I wish I had a tractor 2 weeks ago when I decided to drag my family out to the old Jenkins Cemetery in Caldwell county, Kentucky. Many of you may not know, but my most popular post was on finding a haunted cemetery. It has been a top 10 google search especially during halloween. Go check it out: The Haunting .
However, if you want to come on this adventure just keep reading.
Photo of Captain Phil Harris of The Deadliest Catch Courtesy of Google
Photo I took from one of the oldest cemeterys in America in NYC’s St. Paul’s Churchyard.
Overwhelmed does not come close to my thankful spirit after all of your well wishes in regards to not only my dog’s health, but also for myself. I wanted to report that today Linus would not eat for me this morning. I was worried but later decided to try a different strategy. I fed him one piece at a time very slowly and then finally I put some dog food in his bowl and he got up. I am really pushing the food and giving him his Christmas treats in a more abundant amount than I would usually do. I hope he can gain 10 percent of the weight he has lost. Thank you everyone for your support!
One thing for sure that can be learned about going through tough times is to be resilient. You know the person who gets knocked down and than learns to get up even stronger than before. Please forgive me if I tell you that I am not as strong as I once was. Yet what I will say —I was able to gain empowerment from you all. I would see a comment from one of you and it would be just what I needed to hear. God to me works through people.
Another interesting moment I had two nights ago was my neighbor who is Russian knocking on my door crying. She needs to have a serious surgery and she knew that I am a nurse. To tell you the truth after living in my cul de sac for 10 years, I had very rarely spoken to her as she is very private. Tonight was different and I was able to comfort her. I spoke with her at length on what to expect and gave her a hug and also cried with her. I also encouraged her that she will be fine. It was just a couple of days ago I talked about being kind to a neighbor ( https://alesiablogs.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/back-to-reality/ ) and here I was doing just that. I thank God for that opportunity. It feels good to help another. When we help others, we are entertaining angels I have been told. Just maybe some of you were doing that for me with your comments. One other thing I am humbled yet again to have been nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you to ( http://scvincent.com/awards/ )and soon I will fulfill my obligation with that award.
If you are like me, when I think of steamboats I imagine slowly going down the Ohio or Mississippi River listening to Mark Twain read to me from his classic book Tom Sawyer. After all, Tom Sawyer was an adventurer and being on a steamboat fills my mind of adventure. As I am stepping out on the wide deck outside, I smell and hear the sounds of the water around me. Seeing the riverbank while looking at all the beautiful trees growing along the shore mesmerizes me as well as the thick riverfront vegetation.
Jump forward to our current times, I learn of the many deadly accidents that occurred due to these beautiful steamers. It was so bad that at times 1000’s of folks died from the dangers of steamboats. In due time, the government began to regulate the steamboat business. This helped , but there were still many accidents and deaths. In fact, I imagine that steamboat I am on and Mark Twain is reading to me and suddenly a fire starts onboard near the engines. In front of my eyes, Mark Twain takes off his reading glasses and author’s hat to put on a different sort of hat. It was a riverboat captain’s hat. Mr. Twain was the captain that needed to put that fire out and save us.
Now to the facts. Yes, Mark Twain actually was a steamboat captain. No, he never read to me his story Tom Sawyer. But one thing you might not know is that Mark Twain watched his brother Henry die from a riverboat accident. Today’s installment relives through the newsclippings of The Gleaner in Henderson, Kentucky the death of one of my ancestors in 1917 due to a steamer called the Enterprise made in Louisville, Kentucky.
This story’s details did not come easy to myself. I had been working with Nancy Towns a family researcher on common lines of interest. The line of interest that had captivated both of us was my ancestor Laura Jenkins’s husband who was Robert W. Nichols. He was a victim of a steamboat drowning accident. The body was never recovered.
