“The Jenkins” - Our Story
-With God's Grace, From Adversities to Triumphs

{In 1664 the Anti-miscegenation law prohibited white women from marrying enslaved African or Native American men. The punishment for entering into these marriages, the woman herself would be enslaved for her husbands life and any children they have would be enslaved until their twenties.} 

The Story of Mingo and Rebecca Jenkins

Julia Houston had a son named Mingo Jenkins who was born in 1842 on St. Helena Island in South Carolina on the Mary Jenkins Plantation where his last name derived. Saint Helena Island is renowned for it's Gulla culture and language. When he lived in Shelby, New York, at the age of twenty-two as a freedman, Mingo owned a horse and buggy, paid taxes and worked on the Jenkins Farm. Mingo volunteered to serve with the United States Colored Troops, who were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that comprised of African American and Native American Indian men, primarily Cherokee and Creek.  The wars most notable campaigns include battles such as the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg. President Abraham Lincoln recognized their contributions and declared, “without the military help of the Black freedmen, the war against the South could not have been won.”  

Mingo Jenkins married Rebecca White in 1864 and had eight children, four sons, Jerry Jenkins, Morgan Jenkins, James Jenkins, and Charles W Jenkins, four daughters, Rachael Jenkins, Luvenia Jenkins, Lidda Jenkins and Charita Jenkins between 1864 and 1877. In 1866 during the American Reconstruction era after the Civil War, records show Rebecca was a sharecropper on the Murkle Bush Plantation located in Beaufort, South Carolina. Sharecroppers would rent land, supplies, and equipment from farmers, and grow cash crops like tobacco and cotton. In exchange, they would give the farmer half of their harvest or half of the proceeds from selling it. In 1870 the family lived in Walterboro, South Carolina on their six acre farm. Rebecca and family moved to Warren, South Carolina in 1880. Sometime between 1880 and 1900 the family moved to Fish Pond, Bamberg, South Carolina. Rebecca Jenkins was born in February 1832 in South Carolina and died on May 13, 1933, in Bamberg, South Carolina when she was 101 years old.

In the 1880’s Mingo and Rebecca faced numerous challenges during that era including, denial of basic rights, White Supremacy, when white southerners continued to impose on their Black neighbors through, disfranchisement, unequal treatment, segregation, racial massacres, and lynching's. Black Americans were denied several of the liberties they should have enjoyed as US citizens by legislators, law enforcement officers, and white citizens who felt Black people should not be allowed to exercise basic human rights, like voting and equal access to public institutions. Mingo died on January 11, 1915, in Beaufort, South Carolina at the age of seventy-three.

The Story of Morgan and Eloise Jenkins

Morgan, the son of Rebecca and Mingo Jenkins, was born in March of 1870 in South Carolina. Morgan married Eloise (Ella) Freeman in 1893 when he was 23 years old, and she was 19 years old, they have been married for 39 years. Of that union they had twelve children, James B Jenkins, Henry W Jenkins, Ada Jenkins, Ida Jenkins, Lena Jenkins, Mary Jenkins, Edna, and Alma “Elmer” Jenkins (twins), Lucille Jenkins, Rosella Jenkins, Fredrick, and Edward Jenkins (twins).

In the small town of Fish Pond, Bamberg, South Carolina, Morgan resided on a farm with his wife Eloise, their twelve children and his mother-in-law, Dorcas (Freeman) Glover. Morgan had managed to acquire his own property, which was mortgage-free. He was able to read and write, indicating a level of education that was not common for African Americans during that time.

The Jenkins family lived in a close-knit African American community where neighbors supported and relied on each other. Morgan  was a hardworking and resilient man who had overcome the challenges of his time to provide for his family and was a successful and respected member of his community. His ability to read and write, as well as his ownership of a farm and the employer of others, demonstrates his determination and success in a society that often limited opportunities for African Americans.

Morgan placed a high value on education and encouraged his children to pursue learning. He was a loving husband and father. Despite the challenges and discrimination he'd faced. Morgan's achievements and the close bond within his family, stands as a testament to their resilience and determination. Morgan's parents were both born in South Carolina which shows deep roots in the state. He died on May 17, 1932, in New York City at the age of sixty-two, and Morgan was buried in Branchville, South Carolina.

Eloise was a mentally strong and self-aware woman who lived through the First World War and the beginnings and early parts of The Great Depression when African American women were the most significantly and harshly affected, in a time when women moved from having primary domestic roles to being active members of society. Eloise was a wife and mother in a large household, and she maintained the family’s home and well-being. Eloise was born in 1874 in South Carolina and later died in New York City.

The Jenkins are a proud family who feel pride in themselves and their accomplishments but remain respectful. They advocate for themselves and others and do not watch others fall. They are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in, or to show their feelings and vulnerabilities, this family knows who they are and what they want, and is able to manage setbacks and failures, and will not let mistakes define them.

History records the good and the bad. Our history is not just about the past, it is the story of- us, an American story. It is a story that continues to be told and written by- us. What happens next depends on- us.

Our family has a rich history that spans over several generations. We are proud of our heritage and love sharing our story with others.

Narrative by: 

Kareem Williams

The 4th Great-grandson of

Julia Houston

Sources:

Ancestry.com

Wikipedia.org