Jesse Jennings Sr's father
If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it
dance.
George Bernard Shaw
Jesse Jennings, Sr. is the first individual that we can positively trace our
family back to. Click here
to browse the family information. I think that this is one generation
earlier than was generally accepted to be known 20 years ago4.
Mrs. Joan Spragins is credited with the idea of linking this Jesse to our
family, at least she is the one that put the idea into my mind. She had
found records of a Jesse Jennings, Jr in Grainger County TN and posed the
logical question, "If there is a Jr, then there must be a Sr."
In fact there was a Sr. Having two ancestors with the same name made the
family somewhat more difficult to trace.
Before going into details about Jesse Sr and his family, I would like to
speculate on his parents. Much of this speculation is based on
recollections written down by my grandfather Jesse L. Jennings. I have
transcripts of several letters that he wrote about his ancestors. The
content of the first of these letters are shown as Letters #1 and #2 in Letters
by Jesse L Jennings.
My grand father Jesse L., in Letters #1 and #2, indicates that Jesse Sr's father
came from England and married a Dutch lady in Philadelphia. Jesse Sr. was
the third child and was born about 1755 (Jesse Sr.'s first child, Thomas, was
born about 1776). My grand father Jesse L. Also mentioned the family
tradition of using the name William Jennings in each generation (actually he
said William Henry Jennings). The story related is that Jesse Sr.'s father
also married a German lady (Dutch?) and that the ship he came over on also
carried Dutch.
If he did in fact marry shortly after arriving in America, it seems likely that
he would have arrived sometime in the early 1750's at the earliest and about
1755 at the latest. Remember that Jesse L. said that Jesse Sr. had a
brother and a sister only.
I have looked in several libraries for records of a William Jennings having
immigrated to America during that time period. I was only able to find one
such record, that in the Clayton Genealogy Library in Houston. This
reference shows that a William Jennings was sentenced to transportation at
Sessions Gaol Delivery (May - June 1752), Transported Aug 1752 to America. (No
state was given). The ships name was Tryal and the Captain was John
Johnstoun. There should be record in England in Gaol Delivery Books, Gaol
Delivery Session Rolls Transportation Bonds of this transportation as
contractors had to furnish bond that they actually delivered the person to the
proper place. This bond should indicate the port of delivery.
It is well known that England settled America to a great degree with convicts,
possibly even some on trumped up or very minor charges. It is natural that
if this is actually the case for our ancestor, he probably would not have told
his children about these events. Also, it is very likely that he could not
read or write, so no written record exists.
Another possibility, developed by Marsh Greer, indicates that a John Jennings
married a Mary Hillegas in the city of Philadelphia on 3 Sep 1754. Mary's
parents came from Baden Germany. Thomas and Jesse Jennings are mentioned
in a Chester county (near Philadelphia) will on 3 Sep 1774. This will is
of someone in Mary's family. There is no mention of John, so he might have
been deceased at the time. William Chiddick is witness to a will in
Chester county on 4 Jan 1776. Remember that Jesse, Sr's sister married a
Chiddick. So there seems to be a strong possibility of connection to our
family traditions with this information, including the information that Jesse,
Sr had one brother and one sister.
So, the best theory I have at this time is that a William Jennings emigrated to
America in the early 1750's, married a German lady in Philadelphia and probably
migrated up the river valleys to south western Virginia by 1775. But of
course this is all speculation.
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4
"Jennings History", compiled by Joseph W. Jennings, McGregor, Texas
(b. 1889, Martindale, Texas) Ref. John Bennett Bodie, Ky., and Mrs. C. E.
Doughtie, Jr. Jesse Lafayette Jennings descendants compiled by Lois
Jennings Carter, Luling, Texas (b. 1895, Martindale, Texas). Typed April,
1968, by Dorothy Schroeder Gonzenbach.
5 "English Convicts in Colonial America" Vol I by
Peter Coldham, Polyanthos, New Orleans, 1974 p 147.