After months of wondering about if we would ever get to the truth, it became apparent that this was a road block that we may not be able to overcome. Out of faith, I shared with Nancy that I thought we would one day get to the truth of this story. That one day arrived in the form of an email from my brother Donnie Jenkins. He had information about other researchers in the family. One of those contacts was a cousin named Judy Jenkins. Judy and I began discussing our common family lines and I found out she was just as interested in this story as Nancy and myself. Nancy in particular was doing the study for her brother-in-law Jim Nichols who as of late has been ill. Jim is a great, great grandson of Robert Nichols. Judy offered to get closure for Jim on his long lost ancestor. Today we can say we know what happened to Jim’s ancestor Robert Nichols, Laura Jenkins’s husband and we thank Judy Jenkins for helping in this matter. These news clippings are sobering, yet the legend can now be validated with the truth in these articles. May Robert Nichols and all the others who died in the vast rivers of America rest in peace:
Death on the OHIO RIVER
Descriptive News Clipping of Drownings
Bodies never found!
As you read through these news writeups of the incident, you understand how important the newspaper was in those days. It was the only form of communication the townspeople had unless it was by word of mouth. Below I want to share a photo of Robert Nichol’s descendant and his family. This is Jim Nichols taken over 40 years ago. He now knows what happened to his great, great grandfather in 1917. The sorrow he knows that his great, great grandmother Laura Jenkins Nichols had to suffer is indescribable.
Jim Nichols with his grandparents and three of his daughters.
This next photo is my friend Nancy who inspires me with her own genealogy work:
Nancy Towns with her family.
What better way to finish off this story as we learn the truth of our ancestors by a quote from Mark Twain: ” Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
In this photo behind me lived the pioneer woman in rural Kentucky. Read her true story.
Jen Nova (Jennie) Jenkins was born in rural western Kentucky November 26, 1882. Jennie was my great, great aunt and a pioneer woman who was the embodiment of the “gentle woman” as told to me by her great granddaughter Joyce Hankins Candela. Women for centuries were seen as second class citizens and most men considered them as property. This led to extremely difficult lives for women of this era.
Jennie was born to a mentally fragile woman by the name of Sarah Blankenship. Sarah was not married to Jennie’s assumed father whose surname was Calvert. The Calverts were some of the founding settlers to the United States migrating to Kentucky.
Homelife for Jennie was unstable. Her mother Sarah borrowed money to put food on the table to feed the family. James Jones ( J J) Jenkins an elderly man who had accumulated quite a bit of wealth gave her a loan. At the high watershed of his wealth according to census records he owned 2000 acres. When he demanded repayment, Sarah could not. For reasons not completely understood by all, Sarah chose to give her ten year old daughter Jennie away as a servant to him as payment. J J Jenkins agreed to this. The outstanding loan was for $100.
J J Jenkins was a widower with five living grown children. This was an easy way for him to get a servant. After all he had been a slave owner in the past. In 1892 at the age of ten, Jennie began keeping house which included cooking, laundry, and taking care of J J and his grown children. Jennie was a mere child doing servant work with no respect.
When Jennie moved in with J J in his familial homestead, they lived in a log cabin. The cabin set back 200 yards from an old graveyard that would come to hold the Jenkins’ ancestors including J J ‘s parents, brothers, his first wife, and many more. The cemetery was above a creek bed in separating the cabin from the dead.
The unobtrusiveness of this cabin gave the illusion of easy maintenance. It was nothing of the kind. In this rustic log home, a tall stack of wood by the fireplace accented one wall. It was expected Jennie would keep the home warm, gather the crops, cook the meals and sew clothes. At one point, J J forced Jennie to cut her long auburn hair off so it did not impede her duties. Jennie’s granddaughter Joyce states her grandmother held onto the three foot long ponytail in case she would need to sell it to a wig maker. She was keeping it as security for the future, however, by the time Joyce married Jennie gave it to her granddaughter as a gift. The faded ponytail is cherished to this day.
By 1894, it became apparent to Jennie that J J wanted more from her. Eventually at the age of 12 on September 20, 1894 the two legally married. However, the legal age for marriage was 14 so J J wrote she was 15 years old. Jennie may have not understood the forms since she was did not read at this time. J J stated he was 68.
Marriage certificate documenting ages of couple.
