JENKINS, DAVID

David Jenkins was born to mother Sarah Jenkins and father Tom Jenkins in either 1895 or 1898 in Aberdeen, NC.¹David’s implied birth year on his marriage license (1895) contradicts the year 1898 implied by the 1920 census, by his headstone, and by his death certificate (where the informant was his wife, Margie). We assume the later date is correct.

David Jenkins marriage license: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-4S7X-D?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

David Jenkins death certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_216-2261: accessed 26Apr 2022. Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

David Jenkins headstone: Geer Cemetery (800 Colonial St, Durham, NC), David Jenkins headstone, photographed by Wayne Lee, 7 Mar 2020. David died on 11 May 1928 at the age of 30 in Durham while residing at 511 Proctor Street.²David Jenkins death certificate. On 22 Jul 1916, he married Margie Leach (1898–1984), who was about four months’ pregnant at the time.³Wedding date: David Jenkins marriage license.

Pregnancy: Male infant Jenkins birth certificate: “North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS1M-D982-Y?cc=3477667 : 16 July 2020), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records, Raleigh. Margie and David had two children, John Thomas Jenkins (14 December 1916–8 Aug 1949) and Margaret “Maggie” Jenkins (b. 18 December 1921).⁴John: Male infant Jenkins birth certificate.

Margaret: Margaret Jenkins birth certificate: “North Carolina, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Records Unit, County Birth Records, 1913-1922,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C339-3QY1?cc=3477667 : 18 July 2020), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records, Raleigh.

According to the 1920 Federal Census, the family lived in a rented house at 520 Proctor Street with Margie’s parents, John and Isabella Leach, and Margie’s sister Johnnie Leach.⁵1920 Federal Census p. 1: “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRXW-GVS?cc=1488411&wc=QZJ5-V54%3A1036474001%2C1039156401%2C1039171601%2C1589332311 : 12 September 2019), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Ward 3 > ED 55 > image 26 of 64; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

1920 Federal Census p. 2: “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRXW-GKM?cc=1488411&wc=QZJ5-V54%3A1036474001%2C1039156401%2C1039171601%2C1589332311 : 12 September 2019), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Ward 3 > ED 55 > image 27 of 64; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). A 1921 city directory shows David Jenkins living at 509 Proctor Street while a 1924 city directory shows David living at 517 Proctor Street.⁶Durham, N.C. City Directory 1921 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1921) p. 266, Jenkins surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25153 : accessed 30 Apr 2022).

Hill Directory Co.’s (Incorporated) Durham, N.C. City Directory 1924 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1924) p. 359, Jenkins surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25137 : accessed 30 Apr 2022).

At the time of David’s marriage, his father-in-law, John Leach, was a partner in the Martin & Leach barber shop at 207 E. Main St.⁷Durham, N.C. Directory 1915-1916 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1915-1916) p. 23, “Barbers”; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25122 : accessed 27 Apr 2022). By 1919 David was himself a barber, probably trained by Leach. Around 1921, the shop moved to 107 N. Church St. and the name was changed to the Excelsior Barber Shop. At that time, the shop employed at least nine barbers, one of whom was David.⁸Durham, N.C. Directory 1922 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1922) search “Excelsior”; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25156 : accessed 27 Apr 2022). 107 N Church Street was not far from David’s Proctor home address and less than five blocks from Trinity College, Duke University’s East Campus today. David worked for the Excelsior Barber Shop until his death.

The black-owned barber shop was located one block away from Parrish Street. Parrish Street, commonly referred to as Black Wall Street, was a four-block area in downtown Durham where African American business boomed from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.⁹“Black Wall Street/Historic Parrish Street,” LocalWiki, https://localwiki.org/durham/Black_Wall_Street/Historic_Parrish_Street: accessed 14 Nov 2020. Black barber shops are a staple in the African American community as they are a place where blacks talked about politics, the community, and religion. During the Jim Crow era, blacks were unable to gather freely, so barbershops became a place for blacks to safely congregate. When barbershops were the hot spot of the black community, black residents who moved to a new area would stop by the barber shop to make connections. And if a customer needed someone to do a job, he would go to the barber and ask who was reliable.¹⁰Quincy T. Mills, “Black Barbershops Remain a Cut Above,” News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), 20 July 2016. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/durham-news/article89863562.html.

Note that this information is behind a paywall.

The 1940 census shows that 38-year-old widow Margie Jenkins lived at 519 Coleman Albery Street in Durham, where she’d been for at least five years.¹¹1940 Federal Census: “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-T64L?cc=2000219&wc=QZXT-KC8%3A790104901%2C793863901%2C793938201%2C793957601 : accessed 26 April 2022), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Township, Durham, Ward 3 > 32-23 Durham Township, Durham City Ward 3 (Area B – part) > image 7 of 82; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.

Five years: Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory 1935 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1935) p. 256, Jenkins surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25147 : accessed 28 Apr 2022). She worked as a cook and lived with her children John and Margaret, as well as Helene Scott, a lodger working as a maid. The census lists John as a mechanic, and Margaret as unemployed. This is the last time we see the three of them living together.

By the 1945 wedding of Margaret to George Barnes, Margie had already moved to Portsmouth, VA,. and Margaret’s brother John may have been in the Army.¹²Margie: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60548/images/42091_331661-04502: accessed 28 Apr 2022. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

John: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/852648:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=e9ddfc2413812b9e5b1b160e6f6d6c50&_phsrc=Are225&_phstart=successSource: accessed 28 Apr 2022. Original data: View Sources. John died in Portsmouth on 8 August 1949 of “chronic meningitis,” which may have kept him out of World War II.¹³John Jenkins death certificate: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9278/images/43006_172028008877_0168-00176: accessed 28 Apr 2022. Original data:Virginia, Deaths, 1912–2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia. Margie died in Portsmouth on 3 February 1984. The informant on her death certificate was Margaret J. Washington—possibly her daughter Margaret, remarried.¹⁴Margie Jenkins death certificate: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9278/images/43006_162028006074_0195-00030: accessed 27 Apr 2022. Original data: Virginia, Deaths, 1912–2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia. We have not yet been able to verify this connection.

BORN: 1898.¹⁶David Jenkins headstone

DIED: 11 May 1928.¹⁷David Jenkins death certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: Aberdeen, NC.¹⁸David Jenkins death certificate.

DEATH PLACE: Durham, NC.¹⁹David Jenkins death certificate.

SPOUSE: Margie Leach (1898–1984).²⁰David Jenkins marriage license.

PARENTS: Tom and Sarah Jenkins.²¹David Jenkins death certificate. His marriage license shows “Lannie” and “Mattie” as his father and mother respectively. David’s wife Margie was the informant on his death certificate, and in the absence of conclusive evidence, we will take her word.

CHILDREN: John Thomas, Margaret.²²Male infant Jenkins birth certificate.

Margaret Jenkins birth certificate:

OTHER FAMILY: N/A

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: N/A

OCCUPATION: Barber.²³1922 Durham City Directory.

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: 511 Proctor.²⁴David Jenkins death certificate.

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A