The Jenkin family lived in Congdon's Shop and ran the The New Inn from around 1817 to around 1842. There are many descendants of this family who have attempted to trace their ancestry and there are a plethora of misleading and incorrect published family trees. This narrative on the family on this page is based upon the available evidence. If you have complementary or conflicting evidence please get in touch. (Note on the spelling of surnames: The surname has variations that include Jinkings, Jenkin and Jenkins. These notes show the authentic spellings contemporary with the relevant record).
The issue concerns the wife or wives of Charles Jinking who was baptised on 6 June 1779 at North Hill, St Torney's and died in 1844 in Plymouth. He had five wives/partners that are revealed to us in the available records, but the story is incomplete. Charles, who was publican of the New Inn, had 13 children. Identifying who were the mothers of these children is the issue this page attempts to resolve. Your challenge is, therefore, to find the documentary evidence that establishes who were the wives (married or common law) of Charles Jenkin. There may be family members whose interest only extends to being aware of their male line and the rest of their heritage is of little consequence. So be it. This page is not for them.
** A Warning About Looking At Jenkins (and other) Family Trees On The Internet **
The Jenkin(s) family is a classic example of why most family trees on the internet are incorrect.
Given the thoughtless copying that is practised on the internet it is not surprising that this has resulted in so many erroneous trees.
There are tens, if not hundreds, of family trees on the internet that show all the children in this family as the offspring of Charles and Mary Ann, nee Morrish. A little research shows that this is undoubtedly wrong.
Another frequently common failing in many published Jenkin(s) family trees shows the marriage of Charles Jenkin and Mary Williams on 21 Oct 1821 in St Austell as being part of this North Hill family, when there is clearly no connection at all. Extraordinarily, in many instances Mary Williams is cited on these erroneous trees as being Mary Morrish.
Always check original sources and doubt everything you see that is not supported by documented evidence.
The Setting The events that take place in North Hill in this narrative happen in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Most occur at St Torney's Church in North Hill or the Jenkin's family home which was within yards of the crossroads at Congdon's Shop. Today this is where the B3254 meets the B3257. Within a few minutes walk from here are Treswell and Trenhorne that both feature in this narrative. The boundary between North Hill and Lewannick parishes cuts through this area and Trenhorne is in Lewannick parish.
Extracts of Congdon's Shop from the 1840 Tithe Map and Apportionment Book. It is probable that Jenkin family sub-let from Mary Bennett who does not appear in Congdon's Shop in the 1841 census. Click on the extract from the apportionment book for a larger image. Reproduced with the kind permission of Kresen Kernow.
The events that take place in Plymouth are in the areas of Stoke Dameral, St Andrew's, East Stonehouse and Morice Town. All of these are close to the dockyards and are the less affluent parts of the district at that time. Plymouth Dockyard was the single largest employer of workers in the early to mid 19th century.
Charles Jinking (1779 - 1844) Charles was born in North Hill and baptised there. It is probable he was born at Congdon's Shop.
As an adult Charles was described as both a cordwainer (or shoemaker) and as a publican. It is not unusual to see a publican with a trade learnt as an apprentice, such as shoemaking. It is also not usual to see the person return to his skilled trade when his days as a publican are ended. Shown here is The New Inn at Congdon's Shop viewed from the crossroads looking north along what is now the B3257. Around the time of Charles and the family leaving Congdon's Shop The New Inn was renamed The White Hart, and much later The Temperance Inn.
The first item of state regulated evidence of his life is the birth of his son John in 1839 which will be discussed below. The second piece of state regulated evidence is the 1841 census and this forms the starting point for the research into his life.