By the 1900 census, Jennie and J J were living without any of his previous children. The census indicates Jennie had taught herself to read and write by then. The census also indicated how big the Jenkins ownership of land was with family members owning surrounding land on their own farms. The census seems to indicate Whitnell Jenkins property being divided up between his living children. There were Calverts living next door which could have possibly been grandparents to Jennie. Thomas Jenkins the youngest son of J J was near by on his farm and then there was Polly Jenkins the widow of J J’s oldest brother George on her homestead and Sara Hobby his daughter on another. The older brother was near Lewis Jenkins. Grandchildren were living near by with the surname Masons and then my own line my great grandpa William Farr Jenkins, a nephew to J J living on a farm with his huge family. Numerous family members were continuing to live off Whitnell Jenkins original homestead earned from the War of 1812.
1900 CENSUS documents the Jenkins Family nearby each other. page 1.
1900 CENSUS continued.
1900 CENSUS continued.
Before the 1910 census, J J and Jennie had four children with three surviving. As J J ages he became more dependent upon Jennie. In fact as told to me by Tom Jenkins one of only two living grandson’s of J J’s in an apparent attempt to look younger, he dyed his gray hair black. After dyeing his hair, he went to work in the coal mines and while sweating, the dye ran into his eyes causing blindness.
J J succumbed on Sept 24th 1909 after 15 years of marriage. Jennie had just turned 27. She could finally give her real age.
When J J died , Jennie was left with no means of support. Perhaps Kentucky State laws did not protect wives yet. For whatever reason, Jennie was on her own. One family member did send her son Leman off to boarding school and he received a high school degree. Jennie’s daughters weren’t afforded the same luxury. After Leman returned from school, he decided to move to St. Louis, Missouri and eventually Jennie joined him with his sisters Clara and Ruby. Jennie owned nothing yet she was now FREE from the oppressive life she led. She never complained.
Left to Right Ruby Mae, Clara Mae, and Alvin Clinton Hankins
Jennie’s journey allowed her freedom to help herself and take care of her children as she wished. Being in an environment now of her own making even led her to teach herself to read. When reminiscing about her grandmother, Joyce said, “She never owned a thing, yet seemed to own the world with all the love she shared with me. I will never forget as a little girl Jennie sitting on a glider rocker singing while I laid my head on grandma’s lap.”
Jennie died on her 84th birthday of a heart attack. She was about to have a party utilizing her first old age pension check when suddenly she began experiencing chest discomfort. She asked to be taken to the hospital and died within hours of arriving. Joyce states grandma was a bit of a superstitious woman and would not have wanted to die in her own bed as she would not have liked the family to have had that memory of her. An amazing pioneer woman again never thinking of herself.
Jennie Jenkins
This author would like to thank the contributions to this story: Joyce Hankins Candela, Tom Jenkins, Shelia Hart, Diana Hazelbaker, and Peggy Gilkey . In my research, I talk to many hoping to get the most honest picture of a subject. It is my hope and wish that I have done this with great aunt Jennie’s legacy. I would caution the reader as you make commentary in your mind of Jennie and J. J. that you remember the culture of their times. Please feel free to comment on this post and we will see you all on my next installment.
WWII was behind us. Americans were trying to start living their lives after several years of watching their loved ones go off to war. One bright, cool day on January 7, 1947, Gloria was about to give birth to her precious baby girl. The only problem was that little Rita was almost 3 months too early. Nevertheless ,Rita came into this world in a town known for its ammunition plant that was built because of WWII. This town was Sylacauga, Alabama deep in the Heart of Dixie. Rita was a fighter and born in a time when medicine was making advances never before thought possible.
In fact critical care of premature babies was on the forefront of some of the first ICU type care available to humans.At approximately 3 pounds in weight, Rita clung to life in a commercially manufactured, mechanical incubator that had only in the last few years been accepted by physicians in the care of preemies. Piped into the incubator, Rita’s underdeveloped lungs were fed oxygen that was needed to keep her alive. The standard of care was so far in advance for premature babies that it was actually setting the tone for all critical care for adults and emergency rooms. Little Rita and her parents Roy and Gloria McGinnis were indeed blessed. What was interesting also about the place of her birth was that Sylacauga Hospital had just opened its doors in April of 1945 with the distinction of being the only non-military hospital built in the U.S. during World War II.
