It was in February of 2016, during a visit with the venerable Charlene Jenkins Spencer, that I became immersed in the early settlement of Jenkins, just south of Franklinton. Though I had heard mention of it from my grandmother Emma Jenkins Brumfield, I regret that I wasn't yet tuned in. By the time I sat down with Ms. Charlene, who was 98 at the time and running circles around me, I was ready, desperate really, to learn more about my Jenkins ancestors. With firsthand knowledge, she kindly filled me in.
One of seven children, the late Charlene was born in June of 1917 to Zula McCain Jenkins and Charlie Thomas Jenkins. Charlie was the son of Flora Simmons Jenkins and Richard R. Jenkins (1861-1943), one of the area's first prominent businessmen. Ms. Charlene and her siblings - Florena (Durden), Rex, R. L., Errol, Chester, and Larry - all grew up at the settlement then known as Jenkins, named for their grandfather.
Situated off Jenkins Road in the area due west of her son Dale's present-day house, the tightknit community alongside the railroad consisted of Jenkins Sawmill and C.A. Jenkins Depot, along with Ms. Charlene's grandfather's house. The lumber was cut and shipped by train on the railroad, travelling on to Rio and then to New Orleans. The prosperous settlement also boasted a post office and a cotton gin. Villages developed across the countryside, part and parcel of the railroad. The train was an economic engine which brought many communities into being, and Jenkins was no exception.
An article describing Jenkins appeared in "The Daily News" on August 12, 1953, material I received from Cousin Margaret Magee Joffrion which she derived from her father Dr. T. C. W. Magee's things - his mother was Lula Jenkins Magee, daughter of Charles and Melissa Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wascom Jenkins. Said article is my source for this column, together with conversations with Ms. Charlene; her nephews Richard Jenkins and Darryl Jenkins (my family has been hand in glove with both families for as long as I can remember), sons of R. L. Jenkins; Dale Spencer, son of Charlene Jenkins Spencer; and my grandmother Emma Jenkins Brumfield, the youngest child of Charles and Lizzie Wascom Jenkins.
Richard Jenkins (1861-1943) was the son of Daniel P. Jenkins (1827-1863) and wife Jane Knight Stafford Jenkins (1827-1905). He and his six siblings were born at Enon. Losing their father at an early age (Richard was two years old), the children developed a solid work ethic, learning to pitch in and help with the family finances during their youth. As Richard had little formal education, such hardship was likely at the root of his later success in life. In his early teens, he married Flora Simmons, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Simmons and Elizabeth Fendlason Simmons, on December 4, 1879, in the Simmons home in the Canaan community. Notably, her two brothers - Henry Norman and Thomas Jefferson Simmons, Jr. - served as Sheriff of Washington Parish in the early part of the twentieth century.
During the early years of matrimony, Richard and Flora bought property from Hiram Simmons, who was her mother's half-brother, and constructed a home on adjoining land near the Canaan Church. With plans to homestead it, they changed their mind, selling it and returning to Enon where they purchased land from his brother Charles A. Jenkins. Charles A. Jenkins, married to Lizzie Wascom Jenkins, was my great-grandfather. He was also the great-grandfather of Cousins Margaret Joffrion, Gayle Rester, Jo Ann Magee, June Magee, Ricky Magee, and many others.
Dairying and farming at Enon, his brother and sister-in-law - Richard and Flora Jenkins - worked the land. But once the N.O.G.N. Railroad erected its branch line south of Franklinton on land adjacent to property he had earlier acquired, the Jenkins's lot in life changed. You know what they say - location, location, location. Overnight, the property became quite valuable. Wasting not time or opportunity, Richard Jenkins built a sawmill near the railroad at Jenkins. Next, he opened a general merchandise store, which the community desperately needed, and he built housing for new residents. Then, with the population in excess of one hundred, came the cotton gin and the post office which Richard Jenkins also built. His wife Flora served as postmaster of the vibrant community for more than two decades.
And successful businessman Richard Jenkins also made sure his children had what he didn't have - a good education. Not only did he build a brand new two-room school house, but also he brought in a private tutor - Zora Holcomb of Nichols, Mississippi - to teach his twelve children and also his nieces and nephews. His niece - my grandmother Emma Elizabeth Jenkins (Brumfield) - was among them.
Back in that day, her father Charles A. Jenkins who owned a general merchandise store of his own decided to go into business with his brother Richard. As the story goes, the sign for the business read "C. A. Jenkins and Brother." Though both put up capital, it was told that Richard provided the building while Charles provided the sign. Eventually, Charles's son Dan began managing the store and its accounts.
It is my understanding that the village of Jenkins thrived until about 1925 when timber had been depleted and people left the area. Still, the community was viable until the passenger trains no longer came through Jenkins. Then, even the post office closed.
In their golden years, Richard and wife Flora moved to Franklinton where he operated a livery stable. Their children were Elizabeth, who married Oscar Brumfield; Ruth, who married Pierce Seals; Lillie, who married Albert N. Stevenson, first, and then Oscar Green; E. Fred Jenkins, who married Maude Green; Charley T. Jenkins, who married Zula McCain; Alma, who married David Stringfield; Mae, who married T. T. Stockstill; Veda, who married Claude McDaniel, first, and then John A. Brumfield; D. P. Jenkins, who married Mildred Ellison; Edith, who married John Magee; Richard Jenkins; and Nancy Jenkins.