In 1841 he was recorded on the census as a 60 year old publican in Congdon's Shop. Living with him were: Mary Jenkins (aged 45); Aaron Jenkins (20); Elizabeth Jenkins (15); Charles Jenkins (12); Miriam Jenkins (7); William Jenkins (5); John Jenkins (2); Hannabella (sic) Whear (25); Thomas Whear (6). Other than Mary, who was born in Ireland, the rest of the household were born in Cornwall. [Note regarding the 1841 census: ages over 15 are rounded down to the nearest 5; relationships are not recorded; birthplace is limited to "in county", "not in county", "Scotland", "Ireland" or "Foreign"].
Shortly afterwards Charles moved to Plymouth. His wife Mary died of phthisis (tuberculosis) in Plymouth in 1843; her age is recorded as 50; her husband, Charles, was the informant at her death. Charles died at 92 Union Street in East Stonehouse of dropsy in November 1844 aged 67. In attendance at his death was Hannah Bella Whear.
There are events in the life of Charles and his family members for which no record has been found. In the absence of evidence, but with the value of reasoning, it is possible to differentiate between Charles' various partners or wives. To piece together Charles' life it is necessary to consider his children, particularly their births and baptisms.
The first known event in Charles' life, after his baptism as Charles Jinking, is on 19 June 1797 when he was 18 years old and cited as the father of the illegitimate daughter of Ann Sleep; he was made responsible for a financial contribution to the child's upkeep. The child was named Catherine Jenkin Sleep and she was later baptised on 5 November 1797 in Altarnun.
Whether any other punishment was meted out to Charles isn't known but the next recorded event in his life that has survived was 18 years later, being the birth of another daughter, Annabella, on 24 February 1814 when Charles was 35. There are no records that explain this gap but it is possible that he had been sent away or perhaps he had chosen to live away from North Hill and to remain absent until the child Catherine was no longer a financial burden. At the time of Charles' later marriage in 1821 he is described as being 'of Stratton' and perhaps this is where he was.
In 1814 Ann Sleep married in August of that year to Richard Buller, when she was 34 years old. Catherine married Richard Sloggett in Altarnun in 1827 and they had at least five children there before emigrating to Australia around 1839. Catherine died in 1843 and is buried at Bathurst in New South Wales.
2. Partner or wife Marianne or probably 'Mary Ann' (surname unknown; dates unknown)
Child 2. Annabella Jenkins (1814-1847); married Thomas Whear in 1835
Charles' daughter was baptised on 24 February 1814 at St Torney's, and her given name was Annabella Jenkins. Charles' occupation is recorded as a cordwainer, a maker of shoes and boots. The entry in the register infers that Charles and Marianne were husband and wife. There is no mention of Annabella being a base child, nor is there any mention of a surname for Marianne than that of Jenkins. It was usual for Reverend Plummer, when recording events in the register, to use the spelling of Marianne rather than Mary Ann(e).
No marriage for Charles has been found before this baptism; it may have happened in Devon where transcriptions of registers are much less complete than those of Cornwall. There are many family trees published on the internet, particularly in Ancestry.com, that cite Annabella's mother as Mary Ann Morrish but no record has been found to substantiate this. In the absence of a marriage record it is not possible to confirm the full identity of the mother. It is possible, of course, that the mother was Mary Ann Morrish and Charles never married her and they lived as a common law couple. As will be seen from subsequent events this would mean that Charles left her, had more children by another partner and then more with a wife before resuming the relationship with Mary Ann Morrish two decades later. This seems to be unlikely. It is more likely that the marriage record has not been found or survived, if it ever existed. It must also be remembered, however, that no burial record has been identified in North Hill or elsewhere for Marianne.
Annabella had an illegitimate son, Francis Jenkin, in 1830 in North Hill. He is sometimes given a middle name of Whear on family trees published on the internet but this was not present on the baptism record. She married in 1835 in North Hill to Thomas Whear and gave birth to a son also named Thomas later the same year. She was living with her father Charles and his wife, possibly her mother Mary, and her son Thomas Whear in Congdon's Shop in 1841.
