Smith and Young Families of northern Rhode Island



Smith and Young Families of northern Rhode Island




Jenckes Family




The information on the Jenckes Family is from "Genealogy of the Jenks Family of America" by William B. Browne,
1952 and "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island" by John O. Austin, 1887 (1969), pp. 112-113.
The early members of this family spelled their name "Jenks" while the Rhode Island branch of the family usually
spelled the name "Jencks" or "Jenckes."








Joseph1 Jenks

b. Abt. 1603 in England
m1. September 30, 1630 in Parish of All Hallows, London, England    Mary Tervyn     baptised March 26, 1611 in England     buried May 14, 1643 in England
m2. Abt. 1650 in Massachusetts?    Elizabeth ( ? )     b. 1604 in England     d. July 1679 in Lynn, Massachusetts
d. March 16, 1683 in Lynn, Massachusetts

Joseph Jenks grew up in Middlesex County (Hammersmith) near London, England. He immigrated to Massachusetts after his first wife
died. He was in Lynn, Massachusetts by 1645. Joseph was a blacksmith and metalworker of considerable skill. He
worked at the Saugus Iron Works in Saugus, Massachusetts just west of Lynn. These iron works have been reconstructed
by the U.S. National Park Service and are open to the public as the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Park.
Joseph was employed to make dies for the coins used by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652. The town of Boston
contracted with Joseph to make "engines to carry water in case of fire" in 1654.


children1:

***Joseph2 Jenks
Richard2 Jenks (1635 - 1666)


children2:

***Sarah2 Ann Jenks (1652 - ? )
Samuel2 Jenks (1654 - 1738)
Deborah2 Jenks (1658 - ? )
John2 Jenks (1660 - 1698)
Daniel2 Jenks (1663 - ? )





***Joseph2 Jenks (Joseph1)

b. 1632 in England
m. ? in Lynn, Massachusetts?    Esther Ballard     b. 1633 in Massachusetts?    d. 1717 in Pawtucket, R.I.
d. January 4, 1717 in Pawtucket, R.I.

Joseph immigrated with his father to Lynn, Massachusetts as a teenager. He worked for his father in the Saugus
Iron Works and learned the blacksmith trade. He moved to Rhode Island in the late 1660's, and purchased land
next to the Pawtucket Falls in 1669. He was one of the first settlers of Pawtucket and was very industrious.
Joseph built a sawmill and iron forge on his land in Pawtucket. In 1676 his property was destroyed during
King Phillip's War. He rebuilt the sawmill and forge and lived out his life at Pawtucket, R.I. Joseph served
as an assistant to the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1680-1686, 1690-1691, 1695-1696, and in 1698.


children:

(Governor) Joseph3 Jenckes (1656 - 1740)
Elizabeth3 Jenckes (1658 - ?)
Sarah3 Jenckes (1660 - ?)
Nathaniel3 Jenckes (1662 - ?)
Esther3 Jenckes (1664 - ?)
Ebenezer3 Jenckes (1668 - ?)
Joanna3 Jenckes (1672 - 1756)
***William3 Jenckes
Abigail3 Jenckes (1676 - ?)





***Judge William3 Jenckes (Joseph2, Joseph1)

b. Abt. 1674/75 in Pawtucket, R.I.?
m1. ? in Providence, R.I.    Patience Sprague    b. ? in Providence, R.I.?     d. ? in R.I.?
m2. ? in Providence, R.I.    Mary (Sprague) Brown    b. ? in Providence, R.I.?     d. August 29, 1770 in R.I.
d. October 2, 1765 in Smithfield, R.I.
burial: unknown

William was a blacksmith who served for many years as the chief Justice of Providence County Court,
also as a deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1727 - 1729 and in 1738, and as a Justice
of the Court of Common Pleas for Providence County. In 1740, he worked on a committee for the colony of
Rhode Island to determine the boundary line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. William's brother
Joseph was the Royal Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 - 1732.


children1:

Joseph4 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Susanna4 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Mercy4 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
William4 Jenckes (1700 - ?)
Patience4 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Margaret4 Jenckes (1704 - ?)
Jonathan4 Jenckes (1707 - ?)
***John4 Jenckes
Esther4 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Mehitable4 Jenckes ( ? - 1795)





***Doctor John4 Jenckes (William3, Joseph2, Joseph1)

b. 1710 in Pawtucket, R.I.?
m. July 5, 1731 in Providence, R.I.?    Rachel Lawrence     b. ? in New York    d. Aft. 1788 in ?
d. May 31, 1776 in Smithfield, R.I.
burial: unknown

John grew up near Pawtucket, R.I. He became a physician and moved to Dartmouth, Mass. and later to Nova Scotia
with his brother Jonathan and a group of 100 Rhode Islanders in the early 1760's. This group intended to
settle in Nova Scotia, and John was granted land in Sackville, New Brunswick (at the head of the Bay of Fundy
bordering Nova Scotia). John decided to return to Smithfield, Rhode Island, where he lived out the rest of
his life.


children:

Edmund5 Jenckes (1732 - ?)
Henry5 Jenckes (1733 - ?)
Jesse5 Jenckes (1734/35 - ?)
John5 Jenckes (1735/36 - ?)
Mary5 Jenckes (1739 - ?)
William5 Jenckes (1740 - ?)
***Thomas5 Jenckes
Lawrence5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Sarah5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Carolina5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Isaac5 Jenckes (1746 - ?)
Patience5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Lydia5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Abigail5 Jenckes ( ? - ? )





***Thomas5 Jenckes (John4, William3, Joseph2, Joseph1)

b. July 30, 1737 in Smithfield, R.I.
m. ? in Smithfield, R.I.    Patience Smith    b. ? in Smithfield, R.I.?    d. May 6, 1809 in Smithfield, R.I.
d. October 10, 1811 in Smithfield, R.I.
burial: unknown (Smithfield, R.I.)

Thomas was a farmer in Smithfield, R.I. He served in the Rhode Island militia during the Revolutionary War.
Thomas was a Lieutenant for the 1st Company of Smithfield Militia (1st Providence County Regiment) in 1775.
In 1776, he served as the Captain for the Smithfield 1st Militia Company (see Joseph Jenckes Smith, "Civil
and Military List of Rhode Island," Vol. 1). Thomas and his family, most of whom were daughters, were all
tall, and he is said to have bragged about his "sixty feet of daughters."


children:

***Phebe6 Jenckes
Rachel6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Naomi6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Sally6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Polly6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Lydia6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Patience6 Jenckes (1771 - ?)
Rufus6 Jenckes (1774 - ?)
Diana6 Jenckes (1774 - 1857)
Abigail6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )
Marcy6 Jenckes ( ? - ? )





***Phebe6
Jenckes (Thomas5, John4, William3, Joseph2, Joseph1)

b. April 26, 1760 in Smithfield, R.I.
m. February 19, 1780    Robert Harris     b. Abt. February 1758 in Smithfield, R.I.    d. October 17, 1824 in Smithfield, R.I.
d. November 3, 1833 in Smithfield, R.I.
burial: Robert Harris Lot (SM070), Lydia Ann Rd., Smithfield


children:
Thomas7 Harris ( ? - ? )
Sarah7 Harris (1782 - 1853)
William7 Harris ( ? - ? )
***Jenckes7 Harris
Asha7 Harris ( ? - 1833)
Amy7 Harris ( ? - ? )
Phebe7 Harris ( ? - 1881)
Robert7 Harris Jr. (1797 - 1888)
Ethan7 Harris (1800 - ?)









These web pages are currently under construction, so please be patient.

If you are a relative or are interested in obtaining or providing additional information
on these families, then please send me an email.