My Genealogy Hound

JOSEPH C. JENKINS was born July 21, 1818, in Orange County, Va., the second in a family of five children born to William and Nancy (Carter) Jenkins, of Virginia. William Jenkins was a son of John Jenkins, a descendant of John Jenkins, of Warwick, and of royal ancestry in Wales, who bore the title of LL. D. David Jenkins was one of the king’s judges in that kingdom. William Jenkins was a farmer, who settled in Boone County in 1833, and died in 1847. The Carters, from England, were among the first immigrants in the Virginia colony, and were related to the Lee family of that State, some of them being wealthy sea-faring people, shippers of foreign products, who lived in Richmond, and traded in the West India Islands extensively. Joseph C. Jenkins, a farmer and raiser of Shorthorn cattle, was at one time one of the most extensive breeders in the State; he has been retired for many years, and lives on his elegant farm overlooking Petersburg and the Ohio River in Boone County, where he owns 500 acres of land in a high state of cultivation, which is said by many to be the most beautiful country seat in Kentucky. He was engaged for some time in distilling at Petersburg, which business he sold out some years ago. He has handled some of the most aristocratic horses and cattle in the West, on his farm, and was president of the North Kentucky Agricultural Society for four years. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of the Christian Church. In 1841 he married Elizabeth Berkshire, daughter of William Berkshire, of Boone County, and of English origin. Mrs. Jenkins was born April 22, 1825, and died October 7, 1884; she was a consistent member of the Christian Church during her life. To their union seven children were born, viz.: Eugenia, Paulina, Mary E., Mary, William S., Nannie and J. C., Jr., all deceased. Mr. Jenkins is assisted by his grandson, Joseph Jenkins Ferris, who has charge of the farm; the latter was born in 1864, and December 2, 1886, he married Miss Lucy Gaines, daughter of Thomas and Emma (McDonald) Gaines. Mr. Jenkins is a brother of Admiral Thornton Jenkins, of the United States Navy, retired, of Washington City.