Happy New Years, Jenkins fam!
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 matches confirms ties to at least Willie and John (sadly, no matches yet for Bob, who had only one recorded child).
Oral history from Uncle JayGou points to Fox Jenkins as a key ancestor (possibly Garrison's father). Some records and family trees for John and Willie list their parents as Henry and Patsy Jenkins, leading to the strong inference that Fox was also known as Henry.
A distant relative recently shared a bombshell: They've never heard of "Fox Jenkins" as a person - but "Fox" was once the name used for this entire Jenkins line. I learned this especially was passed down through Uncle Levi's descendants.
There's also a possible link to the Foxworth area/plantations in Marion County, Mississippi (near Columbia and the Pearl River). Grandpa Garrison's death certificate lists Marion County as his birthplace, and Foxworth, MS, sits right in that county - about where early Foxworth family plantations were located in the early 1800s.
Here's a quick map reference for context:
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| Map of Garrison Jenkins' birth county |
Very little is documented on Garrison's mother ("Mama Jenkins"). His death certificate has no parent info at all. Oral stories (likely from Garrison himself via Uncle JayGou) describe her speaking with an accent, "fresh off a slave ship," possibly directly from Africa. One potential tie: Norfolk, Virginia, as an origin point for both her and Fox/Henry.
This raises questions - Garrison and his brothers were born in Mississippi, yet parents trace to Virginia. Meanwhile, Fox/Henry appears in Baker County, Georgia records (estate and a census), suggesting he traveled or migrated significantly.
If the original line wasn't always "Jenkins," how did we get the name? One story points to an abolitionist source (details unclear). In African American genealogy, surnames often shifted post-emancipation—sometimes from enslavers, sometimes chosen anew. Fox/Henry was owned by a C.M. Galloway, so the Foxworth connection might indicate sales between plantations or a nickname/location tie.
It's all pieces of a puzzle - oral history, censuses, DNA, and documents. There's still much we don't know, but every conversation and record brings us closer.
I'd love to hear from anyone with more stories, photos, or clues - especially about Fox/Henry, Mama Jenkins, or the Virginia/Norfolk angle. Let's keep digging together!
Here's my e-mail
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| Email me |
Love to the fam - see you in Memphis!