Francis was not with his mother at the time of the 1841 census. He was aged 10 years old and recorded as Francis Whear in the family home of William Dawe at nearby Trenhorne. William Dawe (1766-1853) was a widower who had married Mary (1776-1837) the sister of Charles Jenkin (1779-1844).
On the 1851 census Thomas Whear jnr (15) was living in Plymouth with Annabella's sister, Catherine Blake. In 1861 Thomas Whear snr (54) was living with Catherine Blake at her home on Jersey.
Francis lived in Stoke Climsland in 1851 before he emigrated to Australia in 1858 with two of his uncles.
3. Partner or wife Ann (surname unknown; dates unknown)
On 10 January 1818 a child named Aaron Jinking was privately baptised at Congdon's Shop, the parents being Charles (a publican) and Ann. The child was named Aaron after Charles' grandfather. The mother's name at the baptism was not Marianne, suggesting that this could be a different Charles Jenkin married to an Ann but no such event record has been found. It is also possible that Marianne had died and Charles' had a new partner named Ann, but no record has been found to support this suggestion either. It cannot be certain, therefore, that Annabella and Aaron had the same mother. There is, however, a lack of men named Charles Jenkin who could be the father. The only two candidates are Charles, the father of Annabella, and Charles' own father who would have been 66 years old when Aaron was born. It is more likely that the father was Charles Jenkin jnr rather than his father. It is probable that this event took place at the White Hart Inn.
The reason for a private baptism was because the child was sickly and may not have survived until a public baptism in St Torney's could be arranged. Baptism was important if the deceased was to be buried in consecrated ground. Private baptisms were not infrequently undertaken by a lay person, such as the midwife attending the birth, and then reported to the local priest for entry into the parish register. In the case of Aaron it is also possible that the child was at least a few days old at the time of the baptism and had fallen ill, necessitating urgent action. Such contingent action proved to be appropriate as young Aaron was buried on 19 January 1818 aged just 10 days.
Having had Aaron baptised and buried in January of 1818 another child was baptised in December of the same year. Catherine Jinkings was baptised on 27 December 1818 as the daughter of Charles, a publican, and Ann. The family lived at Congdon's Shop. This would have made Catherine a full sister to Aaron, if he had survived. The relationship to Annabella, however, is still not certain but is likely to be no more distant than a half sister. Catherine survived to adulthood and married in Plymouth in 1838 to John Blake, a Royal Marine.
In 1851 Catherine was lodging in Plymouth along with Thomas Whear, her nephew. In 1861 she was living with her husband on Jersey; Thomas Whear snr was with them. In 1871 she was living with her younger brother, Charles and his wife, Ann.
According to the 1841 census when Charles was recorded living in Congdon's Shop, living with him was 20 year old Aaron Jenkins and he would appear to be Charles' son. The rounding of ages on the 1841 census could mean that he was as old as 24. No baptismal record has been found for this second Aaron, nor have any subsequent life events.
4. 1821 - Charles Jenkin married Ann Stacey nee Woolridge The parish register for St Torney's dated 22 May 1821 has an entry for the marriage of Charles Jenkin, a resident of Stratton, to Ann Stacey, a widow of North Hill. The marriage was witnessed by William Turner and Kitty Tregear but these would appear to be friends with no blood ties to Charles that will help resolve the identities of the mothers of his children. It is possible that Charles was living in Stratton, near modern day Bude, as explained above under Catherine Jenkin Sleep.
Ann Woolridge was born in Lewannick in 1791 and married John Stacey (born in Lezant in 1770) in Lewannick on 30 March 1814. Their first born child was Richard Stacey, baptised in Lewannick on 27 November 1814. John never met his second and last child because he died whilst his wife was still pregnant. John was buried in Lewannick on 19 December 1817 and his daughter, named Ann, was baptised in the same church on 26 August 1818. Nothing else is known about the two children. Ann, however, was left as a widow and remarried on 22 May 1821 in North Hill to Charles Jenkin, a resident of Stratton.
