The wood of one of our Vintage Hockey Sticks has been radiocarbon dated to a range of 1728 – 1785 with median probability of year 1764. That means the tree / wood died two years before the ship “Lovey” sailed to this location. Was the stick made from this vessel’s wood? Is it possible? The wood is certainly that old!
Hockey researchers found an incidence of player and skates dated to 1796.
Bridge to New Game – Hockey
The bridge also has to be built to connect the family to visuals of “hockey sticks”. Where could they have seen this very early game called “hockey”? I have found several pictures and articles that can connect the family to areas where this new hockey was indeed played. Could they have seen people playing this game and then re-created what they had seen? Could they re-create what those people were using as equipment? I have several pictures attached that possibly connect the Schantz – Jones Family to areas where hockey was played even in its infancy – England (1796), Virginia (1835) and the map connecting Virginia to Philadelphia.
Dendrochronology and Shipbuilding
Also, during the shipbuilding years in this area, certain types of wood were imported from overseas and transported to this area. We are still working with a Dendrochronology Lab to identify the wood species that each stick was made of. We are checking to find out the type of wood and where it came from. The stick’s wood that was median dated to be 1764, could have possibly been cut from a tree somewhere else and transported to their new location for the median year was two years before they were in this part of the world. It is indeed possible that the stick was carved from the wood of the original journey. Abner Jones was a shipbuilder in this area and the great grandson of Charles Shantz – Jones, the original settler of this area. We believe shipbuilder Abner Jones (1812 – 1886), his father Charles Jones (1781 – 1850), his grandfather Henry Jones (1758 – 1840), his great grandfather Charles Jones (1721 – 1776) or somebody associated with them, carved these sticks. It is likely that the year the trees were cut, the wood was manufactured into something. It is not reasonable to assume the wood was left for many years when it was needed in everyday life.
Radiocarbon dating report from California that states the age range for the wood of one stick is “1809-1898” with a median age of 1839. This report will be provided to “real” interested purchasers.
“Articles of Agreement” dated January 27th, 1766 and the signatures of those who would take their families aboard and travel to the “new” world. They arrived here (Present day Moncton) at “The Bend” June 3rd, 1766.
The more we travel back in history the “less people could read and write”. In the “Articles of Agreement” dated January 27th, 1766, (attached to this website) the document was signed with an “x”. Johannes Schantz (Charles Jones) could not write and therefore signed the “x” on the contract.
The players of this new game called “hockey” who could not “write” would carve an “x” into their stick at certain distances from the end of the stick. This was done for identification of their stick from the other players in case during play, the sticks became intermingled with other players. The “x” is obvious on both the “Articles of Agreement” of 1766 and on the “hockey stick” itself.
“Abner Jones was a shipbuilder; carried on a lumber manufactory and operated a hotel…built the 590 ton barque Hurricane, launched 1863.” (This ship was built in Moncton by Abner, owned by Oliver Jones and sold to owners in Liverpool, England in 1864.)
— From Resurgo: The History of Moncton vol. 1, by Alexander Pincombe and Edward Larracey:
Canadian Census Report 1851
We are using a member of his family line or “associated with” as the creator of these sticks. In a scenario using Abner as creator, he would have been around 27 or 28 years old when shipbuilding in this area. He and his family must therefore have had knowledge of lumber and lumber manufacturing. One of the other eight ship builders from England that he had employed and lived with his family could have also carved these “hockey” sticks. His family as listed in the 1851 Census in Moncton Parish:
Carpenters / Shipbuilders that boarded with the family:
Mickle William Male Lodger 48 Scotch Ship Carpenter
Fraser James Male Lodger 45 Scotch Ship Carpenter
McDonald John Male Lodger 50 Scotch Ship Carpenter
Livinsgston Duncan Male Lodger 25 Scotch Ship Carpenter
Field William Male Lodger 25 Scotch Ship Carpenter
Mickleman James Male Lodger 19 Scotch Ship Carpenter
Census Report
| Name | Sex | Realtionship | Age | Profession |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jones Abner | M | Head | 39 | Shipbuilder, Lumberer & Farmer |
| Jones Delia | F | Wife | 37 | |
| Jones Eliza | F | Daughter | 15 | |
| Jones Charles | M | Son | 13 | |
| Jones William | M | Son | 11 | |
| Jones Henry | M | Son | 9 | |
| Jones Humphrey | M | Son | 7 | |
| Jones Abner | M | Son | 4 |
The above census information reveals interesting facts: It documents the Jones’ German origins (twisted to “Dutch”). Even Abner’s wife [A] Delia is listed as “Dutch” even though her father was English and her mother, half-English and half-German. Included are six Lodgers who are shipbuilders, no doubt working for Abner in his shipbuilding ventures with his cousin, Oliver Jones, at the time.
Abner Jones Business Ventures
The above information gives us a snapshot of the business ventures that Abner had created in the day. Being a Shipbuilder, Lumber Manufacturer and owning a hotel would show that he certainly worked with wood and wood products. He was capable of creating these sticks. It could also be stated that his ancestors were the “same way” inclined….
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada New Settlement
There were eight families that originally settled Moncton, NB in 1766. The year 2016 marks the 250th anniversary of their landing June 3rd, 1766. This stick was owned / carved by one of those family members. We believe shipbuilder Abner Jones (1812 – 1886), his father Charles Jones (1781 – 1850), his grandfather Henry Jones (1758 – 1840), his great grandfather Charles Jones (1721 – 1776) or one of the Scotch ship carpenters carved these sticks. This has quite the historical significance.
Below is the lineage of the Jones Family from settlement at “The Bend” in 1766 to the last sticks’ owner Fred Stewart Jones. Mr Fred Stewart Jones owned the sticks until his death in 1980.
Stick Owners & Family Genealogy
There were eight families that originally settled Moncton, NB in 1766. The year 2016 marks the 250th anniversary of their landing June 3rd, 1766. This stick was owned and we believe carved by one of those family members. We believe shipbuilder Abner Jones (1812-1886) or his father Charles Jones (1781-1850) carved the stick. This has quite the historical significance. Please check out our “Links” tab to read about the 1766 newcomer celebrations in Moncton…
Click here for marriage certificate of Stewart Jones
- Frederick A Stewart Jones 1901 – 1980 Elizabeth J Martin Spouse 1898 – 1972 STICKS LAST JONES OWNER
- Frederick C Jones 1864 – 1962 (father to Fred Stewart) Emma Amelia Beer 1870 – 1925 Spouse
- Abner Jones 1812 – 1886 Shipbuilder (father to Frederick C, grandfather to Fred Stewart) Anna Maria Oulton 1842 – 1880 Second Spouse to Abner
- Charles Jones 1781 – 1850 (father to Abner) Deborah Somers 1787 – 1871 Spouse
- Henry Jones 1758 – 1840 (father to Charles) Ann Christiana Somers 1763 – 1837 Spouse
- Charles Jones 1721 – 1776 (father to Henry) Catherine Jones 1737 – 1797 Spouse Traveled to new world with family
- Johannes Schantz 1676 – 1746 (father to Charles, lived & died in Germany) Anna Margaretha Voltz 1683 – 1749 Spouse