Indeed January 7th 1947 was a big day for Rita’s parents. However, Rita was born with her parents having no health insurance, so the Red Cross came in and saved the day and paid the hospital bill ! After Rita’s father Roy reenlisted into the Air Force, he began repaying that bill and in time the Red Cross said he had paid enough and that a grant would pay the rest of the bill.
When Roy returned to military life , he was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama at Maxwell AFB. Rita could now have her care in a military hospital. After Rita was approximately 6 months old, she had her first check up. To the shock of her parents, the doctor said Rita was blind. The military then made the decision to send her to Vanderbilt for further evaluation where the military eye doctor had went to school. The leading eye doctor and professor at Vanderbilt in Tennessee thought Rita had cataracts. He was wrong. With heavy hearts, Rita and her parents came back to Montgomery, Alabama. They then went to see a Dr. Karl Benkwith who in 1945, following WWII, opened the first ophthalmology office in Montgomery, Alabama. He stated that Rita did not have cataracts, but some kind of film over her eyes. Dr. Benkwith told SGT McGinnis he wanted to make an appointment for his daughter with one of the leading eye doctors in the nation. This was Dr. Algernon Reese of Columbia in New York City. Dr. Reese was so well known as he treated stars such as Bob Hope. Roy stated to Dr. Benkwith, “You get us that appointment and we will get there.” The appointment was made.
Roy McGinnis knew he needed to figure out how on a salary of $300 a month that he could get his daughter to New York. He knew the Red Cross had helped him before so he went back to them. He spoke with a Ms. Love who stated , “We will do all we can to get her to New York even if we have to break the bank!” The ball was rolling and the Red Cross was getting things moving.
In the meantime, Roy knew this would not get him down. He had been in alot bigger battles then this one. After all he had been shot down in his bomber plane in Germany during WWII and was a POW in Stalag 17. What more curves could life throw you?
After some time went by, Ms. Love notified the appropriate folks in the military about the circumstances and miracles began to happen to get Rita to New York. The commander in charge of Maxwell AFB or as known in the 1940’s as Maxwell Field where Roy was stationed authorized a flight to Mitchell AFB in New York so Rita could make her appointment in March of 1948. This commander of Maxwell Field and the Air University that the base was noted for was none other then General Muir Fairchild.
General Fairchild was one of the most highly respected military heros of that time. He was a pilot in WWI and had what many would call an outstanding military career. He no doubt was given the story of Sgt McGinnis’ own heroism in WWII and his POW status. If this played a role in Rita getting to New York, it was never told. However, Roy, Gloria, and Rita were on their way in a c-47 plane sitting in the General’s own private quarters of the plane flying to New York in March of 1948.
Rita was seen in New York by Dr. Reese. He gave a diagnoses of retrolental fibroplasia. In other words a film had covered over the back of her lens thereby making Rita go blind. Dr. Reese explained to her the McGinnis’s that he did not know what was caused Rita’s problem, but he promised he would tell them as soon as modern medicine figured this mystery out. Dr. Reese held to his promise and after several years in approximately 1951, Rita’s father Roy McGinnis recieved the answer from Dr. Reese in the form of a letter. It must be noted here that Dr. Reese had all ready written Roy several times to keep him up to date on the progress of understanding Rita’s blindness. In fact there was nothing short of an epidemic in the late 1940’s of babies going blind. The answer was finally discovered that 1950s and the condition was caused by the use of oxygen therapy to treat the immature lungs in premature infants. A matter of life or death caused the blindness. “It shocks you when you hear this, but what can you do.” Exactly what can you when no one knew?