It is possible that Ann and her children from her first marriage moved away from the area. No more is known about them, but if this is the case this would remove them and Charles Jenkin of Stratton from the narrative of the Jenkin family of Congdon Shop, hence requiring another Charles Jenkin to be the one living at Congdon's Shop. The problem is that no second Charles has been found. From this it is deduced that Ann remained and married Charles Jenkin.
It is highly probable that they were the parents of the five children born to Charles Jenkin (the publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife Ann from 1823 to 1831. These children (Richard 1823, Moses 1825, Betsey 1827, Charles 1829 and William 1831) are shown below.
No certain record has been identified for the death or burial of Ann Jenkin, nee Woolridge, formerly Stacey.
Child 6. Richard Jenkins (1820-1844)
Richard was baptised on 16 March 1823 as the son of Charles (a publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. Richard died in Plymouth in 1844 aged 20.
Moses was baptised on 5 April 1825 as the son of Charles (a publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. He married Mary Ann Harvey and had three children. He served in the Royal Navy and returned to North Hill in his retirement, living out his days at Priors on the lane from Coad's Green to Newtown. He was buried in Coad's Green Churchyard in 1881.
Click on Biographical Notes or the pdf icon for detailed life events including Moses' service in The Royal Navy.
Two notable events occured during his naval service.
In 1851 whilst serving on HMS Calliope one man was killed and others injured, including Moses, following an accident caused by an unsecured capstan which ran out of control.
In 1869 Moses was aboard HMS Cadmus when it ran aground in fog at Start Point.
Both of these events are recorded in more detail in Moses' biographical notes.
Child 8. Betsey Jenkins (1827-1888); married Joseph James in 1844 and George Baker in 1853
Betsey was baptised on 29 April 1827 as the daughter of Charles (a publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. She is recorded on the 1841 census as Elizabeth. Betsey married in Plymouth in 1844 to John James; the marriage was witnessed by Betsey's elder sister, Catherine. John and Betsy emigrated to Australia where Betsey was widowed but remarried.
There is an extended family living in Australia.
Child 9. Charles Jinking (1829-?)
Charles was baptised on 18 September 1829 as the daughter of Charles (a publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. He was recorded on the 1841 census living with his father in Congdon's Shop. He was later in the Royal Garrison Artillery and based at Devonport and Pendennis Castle. He married Ann Webber in Plymouth in 1857. In 1871 his sister Catherine Blake was living with Charles and Ann in Plymouth.
Child 10. William Jinkin (1831-1831)
William was baptised on 5 December 1831 as the son of Charles (a publican of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. He was buried two days later in St Torney's Churchyard.
5. Partner or wife Mary Ann Morrish
Child 11. Miriam Jinkin (1833-1849)
Miriam was baptised on 7 April 1833 as the daughter of Charles (a cordwainer of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Mary Ann. This is a change from the previous children's records where the mother was recorded as Ann. It is almost certain that her mother was Mary Ann Morrish as can be inferred from considering the details on the birth certificate of John Jenkin (see below) and the change in the mother's name at Miriam's baptism. She was recorded on the 1841 census living with her father in Congdon's Shop. Miriam died from tuberculosis in 1849 in Plymouth.
Child 12. William Jinkin (1836-1842)
William was baptised on 3 July 1836 as the son of Charles (a cordwainer of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Mary Ann, as was Miriam before him. William died in 1842 in Plymouth.
John was baptised on 17 October 1841 at the age of two as the son of Charles (a cordwainer of Congdon's Shop) and his wife, Ann. This is an error. His birth certificate (born 31 Jul 1839) clearly shows his mother as Mary Ann Morrish. John emigrated to Australia in 1858 where he married Sarah Ann Kemp.
There is an extended family in Australia descended from John. One member of that family was Roy Jenkins, the son of John and Sarah who was killed as a member of the ANZAC forces at Gallipoli in World War One.
