Someone had messaged me and asked me about the brothers and sisters of our head of the table Tom Jenkins. Here's what I know so far, and let's start with Tom's known sisters. Children of Garrison Jenkins and the former Delia Newman. Catherine Jenkins Manning - DNA matches confirm, paper-trail shows her father Garrison Jenkins enrolling her in school in Pike County Maggie Jenkins  (Garner) Sartin - DNA matches confirm a relationship. All we have is oral history - possibly Maggie's son naming Garrison as his mother's father. Emaline Jenkins Haynes - DNA matches confirm and it took me a minute to make the connection. The one match I found had Burns on their tree and was more focused on that until looking at our mutual matches. Also was seen in the 1900 US Census with her parents Garrison and Delia in addition to her brothers. Catherine Jenkins Manning Here are his known brothers George Jenkins - primarily through census records and social security. Possibly the ol...

We did a feature on this blog about the "other" Levi Jenkins , perhaps you may be interested in the Levi Jenkins that I know. I never had the chance to meet Levi Jenkins Sr. - my grandfather - who made his transition before the time of my birth. I spent my childhood and my teen years with my father Levi Jenkins Jr. My Levi Jenkins (1948 - 1997) Levi Jenkins Jr. grew up near Mound Bayou, Mississippi on his grandfather Tom Jenkins' land with his brothers and sisters in addition to his paternal grandmother the former Georgia Johnson . His mother was the former Evelyn Liggins  - a detail that became important later, as I’ve shared with family members: Dad’s passing at a young age involved both his own personal demons and the hypertension that ran in his mother’s family. My uncle spoke of my dad in recent years and noted that he never cared much for farm work. Ultimately when he came of age he followed his older brother & sisters to Chicago. For most of his twenties he l...

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...