I hope this personal story was interesting to you. I am proud to tell you that Rita is still alive today. Her father is my step dad and Rita is my sister. Roy expressed to me that he has not shared this story with many people. He states most people can not believe that a 4 star General would allow his own military aircraft to be used in such a manner. However, you see it was almost exactly the same time frame that another military officer by the name of Major Donley was travelling in a C-54. The C-54 he was traveling on was cold and unheated in a trip to from Oklahoma to Utah. There were three active duty military on this plane injured and they were freezing to death because the plane was not heated. It was at this time the major knew he wanted to make a difference and get our military to figure out a more humane way we can take our sick for appropriate care in the best place. After this flight, Major Donley was instrumental in modifying the first c-47 for air evac duty by 1949. It takes a few brave soldiers to do the right thing for our sick. General Fairchild saw the need for the air evac plane for little Rita and Major Donley saw this 2000 miles away in the inhumane way three injured soldiers were taken for treatment. Thank God Major Donley put into action a plan that eventually the military sunk their teeth into. Air Evac saved many a life starting as early as the 1950’s in Korea.
Roy McGinnis 1967 Vietnam
Roy and his wife Hilde McGinnis
In my last blog installment, I mentioned I would divulge our famous ancestors. The time has come for me to “spit” it out. I must explain for those that may be reading this for the first time, my husband conducted a research test on his DNA by offering a spit sacrifice to www.23andme.com . This organization is on the cutting edge of discovery for research that possibly will lead to new cures for some of the most debilitating diseases in our lifetime including Parkinsons and Diabetes.
Now to our famous ancestors. The study’s results were surprising and remarkable that included four famous people. But before I spill the beans, I wanted to give you more information on my husband’s other haplogroup. In my last installment, I mentioned his maternal haplogroup H13a1a1a. The paternal (father’s side) haplogroup is R1b1b2a1. Again for further clarification, a haplogroup is defined in general terms as being that part of the family tree of life one arises from. I also discovered that my husband’s lines are 100% European. Also it must be noted the haplogroup R is a widespread branch of human life origins of the Y chromosome. Y of course for those non- scientifically minded is the male side. The R’s of the world seemed to appeared first in Southwest Asia and moved across Eurasia. I must admit this does not say much as Eurasia (Europe and Asia combined-how cute a name by some doctor of geography) holds 73% of the population. However the R1 group in this catagory can be traced back to farmers 10,000 years ago that shaped Europe. It also belongs to those subgroups such as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. In specific terms, R1b1b2a1 can be found in our current areas of Germany, Netherlands, and parts of the North Sea area close to England.
It is amazing to discover one’s roots as I hope you can see in this information. It is also important to note how we all rose to prominance one way or another. There are four folks that rose with my husband’s line to famous stature that may amaze you…..The names given to us are Napoleon, Prince Philip, Luke the Evangelist, and possibly my favorite Susan Sarandon..Now that woman can act!
Stay tuned for my next installment. Peace to all and may you enjoy alittle of life’s pleasures through my diverse photography from places I have been:
Cascades Mountains WA state
Long Beach, Long Island, NY
Mt. Rushmore
Today’s installment will begin with an update. If you have been following along , you know that my stepdad Roy requested me to find his family. It was a huge success. I am now committed as a faciltator in bringing them together after an an amazing 78 year lapse. I have communicated personally with Roy’s half brother and sister and also cousins that are now interested in a reunion. They have never met each other. All of this was made possible by my research from the 1940 census and www.findagrave.com . As you can imagine they are very interested in meeting yet there are jitters in regards to finally coming face to face with relatives you have never met. Communication is much different for their generation than ours. As my 90 year old step dad Roy would say, “We are not used to things so fast like the current generation.” So for now as of this writing a first meeting is set up for October. What’s a couple of months? Right? I will just say I am chomping at the bit!
Below is a picture of their grandfather Will Fulmer from Alabama who died in 1901:
Will Fulmer. He was married three times and managed to outlive them all and still died a young man in his 40’s.
Here also is a link to Roy and his siblings’ father who died in 1967 with additional pictures that I posted on his memorial–http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=93761880.
