Introducing Uncle JayGou (Jay Gould) Jenkins

The people involved with the planning of the Jenkins Family Reunion in Memphis, TENN had asked me to get some information on some of our key ancestors to be shared in a booklet for this year's reunion. So here's what I have on Uncle JayGou Jenkins.

To start I'm giving credit to his granddaughter who at the start of this journey gave me a lot of family background and especially informed me of family I didn't know about. She at least provided the basic story as far as how our "Head of the Table" Tom Jenkins arrived in the Mississippi Delta.

JayGou Jenkins (1894 - 1984)

I heard so much about Uncle JayGou (son of Garrison Jenkins & the former Delia Newman) and until fairly recently I had little idea about his relationship to the family. I never knew he was an uncle to my grandfather Levi Jenkins and thus a brother of his father (my great-grandfather) Tom Jenkins. His full name was Jay Gould Jenkins and was said to be named for a 19th century financier and "robber baron" Jay (Jason) Gould.

Uncle JayGou married the former Rosetta O'Neal and had 10 children: Cornelia, Gladys, Charlie C., Almeta, Dorothy Lee, Clara (who died young of a tumor on her lung), Lucille, Juanita, and Willie E. There is one surviving son from that generation.

He had worked for many years for the railroad out of Northfield, Mississippi possibly feeding coal to trains. He was heavily involved in the Spring Beulah Church in Ruth, MISS where his wife Rosetta served as a secretary. Spring Beulah church is also where Uncle JayGou and his wife were buried.

He was known for talking a lot about his family and he had a very sharp memory. He was also very knowledgeable and passed down a lot of family history to his granddaughter who sat and listened to a lot of his information.

Amongst other things he passed down to his granddaughter - some of this has already been noted on this blog:

• It was through him that I learned why my great-grandfather Tom Jenkins was forced to leave his family in Pike County, MISS along with brothers Will & Monroe. There was a situation with a white person near Holmesville that led to the brothers having to leave home and make their way towards Bolivar County, MISS.
• He also passed down information on his paternal grandfather (father of Garrison) who is known as Fox Jenkins. Sadly we don't know the name of his paternal grandmother all that is known about her through Uncle JayGou was that she had spoken with an accent and was possibly fresh off of a slave ship.
• Uncle JayGou's mother Delia was known as a midwife, however, she didn't talk a lot about her family. She rarely talked about her mother, however, she did learn how to read & write. Possibly was taught by the whites in her family.

I do want to make a special note of the branch of the family I had been conversing with - especially once I got my AncestryDNA results.

One of Uncle JayGou's daughters is a woman named Gladys Jenkins Thornton she was known as a very strong woman who cared deeply for her family. She was primarily a homemaker though she was also known to work for the white families of Pike County. She married Malcus Thornton who came from a very Christian family and who's parents derived the names of their children (including Malcus' name) from the Bible. With Malcus, Gladys had 15 children.

We know how Uncle JayGou looks perhaps you want to see the rest of the family. All I have at this time are pics of his daughters and I can share an obituary of Gladys which contains a picture of her. Also the most recent of JayGou's children had passed away in December 2025, Willie E. Jenkins in Chicago.

Uncle JayGou on the left with his mother Delia and brother Uncle Levi Jenkins

The Sisters Jenkins - Juanita, Lucille, Dorothy, and Almeta

Obituary of Cornelia Jenkins Sibley from 1973 Enterprise Journal

2011 obituary for Gladys Jenkins Thornton from 2011 Enterprise Journal

Willie E. Jenkins - the most recent to pass away.

An appreciation

I want to thank again the granddaughter of Uncle JayGou (daughter of Mrs. Gladys Thornton) for the information she shared about one part of the story of my great-grandfather Tom Jenkins and what caused him to leave his family behind. Of course other information that I have shared on this blog about Jenkins origins and even the extended family - i.e. Garrison's known brothers.

Also to sort of toot my own horn, my uncle when I reached a bit of a brick wall had mentioned McComb, MISS. I never would've thought about that town had he not mentioned it. It was a great lead and it led me to the 1900 U.S. Census which showed Tom living with his family in Pike County, MISS and the main thing that led me to the right track initially over two years ago was seeing Uncle JayGou as a child living with his parents, older brothers and sisters. When I saw Jay G on the enumeration, I knew what was there.

It was an interesting discovery to find that in another census enumeration I see what the "Gou" represented. Which definitely lets me know I have found the right man.

If you're related to Uncle JayGou send me an e-mail and say hello. Let me know your reflections of the man as your father, grandfather or great-grandfather.

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Are you all ready for the Memphis Jenkins Family Reunion next month?