The historical marker tour continues eastward along Merrick Road, stopping at a small cemetery on the south side of Merrick Road east of Massapequa Avenue. West Neck Cemetery (also known as the Jones Cemetery) is barely noticed by the many drivers who pass it daily, yet it has a uniqueness that separates it from the two other Massapequa cemeteries, namely the Floyd-Jones and the Grace Church Cemeteries. It is much smaller than the other two, having only forty-three headstones and has been inactive for many years. The most recent burial was in 1931, when Julia Wellwood Jones was buried there. Finally, it is the resting place of the Jones family, descendants of Thomas Jones, Massapequa's first white settler and relatives of the Floyd-Joneses, who represent the other side of Thomas Jones's many descendants.
The cemetery was laid out in the late 1700s by descendants of Thomas Jones who owned the property called West Neck, the area west of Ocean Avenue and east of Massapequa Avenue. It was used for burials until the early twentieth century, but fell into disuse, probably because most members of the Jones branch of the family either moved out of the area, or preferred to be buried in the larger family plot in St. John's Cemetery (officially the Memorial Cemetery of St. John's Church), located in Laurel Hollow.
Examination of the headstones provides an interesting history of the Jones family. The oldest legible stone is that of William Jones, youngest son of Thomas Jones. He died in 1779. Many other Joneses are there, including Samuel Jones, Thomas's grandson, who signed the United States Constitution and founded the New York State Bar. A stone set in the ground near the chain link fence was placed there in his honor by the Historical Society in 1988. There are also stones for people who married into the family. Colonel Benjamin Birdsall, who served valiantly in the American Revolution, is buried there. His wife was Freelove Jones, the original Thomas Jones's granddaughter. Eleanor Turk, daughter of J. S. Jackson and Rebecca Jones, is buried there, as is Julia Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Jackson Jones of the late nineteenth century, whose family name was Wellwood. There is also a headstone for Jacob S. Jackson, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Jones. There is no apparent reason why he took the name Jackson, yet these are the kinds of name changes that make it challenging to trace family relationships and provide much joy to genealogists.
Another unique feature of the cemetery is the question of ownership. Clearly, the Jones family laid out the cemetery and managed the plots while it owned the land, but at some unspecified time it either sold, gave away, or abandoned the property. Town of Oyster Bay records do not provide any evidence to establish the current owners of the property and those who have investigated its history in depth cannot say who owns it. It is carried on Town records as non-owned tax-exempt property. The result of this situation was that for many years the cemetery was neglected and the headstones deteriorated, many splitting and falling over, some almost overgrown with weeds. The Historical Society of the Massapequas addressed this problem a few years ago, when it took upon itself the task of rehabilitating the area. The Society replaced the deteriorating fence facing Merrick Road with a black chain link fence that matched the older fence around the other three sides of the cemetery. Society Trustees also made arrangements with the Town's Parks Department, which has agreed to provide regular service to maintain its appearance. They also enlisted the services of a local Boy Scout who took on its rehabilitation as his Eagle Scout project. He cleaned each stone so it was readable and reset those that had either broken apart or had fallen off their pedestals. His efforts have made it a much more attractive resting place for Massapequas's earliest residents.
The Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Jones marker and the West Neck marker in July 1988. Barbara Dickerson was President at the time.
A NOTE ON SAMUEL JONES The Historical Society honored Samuel Jones with a special marker at the same time they erected the West Neck marker because of his role in ratifying the U. S. Constitution. Ten states had already ratified by July 1788, making it the law of the land. Jones and other New York Antifederalists opposed ratification, fearing a federal government would prevent states from having any power and that only the wealthiest would be able to achieve office. He proposed a Bill of Rights as well as the right of the states to pass amendments to the Constitution. This suggestion convinced other New York Antifederalists to ratify the Constitution, and they did so on July 26. A Bill of Rights containing ten amendments was added subsequently and the states have passed seventeen additional amendments since 1788.
