William "Mannon" JENKINS,  b 14 Mar 1820 Poorfork, Harlan Co., KY d 10 Mar 1900 Whitesburg, Letcher Co., KY  buried family farm, East Whitesburg, Letcher Co., KY s/o William "Old Billy" Jenkins and Elizabeth Williams or Roark. William "Manon" Jenkins  m. 14 Nov 1838 Perry Co KY to Mary Ellen "Polly" Cornett. William's occupation: miller; William Mannon Jenkins served in the Harlan Battalion, Co B, Union, as a 3rd Lieutenant in the Civil War.  Religion: Baptist. (1860 Letcher Co KY Census). Children of William "Mannon" Jenkins and Elizabeth Mary Ellen "Polly" Cornett;

1. Margaret "Peggy" Jenkins b 1826 d 9 Oct 1882 Letcher Co KY m. 20 Aug 1846 Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY to Jesse "Zeke" Adams b 1821 Perry Co KY s/o Benjamin Adams 1794 and Nancy Holbrook.

2. Louisa Jenkins b 1839 d about 1860 Letcher Co KY m. 31 Nov 1834 to Randolph Randall Adams b 31 Nov 1834 Perry Co KY d 1909 Letcher Co KY, s/o Benjamin Adams and Nancy Holbrook. Randolph Randall Adams m. 2nd Martha Hale Breeding, b 1841 VA, buried Webb Cemetery, Mayking, Letcher Co KY, d/o James Dickenson Hale and Mary Jane Grizzle.

3. Judith Jenkins

4. Archibald C Jenkins served in the Harlan Battalion, Co B, Union Army, as a Corporal in the Civil War.

5. Martha Jenkins b 17 Jul 1847 Letcher Co KY d 1 Jan 1933 Little Cowan, Letcher Co KY buried Hop Gibson Cemetery, Letcher Co KY; m. 8 Mar 1864 Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY to Stephen Adams b 29 Feb 1840 Smoot Creek, Letcher Co KY d 1 Jan 1911 Little Cowan, Letcher Co KY; buried Hop Gibson Cemetery, Letcher Co KY; s/o Isaac B Adams and Nancy Hayes.

6. John W Jenkins

7. Elizabeth Jenkins

8. Mary Jenkins

Civil War tales about
the William "Mannon" Jenkins
family of Letcher County, KY
A Civil War sketch written by
Ella V. Preston [date unknown]:

"...When the Civil War came, Isaac Adams and his son Stephen were drafted, along with [William] Mannon Jenkins and his son Arch, in the Harlan Battalion [Kentucky, Union] under a General Morgan. This Yankee company was made up, for the most part, of men too old and boys too young to be in the regular army. They camped in what is now the "New York" part of Cumberland, Kentucky. Often they walked across Pine Mountain to come home [near Whitesburg, Letcher Co., KY] to see their families. Since the Rebels were camped near the mouth of Sandlick Creek behind where the Whitesburg Cemetery now is, they constantly had to be on guard or they might be captured.

"They did not have sufficient clothing to stay warm so the loved ones at home spun and wove wool for underwear and socks.

"One late autumn Great-Grandma Jenkins [Polly Cornett Jenkins] and her daughter, Martha (who was a sweetheart of Stephen Adams) took turns, one riding, the other walking across the mountain to take some clothing. They stopped to spend the night with a cousin, Alp Blair (Enoch Blair, Alp's father, married a niece of Mannon Jenkins). It had been prearranged to meet the soldiers at this home.

"About dusk-dark they were sitting around in the yard near the one-room log cabin when they suddenly saw, silhouetted against the sky, a group of what they thought were Rebel soldiers---soldiers stooped over and closely following one another in single file! Hastily saying good-by and leaving a group of very scared women-folks, the excited soldiers slipped away in the darkness to avoid capture or a fight. Several breathless minutes later a distinct, but very unmistakable "baa-baa" was heard in the still night. The "Rebels" were a herd of sheep!

"Before Great-Grandma's visit with the Blair cousins ended, a company of soldiers, including Mannon Jenkins, Stephen Adams, James Lewis (who was a cousin of grandma's, and others were sent afoot to the head of Big Cowan to kill or capture some Rebels they knew were staying in a log house there. Stephen Adams and _____ Morgan (whether or not it was his general the writer [Ella] does not know) went on to the mouth of Little Cowan to watch for anyone passing either way. In the dark frost-filled air, they crouched silently behind a stake-and-rider fence.

