Happy New Years, Jenkins fam! First, the exciting news: This year's Jenkins Family Reunion is set for July 17–19 in Memphis! Expect a banquet, the classic family cookout, and plenty of good times reconnecting.   I've created a graphic below with contact info for the Family Reunion Committee—reach out to them for details, registration, or questions. Now, let's dive into some genealogy updates from my recent phone conversations with relatives over the past month. I've been digging deep into the origins of our Jenkins line, starting with Grandpa Garrison Jenkins and his parents. From the 1900 US Census in Pike County, Mississippi, Garrison and Delia (along with their children: Uncles Will, Marvin/Monroe, George, Levi, JayGou, Grandpa Tom - " Head of the Table " - and Aunt Emiline) listed his parents as born in Virginia. Other likely brothers - Bob, Willie (William), and John - also recorded Virginia-born parents in censuses, suggesting connections. DNA matche...

Allow me to lead the approximate time of the Jenkins Family Reunion 2026 to be held in Memphis, Tennessee. Look forward to Memphis BBQ and some Memphis Blues. I was told the first or second week in July and it will include a banquet. We can't have a reunion without a cookout, surely. More details when I receive them, of course. I created this graphic, whenever the official graphic comes out will be shared with you all. Jenkins Family Reunion July 2026 Memphis, TENN Digging into the Archives: What the Death Certificates Revealed While we're dreaming of dry-rub dreams, I've been knee-deep in genealogy rabbit holes. Recently, I ordered copies of death certificates from the Mississippi Department of Archives & History for some of our foundational figures: Garrison and Delia Jenkins, plus not one, but two for our legendary "Head of the Table" Thomas "Tom" Jenkins. These yellowed documents aren't just paper - they're portals to whispers of resilien...

Welcome to Jenkins Reunion 2025 This year’s Jenkins Reunion 2025, also held at Dan Ryan Woods, was even more special, bringing together a larger group of descendants of Garrison and Delia Jenkins—parents of Uncle Will, my great-grandfather Thomas (Tom), Uncle Levi, Uncle JayGou, Aunt Catherine, and Aunt Emaline. Following up on last year's Jenkins Reunion where I shared our family lineage, this post recaps the highlights, new connections made, and exciting updates on my ongoing family history projects. Reunion Highlights A heartfelt thank you to the Jenkins Reunion Committee, including the granddaughter of Clementine Jenkins White (daughter of Uncle Will), who invited me last year and helped organize this year’s event, alongside representatives from Tom Jenkins’ family. Their dedication made this vibrant gathering possible. The 2025 reunion was a joyous occasion, uniting cousins from across the country with a shared focus on the descendants of Garrison and Delia Jenkins. New Faces...

Or is it Henry Jenkins? Fox Jenkins Either way Fox or Henry Jenkins are the names given the father to Garrison, Willie, John or even Bob Jenkins. There is documentation for sure (mainly family trees on Ancestry) that show Willie and John Jenkins father as a Henry Jenkins. It's mostly oral that Garrison Jenkins' father is Fox Jenkins. Looking at the census reports discussed earlier that Garrison, Willie, John and Bob Jenkins had listed both of their parents as originating from Virginia. I was also told at one point that Fox Jenkins may well have come from Cape Town, South Africa - that's to be proven. The last time I spoke about this I mentioned there were some documentation for Fox and/or Henry Jenkins. For Fox himself it's primarily estate & tax documents out of Baker County, Georgia. Which I will share with you here. In this one Fox Jenkins is listed as a Freedmen. His employer is listed as a Gallaway. Click for larger resolution Now this is a probate/estate doc...

Last year I asked my mother outside of her in-laws what other Jenkins had she met. She specifically mentioned Hollis Jenkins, possibly JayGou Jenkins, and Ellis Jenkins. I wish she could see this picture of Rev. Ellis Eugene Jenkins in action. He appears to be in his minister's robe delivering the word. Rev. Ellis E. Jenkins Once I found information on him - he had passed in 1998 - my mother and I were both amazed that he was the son of Levi Jenkins Sr. And my mother surmised that he resembled the man whom at first I thought was Levi Jenkins Sr. ( the pic from a newspaper with cattle in the background ) but actually turned out to be Levi Jenkins Jr. Huh? Well we've covered this before. Ellis' father is a man I identify as Uncle Levi (and be honest on my Ancestry.com tree I spell his name Levy to differentiate them from my grandfather & father). My mother's first meeting with Cousin Ellis was at Christ Chapel Baptist Church located on Racine not that far from Marque...

 I have a number of matches that have a family tree that contains a woman named Catherine (Jenkins) Manning and it took me a minute to realize she's related to me. Aunt Cathy is a sister to Will, Tom, Levi, and JayGou Jenkins. She had married a man named Wallace Manning. That proves to be an important name for those Jenkins in McComb, Pike County, Mississippi. Wallace Manning gave the land to the family church of the Jenkins down there known as Spring Beulah Church which is the final resting places of Garrison & Delia Jenkins as well as Levi, JayGou, and other Jenkins and Mannings also. In my research I found that Spring Beulah Church is a very special place in the Jenkins family history. And here's an image Aunt Cathy via Ancestry. Catherine Jenkins Manning The one documentation, I was able to find on Aunt Cathy was regarding her enrollment at school at age 10 (she was probably born in about 1875) by her father Garrison Jenkins in Pike County, Mississippi. And now I'...

 Let's start with this and we've covered this before. My grandfather Levi had an uncle also named Levi . And this is the best pic possible that I found. Levi Jenkins Sr. (1892-1962) Wow! He almost resembles my uncle Lurenzo I can just see it. And it's interesting that his image is on an obituary from his funeral in 1962. Almost looks like a Xerox copy. It's a pretty cool find from Ancestry. Here's one of this brothers, introducing JayGou Jenkins. JayGou Jenkins (1894-1984) Uncle JayGou is posing with his granddaughter. I presume this was taken in the 1980s before his transition in 1984. I got this photo from his granddaughter whom I had been conversing with on Ancestry. One final pic and I never thought it was possible that we'd have it. Cora Dancy Jenkins That's right, we got the image of the widow of uncle Will Jenkins. It was likely her funeral that my mother visited with her Jenkins in-laws during the early 1970s. At the time of her death she was livi...