Blown up in the schoolhouse...

It caught my eye rather quickly.' Levi Jones, who was blown up in the schoolhouse was the first husband of Elizabeth Cook, daughter of Aaron Cooke and Hannah Wadsworth.'   What? Why did the school house get blown up and why was Levi in it?

Let me backtrack a little before I tell you more about that. Levi Jones is an ancestor of mine through Effie Knickerbocker Hooker who married Peter Dykeman back in 1885. The little chart on the side here give you and idea of how the family goes back to Levi.

Levi Jones is buried in the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford, Connecticut. The epitaph on his gravestone is: In memory of Mr.Levi Jones, who died May ye 23rd 1766 in ye 50th year of his age. Here from earthly joyes I am fled unto ye Mansions of the Dead Prepare Reder for thou must like me be Buried in ye Dust.

And the story behind being blown up in the schoolhouse? When the news of the repeal of the Stamp Act reached Hartford, a great celebration was planned. Many men of the town were in the schoolhouse, preparing fireworks. Gunpowder for two companies of militia had been delivered to the school house at the rate of one pound per soldier. Some was spilled when the powder was delivered, and a few boys of the town (being in high spirits and meaning no harm) lit the spilled powder on the ground. This powder ignited and led a path to the schoolhouse which then blew up. Levi Jones was one of three who died in the explosion, although many others were injured.

The history leading up to the American War of Independance is something we learn about in school, but this certainly makes the history of the Stamp Act and its repeal stand out in my mind. The fact it was repealed had an immediate impact on my family. In less than 10 years, Levi's son-in-law, William Hooker would fight in the Revolutionary War which was a more general result of the Stamp Act. One just never knows what events will affect the future.

Levi & Elizabeth had the following children that I know of; Hannah Jones, Abigail Jones, Mille Jones, and Julius Jones. Although I do know more about Elizabeth's parents, Levi's parents are a mystery. Some folks seem to think his parents were Benjamin Jones of Enfield, MA (which then became part of CT) and Anna Prior, but I am still looking for proof positive on that.

And that is just one of many interesting stories in the family tree - Levi got blown up in the schoolhouse.