Jesse Gum Jenkins and Susan Margaret Flesher

I don't remember how I came to acquire this photo of Jesse Gum Jenkins and Susan Margaret Flesher, but I decided to post it since I've been trying so hard to find his parents. I actually have three new ideas that I'm running down, all look plausible---just have to see if any pans out.

Three Generations of Dolls

I've put a new wig on my baby doll twice now-- she's over 50 and deserves to look nice. Her name is Betsy Lou and my parents gave her to me when I was two years old. I took her in to a doll hospital about 7 years ago because I had misplaced her original blue and white pinafore dress and I wanted to display her. The lady who owned the job, said she wasn't of value, but cleaned her up, put on new hair and outfitted her in a beautiful winter outfit.


A couple of years later I decided to restore my mother's and grandmother's dolls. Each doll was in pieces and looked like they were beyond repair. Again I was told the dolls were worthless and that I shouldn't bother to fix them up. When I finally had the money to repair them, the doll hospital had closed. A few years later I searched the Internet.




I found Debra's Dolls in New Jersey. She did an excellent job in restoring the dolls. I now have three generations of dolls to display. I wish I knew my mother's and grandmother's doll's names, but I never asked--and when mom and grandma were alive, the dolls were just doll pieces in a box.




Anyway, grandma Bessie (Ginkens) Bear's doll on the left is an Armand Marseille German Bisque Doll made in Thuringia, Germany, circa 1885-1905 (with original clothing); the doll on the right, Ila (Bear) Geyer's doll, is an Ernst Heubach #312 marked with sunburst and "Kapplesdorf, circa 1920." I'm sure glad that I found Debra.

Unknown Family Photos

I've finally gotten around to uploading all the "mystery" photos that we found when we cleaned out my grandfather's closet. If you're family, take a look and let me know if you can identify any.

"Mother, Emily, Wesley, Hanna & Ellen" 

Update - The family in the photo was identified by John W. Geyer.  He writes:

The picture is of the McGimpsey family.

The correct names of the people in the photo are -
My maternal great grandfather and great grandmother
Father - Henry James McGimpsey  (buried in Sixteen Cemetery)
Mother -  Eliza McGimpsey               "       "    "              "

my maternal great aunts clockwise
Daughter - Lizzie McGimpsey            "       "    "              "
Daughter - Catherine McGimpsey Dusenberry
Daughter - Mary McGimpsey McRoberts    "    "               "

Lizzie was never married and lived most of adult life in Thornburg, was an excellent seamstress and a nice lady and I recall visiting her many times and especially many times when I would go to her home in Thornburg after school and have dinner with her before going to basketball practice in the evening.

Catherine was the youngest and married and lived her entire married life in Tucson, Arizona where she and her husband owned and operated a  moving and storage business.  They had one son and his son is still  practicing law in Tucson.

Mary was the live wire of the daughters, a fun loving very interesting lady.  She was married to John McRoberts and the only child they ever had was born dead. She and John lived in Thornburg most of their married life on a small acreage and kept at least one cow and chickens until very late in her life.

Births from a Ginkens Family Bible

From a scan of the Births page from a cousin who has the Ginkens family bible. The scan is fairly easy to read and contains the following information:

Jessie Ginkens, August 30th 1828
Susann M. Ginkens, Jan. 18th 1836
Sarah E Ginkens, June 3thd 1853
Andrew H. Ginkens, Sept. 20th 1855
Henery A. D. Ginkens, Nove 1st 1857
Percivil J. Ginkens, April 4th 1860
Martha J.A. Ginkens, Jan. 23thd 1863
Mary E. Ginkens, Feb 18th 1865
James H. Ginkens, May 30th 1867
David I. Ginkens, October 13th 1869
Aletha B Ginkens, June 27th 1872
Lucy O. Ginkens, Aug. 30th 1874
Jessie F. Ginkens, April 17th 1876
Fredric Lane Ginkens, Dec. 19th 1879*
Julia Edna Ginkens, April 9th 1881

