DRAFT John S. Jenkins (1804 – 1880) (gr.gr.grandfather of GJF) ............................................................................................................................ Summary bio written for publication on the John S. Jenkins Find A Grave memorial maintained by Louis Schwarz: John S. Jenkins was born in Williamson County, Tennessee on December 8, 1804, the son of John Jenkins and Ann Stephens. His parents were married in 1788 in Washington County, Virginia and in about 1795 migrated to Tennessee to a part of Williamson County that later became Maury County. His father died there in 1816. In about 1825 Ann and some of the children migrated to the NW part of Hamilton County, Illinois, where Ann was listed only as "wid. Jenkins" in the 1830 census, with 5 children. Three of the children were married in 1831 and 1832 in Hamilton and Jefferson Counties, IL - Thomas S., Richard F. and John S. John S. Jenkins married Sarah Cook, daughter of Elizabeth and Theophilus Cook, in Jefferson County in 1831. By 1835 John & Sarah and two daughters were living in Fulton Co. IL along with the Thomas S. Jenkins family and the remaining family of Ann Jenkins, consisting of her and the two remaining unmarried children. By 1840 John & Sarah were back in Jefferson County living adjacent to Sarah's parents near the town of Belle Rive. By 1850 John was back in Fulton County with four daughters and one son. Sarah had died in 1845 at about the time their only son was born. In 1850 John remarried to a widow, Rhoda Meyers, in Fulton County - and the next year the family moved to Bremer County, Iowa, where John remained for the rest of his life. His father-in-law had been a lay preacher in Jefferson County, IL, and John also became a Methodist lay preacher. He conducted marriages in Bremer County both as a Justice of the Peace and as a Minister of the Gospel. In 1866 he married another widow, Alzina Allen. John S. Jenkins died on March 16, 1880 at his home on his farm in what is now a part of Denver, Iowa. …........................................................................................................................ Jenkins Ancestry and other details: John Jenkins, father of John S. Jenkins was born about 1771, in Charles County Maryland. His father was Thomas H. Jenkins, born about 1748 in William & Mary Parish in Charles County, MD. In 1778, Thomas sold the land there inherited from his father and moved to Washington County, VA. In about 1795 he and his son John and family moved to what later became Maury County, TN. He was also joined there by the family of his brother Philip Jenkins. Apparently, the rest of Thomas's children remained in Washington Co. VA. The mother of John was named Abigail and she and Thomas were probably married in Charles County, MD. Nothing more is known about her. Thomas was one of the six children of John Jenkins (1711 – 1762) and Jane Story of Charles Co. MD. Only the names of the sons, John, Thomas, Philip, and Story were listed in their father's will – but there were also two daughters. Ann Stephens, mother of John S. Jenkins was born in Washington Co. VA about 1773, the daughter of Thomas Stephens and his wife Ann. Nothing is known about Ann, the wife of Thomas. Thomas was allegedly the son of John E. Stephens and Suzanna Leigh Stephens. He was in Washington Co. VA by 1785. Thomas died 29 August 1799 and his will was filed for probate on 18 Nov 1800. Children listed in the will were Henry, John, Richard, Thomas, David, William, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary. His wife, Ann, and son Henry were executors of the estate. When John Jenkins died in Maury County, TN, in March 1816, Ann Stephens Jenkins was named executor. Two married daughters were named in the will, Margaret (Polly) Jones and Nancy Jones. The younger children were not specifically named in the will. In the 1820 census, a second female listed as over age 26 was living with the Ann “Ginkins” family. This was probably a widowed daughter and some of the younger children listed in that family group were apparently hers rather than Ann's. According to bios related to two of Ann's sons, they moved to Hamilton County, IL in about 1825. In the 1830 and 1835 census listings the two younger children shown in Ann's family were also probably grandchildren. Little is known about Ann's other children other than John, Thomas, Richard, and Margaret. Margaret was married before 1816 and she and her family lived in several different places before settling in Alton, IL, where she died in October, 1870. After 1834 Thomas S. Jenkins lived the rest of his life in Fulton Co. IL and died in May, 1876. Richard Fields Jenkins lived in the southern part of Wayne Co. IL which adjoins Hamilton Co. for the rest of his life after his marriage in 1832. He died there in February, 1877. George J. Farris July 25, 2016