surnames - making them possessive

I asked this on another thread of mine but it didn't get much response so I'm gonna ask again.

This question is an extension of the straight As question.

If a family's name is Jones and there are four Jones(es), like there would be Bushes, Washingtons, and Carters, wouldn't it make sense for the possessive plural noun version of the name to be Joneses' and not Jones' or Jones's.

Things can get really confusing with the possessive plurals of proper names ending in s, such as Hastings and Jones....

The plural of Hastings is Hastingses. The members of the Jones family are the Joneses.

To show possession, add an apostrophe.

Incorrect: the Hastings' dog
Correct: the Hastingses' dog (Hastings + es + apostrophe)

Another widely used technique is to write the word as we would speak it. For example, since most people saying "Mr. Hastings' pen" would not pronounce an added s, we would write Mr. Hastings' pen with no added s. But most people would pronounce an added s in "Jones's," so we'd write it as we say it: Mr. Jones's golf clubs. This method explains the punctuation of "for goodness' sake."

That same site also addresses a question previously raised here, and shows that common spoken conventions can affect the formal written presentation:

Quote:

That same site also addresses a question previously raised here, and shows that common spoken conventions can affect the formal written presentation:

Of course, layman. Just ask yourself. What came first by many many centuries, spoken language or written language?

The written part of all languages is an artificial creation. Language, ie. the grammar of all languages always has been, and always will be created ONLY by the spoken language.

Sound like you're trying to say I'm right, but you're wrong. There are no "punctuation marks" in the spoken langage. They pertain solely to the written language.

As P has pointed out to you, layman, the idea that the spoken language has no "punctuation marks" is a ludicrous idea. Had you thought a wee bit or asked Izzy or Setanta for some help you three language gurus would have figured it out.