My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Hickory County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

M. C. Jenkins, of Hickory County, Mo., was born in Orange County, Ind., in 1831. His parents, William and Elizabeth (Pritchard) Jenkins, were natives of North Carolina, the former’s birth occurring in 1808. After residing until manhood in his native State, he moved to Indiana about 1831, and in the fall of 1842 emigrated to Missouri, locating in Benton County, where he helped erect the first grist-mill in this section of the country. He was a farmer and merchant throughout life, and died in 1864, having been an earnest member of the Baptist Church and a Whig in politics. He and wife were the parents of eight children. The paternal grandfather was born in Scotland, and emigrated to America previous to the Revolutionary War. It is said of him by his descendants that he gave a half-bushel of dollars for a substitute during that war. M. C. Jenkins, our subject, was reared to manhood in Benton County, and was married in the spring of 1853 to Miss Nancy Barnett. They settled in Hickory County, and began tilling the soil. Mrs. Jenkins was born in Kentucky in 1829, and by Mr. Jenkins is the mother of eight children: Thomas J.; Paulina, wife of C. S. Thompson; Schyler B.; Harriet E., wife of J. C. Brown; Jennie, wife of J. R. Nease; Leatha, Nellie and Mattie. Mrs. Jenkins is a daughter of Mr. Schyler and Elizabeth (Harrison) Barnett, the father being a native of Virginia, as was also his father. Schyler died in Missouri, having been a farmer throughout life. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Democrat politically, and a member of the Agricultural Wheel.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 53 biographies included in The History of Hickory County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Hickory County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Hickory County, Missouri family biographies here: Hickory County, Missouri

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.