Chester Royal (Roy) Jenkins was born on the 5th November 1893 in Majorca, Victoria, Australia to John Jenkins (b1839) and Sarah Ann Kemp (b 1850, Tasmania). Interestingly, she was the daughter of transported convicts.
With the full consent of his mother, as seen in her letter of agreement shown above, Roy joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the 29 October 1914 as a 20 year old. On the 2nd of February 1915 he embarked in Melbourne on the Clan McGillivray heading for the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. Upon arrival on the 12 April his regiment joined the 14th battalion off the Dardanelles on the Gallipoli Peninsula and was part of the first wave of Australian troops that landed there, seeing action from the very first days of the Gallipoli Campaign. Roy was subsequently treated on a hospital ship for pneumonia and a gun shot wound to the arm before being evacuated to Cairo on the 7th of May where he remained for the better part of two months. He was discharged from hospital on the 21st of July and rejoined his unit on the peninsula a week later.
Having rejoined his unit they were involved in yet another attempt to take the strategically important Hill 60. Between 27th and 29th August, a mixed force of Australian, New Zealand and British units again attacked Hill 60, gained some ground, but failed to take and hold the main Turkish position.
On the first day of this assault Roy was reported as missing and later as killed in action on the 27th August in 1915 just as his brothers, who were also enlistees, were being shipped from Melbourne to the Peninsula. Roy's service record (shown here - click for access to the whole record) was initially stamped "Missing" but later recorded that he was "Killed in Action". His remains were never recovered or identified.
Brendan Jenkins picks up the story from here:
"Chester Royal Jenkins was one of many young men killed at Gallipoli. He was found to have died under active fire. A Court of Enquiry was held (a not uncommon event after confusion where hundreds remained missing). There was some initial conflict regarding the evidence given by different members but the enquiry agreed with the witness who obviously knew the diminutive (5'4" and 50kg) Jenkins and described him accurately as "a small chap, very short and fair". The witness, Private Dudley, went on to say that Jenkins "went into the charge on August 28 and was never seen again". The court of enquiry supported the evidence of the enlisted man who could actually describe Chester and held that Chester had been engaging the enemy and was killed while doing so."
Roy's service record includes an incorrect statement about his death made by Private C I T Smith which has since been disproven and disregarded following the Court of Enquiry. Smith obviously did not know this Jenkins, describing the 21 year old with the build of a jockey as "a big man, dark, about 30". The inquiry disregarded this soldier's evidence for obvious reasons.
Roy's service record also reveals the version of events accepted by the Court of Enquiry and as described above by Brendan Jenkins and is shown below.
Witness evidence of the death of Chester Royal Jenkins accepted by the Court of Enquiry The image has been digitally corrected to align the text; the area outlined in red is missing.
Troop Positions and Location
Troop positions in the week before Roy was killed. "Hill 60 at Gallipoli, which the 13th and 14th battalions AIF attacked on 21 August, 1915. A track through the scrub now follows the path of the communication trench that was dug the night after the attack." This image has been taken from the book Hard Jacka by Michael Lawriwsky, to whom we are grateful for his permission to reproduce it.
The location of Hill 60 can be seen on the image below.
Shown here is The New Inn at Congdon's Shop viewed from the crossroads looking north along what is now the B3257. Around the time of Charles and the family leaving Congdon's Shop The New Inn was renamed The White Hart, and much later The Temperance Inn.
In 1814 Ann Sleep married in August of that year to Richard Buller, when she was 34 years old. Catherine married Richard Sloggett in Altarnun in 1827 and they had at least five children there before emigrating to Australia around 1839. Catherine died in 1843 and is buried at Bathurst in New South Wales.
Roy's service record includes an incorrect statement about his death made by Private C I T Smith which has since been disproven and disregarded following the Court of Enquiry. Smith obviously did not know this Jenkins, describing the 21 year old with the build of a jockey as "a big man, dark, about 30". The inquiry disregarded this soldier's evidence for obvious reasons.