From notes of B. F. Atkinson (great-grandson of John Jones).

The Jones family emigrated from England and were of Welsh blood. They came at an early date, prior to the Revolutionary War to the colonies. The original family or brothers were divided in the war sentiment; out of three or four brothers, only one was true to the Colonial Army and this was the father of Judge John Jones. One brother resided in Baltimore and returned to England leaving a large amount of real estate to which was confiscated by the U.S.A.

From the 1884 History of Douglas County Illinois

Article on Owen J. Jones (son of John). Page 356

OWEN J. JONES, retired farmer was born November 17, 1815 in Monroe County, Ohio. He was of Welsh descent. His grandfather Ephraim sided with the colonies, his brother with the Tories. Their property was confiscated to the State. Ephraim died in 1852 and the age of one hundred and nine years. …

Article on Abram Jones son of Samuel Jones Page 556

ABRAM JONES, farmer, was born in Monroe County, Ohio, October 16, 1826, and is a son of Samuel and Cisna (Hamilton) Jones….his paternal grandfather Ephraim Jones a native of Wales, who came to America prior to the Revolutionary war and was one of the “minutemen” is that war….

From the 1900 “Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois” by John Greshem

Article on Owen E. Jones son of Abram Jones pages 242-244

Owen E. Jones, one of the leading merchants of Murdock since 1893, and the second son of Abram Jones….(Abram’s) grandfather, Ephraim Jones was born in Wales….

From the “History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland Counties Missouri 1887 pages 779-780

Article on Jacob C. Jones son of Asher Jones

Jacob C. Jones, farmer and stock raiser, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1828. He is the eight of ten children of Capt. Asher and Mary (Coleman) Jones, the former of Welsh ancestry, and born in Virginia in 1785. The grandfather was a spy in the Revolution, and some years after settled in Ohio as a farmer. Asher went with him, and for several years was a keel boatman on the Ohio and Kenawa Rivers….

Comments by SJH. These items demonstrate that traditional information can be a blessing and/or a curse. The last item from Douglas County, Illinois was the first proof that Ephraim Jones of Monroe County was indeed the father of John and Samuel Jones. But I spent quite a bit of time looking for and not finding Ephraim Jones in the 1850 census at age 107. The depositions of John and Phebe Jones make it very hard to believe the Ephraim could have lived another 20 years. Owen’s father John died in 1852 and that might have been where that year came from. I have found lots of errors in these local history books, some of the information may have been submitted incorrectly and bad editing may have created other errors.

Phebe’s deposition gave Ephraim’s birth place as Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey which is more believable than the tradition of a Welsh birth, but people are not the best source for their time and place of birth as they are not able to remember it on their own.

I have searched for the supposed Tory brother’s of Ephraim and haven’t located any strong candidates.