First, I must return briefly to the “brick wall” named James Lewis Jenkins. In the March 11 post about him, I had mentioned the belief that James Lewis Jenkins could be the brother of George W Jenkins. They had been born in 1806 and 1809,respectively. If they were brothers then their parents would have been William Norris and Priscilla Hoskins Jenkins. As I mentioned, this is purely conjecture on my part. Since then, I have developed another scenario. William Norris Jenkins had a brother, George W Jenkins (born-1780). It is very possible that this could be the father of James Lewis Jenkins. This “brick wall” is becoming thicker!
I have made a contact with a woman in Quincy whose ancestors were George W Jenkins and Martha Cravens. She also has a friend who lives in Lewis County and knows quite a bit about the Jenkins/Cravens lines. Perhaps, I can meet her the next time we are in Quincy to do some genealogy. Also, we need to get back to the Lewis County Historical Society and see if there is something there we missed the first time. Another possibility is the library at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri; they may have old newspapers from the area or other sources to check. James Lewis Jenkins died in 1861; it would be great to find an obituary that could possibly list his place of birth and/or parents!
So, I continue to search for a way over, around, or through this brick wall! I’ll keep you posted.
William H Shepherd
What I know about my second great grandfather is pretty sketchy so far. Much of what I have on William is unconfirmed so should not be used on other genealogies, except as clues. William was born in Hunnewell (Honeywell), Shelby County, Missouri on October 19, 1845. His parents were John S and Mary J Tompkins Sheppard. All of this in unconfirmed as it was on the online tree of his granddaughter but it was not cited. I had a phone conversation with her, but did not get any confirmation of the information. She had been ill and I think was suffering from some early dementia. She also indicated that she would be moving to a nursing home in the near future. Attempts to contact her son on Facebook and by mail went unanswered. That was very disappointing as I’m willing to bet his mother did have some sources that could have been shared.
William married Nancy “Nannie” A Jenkins on April 16, 1866. This was after he had served in the Civil War as a private in Co. B of the 69th Regiment of the Missouri Militia. William and Nancy had six children: Edward, Jennie Irene, Robert Elmer (my great grandfather), Pearl, Mary E., and William P. I believe the last two children died very young. On one census, William was listed as a blacksmith; in a Lewis County Journal article about his wife, he was listed as a cooper. William died on Dec 17, 1925 and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in LaGrange, Missouri along side of his wife.
I have made a contact with a woman in Quincy whose ancestors were George W Jenkins and Martha Cravens. She also has a friend who lives in Lewis County and knows quite a bit about the Jenkins/Cravens lines. Perhaps, I can meet her the next time we are in Quincy to do some genealogy. Also, we need to get back to the Lewis County Historical Society and see if there is something there we missed the first time. Another possibility is the library at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri; they may have old newspapers from the area or other sources to check. James Lewis Jenkins died in 1861; it would be great to find an obituary that could possibly list his place of birth and/or parents!
So, I continue to search for a way over, around, or through this brick wall! I’ll keep you posted.
William H Shepherd
What I know about my second great grandfather is pretty sketchy so far. Much of what I have on William is unconfirmed so should not be used on other genealogies, except as clues. William was born in Hunnewell (Honeywell), Shelby County, Missouri on October 19, 1845. His parents were John S and Mary J Tompkins Sheppard. All of this in unconfirmed as it was on the online tree of his granddaughter but it was not cited. I had a phone conversation with her, but did not get any confirmation of the information. She had been ill and I think was suffering from some early dementia. She also indicated that she would be moving to a nursing home in the near future. Attempts to contact her son on Facebook and by mail went unanswered. That was very disappointing as I’m willing to bet his mother did have some sources that could have been shared.
William married Nancy “Nannie” A Jenkins on April 16, 1866. This was after he had served in the Civil War as a private in Co. B of the 69th Regiment of the Missouri Militia. William and Nancy had six children: Edward, Jennie Irene, Robert Elmer (my great grandfather), Pearl, Mary E., and William P. I believe the last two children died very young. On one census, William was listed as a blacksmith; in a Lewis County Journal article about his wife, he was listed as a cooper. William died on Dec 17, 1925 and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in LaGrange, Missouri along side of his wife.
