 Gabriel Jones was born on May 17 , 1724 , approximately 3 miles ( 4 @.@ 8 km ) from Williamsburg , in York County , Colony of Virginia . He was a son of John and Elizabeth Jones , who had arrived in Virginia several years earlier from Montgomeryshire in northern Wales , Great Britain , where Jones 's family was of noble descent . Jones 's father was a weaver . Jones 's elder sister Elizabeth was born on August 13 , 1721 , at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg , and his younger brother John was born on June 12 , 1725 , at the same location as Jones . 