"What was that Stephen and Morgan heard? Footsteps?? Yes?? No?? Yes, more distinctly on the frozen ground they heard hurrying footsteps. Every sense alert, they strained their eyes and ears to watch and listen. Closer and closer came the footsteps until they could hear a gasping panting breath as the tired man came onward! Waiting until he was directly abreast, Grandpa arose from one side of the fence and Morgan from the other.

"A much-surprised Clabe Polly, whom they knew, surrendered his gun and they started the return trip to their camp at Cumberland.

"Along the way, Morgan threatened to kill the prisoner. Very badly frightened, he begged, pleaded, and prayed for his life. Grandpa [Stephen Adams], feeling compassion for his fellowman, could stand it no longer. He told Morgan if he shot Polly, he, Grandpa, would shoot him. Seeing the stubborn determination of the man he was facing, Morgan sullenly hushed his tirade and they went on to their camp. Later Polly was exchanged for a Yankee prisoner.

"In the shooting at the house on Big Cowan, John Collier (Rebel) was killed and James Lewis (Union) was wounded.

"Lewis called to Mannon Jenkins who was shooting near him, "I am killed."

"No, I don't guess you are," Mannon replied.

"Yes, I know I am," Lewis insisted, as he grabbed at the gaping wound in his abdomen. Then he slowly slumped over.

"The Yankees, after he was wounded, withdrew out of rifle range. Shortly afterward, they carried James Lewis, badly wounded, back across the mountain where he died on the way.
"The following day as Great-Grandma Jenkins and Grandma Adams [Martha Jenkins Adams] returned home, the soldiers were burying James Lewis in the Maggard Cemetery on Cumberland River.

"The only help on the farm that Great-Grandma Jenkins had was her oldest daughter, Martha, and her son, Arch, before he was drafted. They plowed, raised wheat, and corn, turkeys and hogs. They hid the hogs from the roving bands of the Home Guards until it was cold enough to butcher them. Either she or Arch, who was only a boy, would hold the hog while the other would knock it in the head with a hammer. It was much easier to hide the meat than it was the hog. They had many a good meal that was all the better because they felt they had outwitted the Rebels."

"Another time when Grandma [Martha] outwitted them was the winter they took the honey. The men [Rebels] carried the bee gums [belonging to the Adams] to the near-by river and immersed them in the water to drown the bees. Then they pulled the gums up on the bank and took the honey without fear of bee stings. Grandma managed to slip one gum upstairs to the loft. When spring came, the bees went in and out and survived to start other hives after the war ended.

"Once they raided and one soldier shot and killed one of Great-Grandma's [Polly Cornett Jenkins] prized turkeys. Great-Grandma raced with him and snatched the turkey first while the others watched and laughed.

"Captain Ben Caudill said to him, "Stop! You cannot take it since you let a woman outdo you."

"So Great-Grandma's family feasted on turkey the next meal.

"The soldiers from the Harlan Battalion were allowed to come home in groups of two so they could cultivate their crops. About dusk another time, the Rebels came and, finding Great-Grandpa Jenkins at home, captured him. They took him along with them as they followed the path up the hill in front of their house. When they were near the top of the hill, the folks at the house heard a gun fire. They were sure the Rebels had killed Great-Grandfather. After the family spent a sleepless night grieving, next morning at dawn Grandma [Martha] followed the same path looking for the body of her father. Only sixteen years old, shivering from cold and crying, she stepped up on a log to rest and look around. There in the laurel and rhododendron lay Great-Granpa along side the log, motionless and frost-covered.

"Sis (his pet name for her)," he whispered.

"Then in a low tone he told her to keep going--- to go on to the Rebel camp and inquire for him as though she knew nothing about him. Then he would slip on to his camp which he did.

"The only means of travel was afoot or horseback, so horses were prized very highly. Great-Granfather Jenkins, a well-to-do miller of his day, kept several horses hidden in the pasture up the branch from his home. He gave Grandma [Martha] a beautiful young colt a few weeks before she was to be married. A roving band of "Bushwackers" took it along with some more horses. After peace was declared, she talked with Captain Caudill. He told her there were some horses at Rob Bates' place on the head of rockhouse Creek. He thought possibly her colt might be there in a pasture. So starting very early one morning, she and one of Aunt Kizzie Blair's girls walked there and back---a distance of some twenty-five miles. Her colt was not there---only some worthless old nags stomped and pickered in the warm sunshine."