My second update is on my Dunbar line from Kentucky. This particular family line is from my father’s maternal side. My cousin Sandra who lives in Kentucky and myself have been conducting a thorough study of our Dunbar ancestors. We have run into road blocks along the way, but recently discovered a primary source document from our cousin Linda. Primary source documents are papers that were created at the time of the event. Linda volunteers her time in studying her ancestors as well as helping others. In some loose papers that originated in what we believe to be the Caldwell county courthouse in Princeton, Ky where my ancestors were from some of their naturalization paperwork was found. We are still working to corroborate the information but it indeed looks like citizenship paperwork for our great great great grandfather and his father. I know the Dunbars came from Ireland, but this is the first time we have been made aware of their port of entry. It appears that the Dunbars actually came through Buffalo, New York in 1830! In researching this incredible find, its possible the actual ship that they were on may have come through a port in Canada. They would have then had to walk to America by way of Niagara Falls across a bridge. In the 1830’s there were no “borders” where you would have your passport checked. YOU just walked until you got where you wanted to go.
As you read the following document be aware that Ireland was under Great Britian’s rule and my ancestors had to renounce any obligations to the monarchy at that time who just so happened to be Queen Victoria:
This document appears to be written by someone in the court system in Kentucky and then signed by my ancestor.
As I read through this important document many more questions popped into my head. I have a ways to go to fully understand my Dunbar line and some of these thoughts came up and I believe if you are a family researcher yourself you might find this to be helpful:
1. After obtaining such documents as above-make notes and evaluate the results of this new information.
2. Ask yourself does this new information answer original questions for you or does it conflict with what you may all ready have or know?
3. If new information conflicts with existing information, you will have to decide which, if either, piece of information is more likely to be accurate. Is one from a primary source and the other from a secondary source? Is one from a more authoritative or believable source? The more time you spend doing genealogical research, the more skillful you will become in deciding these difficult questions.
A third update comes all the way from Belguim. My husband’s family members have all shown interest in the studys I have conducted on their ancestors in particular two cousins of my husbands. They emailed me that they were going on a business trip to Europe and indicated to me that they may look for their grandpa’s home. Their gramp DeSomer emigrated at the age of four with his family from Belgium to Ellis Island in 1913. We found primary source emigration documents that revealed an address in Antwerp, Belguim that could lead to a 100 year mystery of where my husband’s grandfather’s family lived. It was all a long shot for sure. Here are the documents that our cousins had in their possession:
You will see on line 27 our grandpa Alexander DeSomer who was four years old and if you look straight across above to line 20 where Alex’s dad’s name is which is Alfred, you will see his fatherinlaw’s address written. It was quite a surprise to me that this was on the document, but there it was to my delight. In followup with my husband’s cousins they were able to make it to Belguim but ran out of time to really conduct a thorough research of this area. In my mind though it is just such a success that they made it to Belguim to see the countryside that they originated from…What enjoyment and deep satisfaction there is in walking on the soil of where some of your ancestors came from. I appreciate the fact they contacted me and had a heart to make the attempt to follow through. I do want to make a shout out to them on here: Adam and Bob you made my day in just contacting me on your expressed desires to find your ancestors. Bob is the editor of Arizona Highways if anyone of you readers enjoy great photos and stories follow along with him at http://www.arizonahighways.com/ .
Here are a few pictures of the ship that gramp DeSomer came on called the U. S. S. Finland:
USS Finland in all its glory.
Here is a second shot of the U. S. S. Finland after it was utilized in WWI and damaged:
As I love the storys of emigration and the great ships that our families came on I also would like to share with you a great family adventure you could have if you live near an area that does this. The Navy is known for showing off its ships in different areas of the country..Here is a link to check this out and if you live in Seattle or Milwaukee you definitely want to look at the dates for this: http://www.ourflagwasstillthere.org/
As I close out today’s blog entry I want again to thank you for following along and reading. I hope you have also enjoyed the actual documents and pictures I have shared with you . Until next time here are a few more ships our ancestors came on:
The first ship is the Rhatia that great great Opa Voy travelled on from Germany and the second ship is the sailing ship the Dorette that our great great grandpa Kreklow travelled before he moved to Fort Atkinson, WI. Grandpa Voy also live in WI as well as Chicago, ILL.
I want to thank my resources that are my genealogical buddies throughout the country,my family, and the armed forces, and you my readers who follow along with me on my journey. Until next time..
I took this picture in April 2012 after my recent New York trip. This is in the cemetery of St. Paul’s Church-one of the oldest churches in Manhattan.
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