"On March 6, 1864, Stephen Adams and Martha Jenkins were married. In getting ready for the occasion, Grandma [Martha] and Polly Ann Craft, who was to stand up with her, worked three weeks on their dresses. the material for Granma's dress was a white and pink floral material called challis. The material had been brought to her by Grandpa from Harlan. She made it entirely by hand--sewing over two threads of the material then under two. She styled it after the fashion of the day---tight basque, wide gathered skirt, very full, with rows of ruffling.

"They went to house-keeping in a log cabin at the head of Little Cowan near where Wilson Day's house and garden now is. they had a dirt floor and all homemade furniture, but they were as well off as any other couple. This cabin had previously been used as a barn by Grandpa's father, Isaac [Adams]. Their furniture consisted of two benches and a table made of poles hewn smooth across the top. Their one bed was made of puncheon (or hewn poles) fastened in a crack across one corner. Cooking was done on a wide log fireplace in one or two iron kettles.

"By this time the army camp at Cumberland had been disbanded and the men allowed to return to their homes. But a group of men called by the name of "Bushwackers" were roaming the countryside harassing people and raiding homes. So they constantly had to be on the lookout.

"About sunset a few months after the marriage of Grandma and Grandpa Adams, Grandma heard someone call her name. She looked out the door and saw Aunt nancy Webb, Grandpa's sister, top the bank running and waving. She knew the prearranged signal "bushwackers coming." Granpa had just come in from his day's plowing and was resting barefooted. So grabbing his shoes in one hand, his rifle in the other, he ran up the mountain and crouched behind a stump to put his shoes on.

By the time he was able to get farther out of sight, several men and one woman had come into view. They tried to make Grandma tell where Granpa was and forced her to cook their supper. Since it had been drizzling a little, the woman hung her straw bonnet on a peg above the fire.

Grandma wished mightily that a wind would blow that bonnet down into the fire. Next morning they raided the house taking everything they wanted and destroying the rest they left---even dumping their meal on the floor. One man took her reticule (handbag) which contained her wedding ring, her thimble, and pins, a ribbon from the flagstaff which her father [Mannon Jenkins] had so recently carried and many little keepsakes from her girlhood days. He remarked, "My wife would like those." The woman gaily pinned the ribbon on her bonnet.

"Then as they were leaving, Ike Burton snatched her only blanket off the bed and draped it around his shoulders as a shawl. Grandma clung to the blanket until he got out in the yard but he would not let go. Through her tears, Grandma saw them turn the bend in the road, the blanket folded over his arm and the ribbon fluttering in the breeze.

"Later Grandpa said he had lain hidden behind a log so he could see and hear most of what was happening. He said he aimed his gun many times and pondered, "I could kill one, but I know then they'd kill me, and maybe even Martha." He did not shoot even though it was so hard to see them wrecking the few possessions they had. He stayed in hiding until they passed from sight.

"This story does not end here. Some thirty-five or more years later, a faint "Hello" was heard at the gate. manerva, the oldest daughter at home, went to the door.
"Where is the lady of the house" a man on horseback asked. So she sent Grandma to find out what the man wanted.

"Pleading for sympathy, "Lady," he whined, "I am all worn out and have the headache. Could I have a cup of coffee? My head aches something terrible. The place where I stayed last night didn't have any coffee. I've come all the way from Louisville where I've been in a hospital. I'm going to Virginia to see my family. Why, lady, I used to be in these parts back in the war. Don't guess you'd remember much about that."

"Escaping from his talkative mood, Grandma went back to get his coffee. She COULDN'T turn a traveler away--not even THIS one! Used to strangers, the children, nevertheless, saw in their pale and trembling mother something of the drama that was being enacted before their eyes. Following shyly behind, they hung around to watch and listen.

"As he drank the coffee, Grandma led him to reminisce about his part in the Civil War.

All finished at last, he questioned, "What do I owe you for the coffee?"
"Why, nothing," Grandma replied, "But I'd like for you to pay me for that blanket you took off my bed that day back in the war."

"Why, lady, I'm sure I didn't take any blanket from you," he answered.
"Oh, yes, you did," said Grandma. "It was the only blanket I had. I'd know you anywhere. YOU took it."

"Well, now, lady, if I did I'm sorry. I--I--I guess I did do things I shouldn't have done."

"Anxiously, now, and eager to get away, Ike Burton climbed on his horse and resumed his journey.

"Turning to the round-eyed children, Grandma's only comment was, "Well, I guess he's got the headache worse now than he had when he came."