* Someone later made the last 9 of Frederick Lane Ginkens birth year into an 8 using a black pen [changed from 1879 to 1878 - the original writing is in pencil]. Other evidence is conflicting as well: in the 1900 US Federal Census, where he is a servant in the household of Alexander Clark of Brighton, Washington, Iowa, his birth month and year is given as "Dec 1878." On his World War I Selective Service Draft Registration Card, his birth date is given as "Dec 19, 1879," he still lives in Brighton and works on an oil wagon for Robert Griffith. I would give a stronger weight to the 1879 date, as it is the original from the bible and was the date he gave on his draft card. He may not even have been present when the census taker visited the household in 1900.

The information from the Marriages page of the family bible can be found here.

Family tradition is that Jesse Gum Ginkens [my 3rd gr-grandfather, born 1828 in Virginia] changed the spelling of the family name from Jenkins to avoid confusion with the mail. I have not been able to prove it as of yet, but I believe he is the oldest son (second child) of Andrew Jenkins (abt 1800-bet 1870-80) and Elenor "Nellie" Gum (1804-1875), who married 27 Jan 1825 in Pendleton County, VA. Many of Jesse's children's names are the same as those of Andrew and Nellie: Andrew, Aletha, Henry A., and Sarah Ellen; and his family settled in the same area as a daughter of Andrew and Nellie, Martha J. (Jenkins) Rumer (the Ginkens in Penn and the Rumers in Fairfield, neighboring townships in Jefferson County, IA). His family later moved to Clay township, Washington, IA (just across the county line from Penn). He and Susan, his wife, are buried in Howard Grove Cemetery in Penn, Jefferson, IA. Additionally, in the 1840 US Federal Census, there is a male in the household of Andrew and Nellie of the same age that Jesse would be. Do you know of any "hard" evidence?

Ginkens Marriages, etc.

I just received a scan of the Marriages page from a cousin who has the Ginkens family bible. The scan is fairly easy to read and contains the following information:

Henery A Ginkens, Mrs Alice M. McCracken, Nov. 2nd 1885
Sarah E Ginkens, James B Defrance, 12th Sept 1883
A. Harrison Ginkens, Marry M. Nelson, March 10th 1886
Martha J. Ginkens, William D Augustine, Feb. 11 1883
James B Ginkens, Brittie M. McCracken, Nov. 4th 1888
Mary E. Ginkens, Albert Carvin, April 20th 1890
J Edna Ginkens, Thos E Alter, Nov. 12, 1901
Aletha B Ginkens, Harold L Wilkin, Jan 27 1897

Henry Austin Ginkens and Martha Alice (Watson) McCracken were my 2nd great grandparents. Previous to her marriage to Henry, Martha Alice was married to a man named McCracken. I believe her first husband was David H. McCracken (born abt. 1850 in Ohio), her stepbrother, who was a son of her father Isaac Watson's 3rd wife, Louisa, but this is just an educated guess. I would love to hear from anyone with more knowledge on her first marriage. Martha had a daughter, Hattie McCracken, born about 1872 in Iowa, from this marriage.

I would also be interested to hear from anyone who knows who the father (or fathers) of Sarah E. Ginkens two children are: Vanna E. Ginkens (born Feb 1875 in Wapello County, Iowa) and Erk Harlow Ginkens (born 19 Jul 1877 in Wapello County, Iowa). One Ginkens cousin I am in touch with thinks Erk's father had the last name Harlow and that Erk may have been illegitimate. In the 1880 US Federal Census, Sarah and the kids are living with her father, Jesse Gum Ginkens in Clay Township, Washington, Iowa, and the children are listed with the last name Vandarn (alternatively, Vandorn or Van Dorn), while Sarah's surname is Ginkens.

Bear, Ginkens/Jenkins, Kirkland family photos

These photos were all in the possession of my grandfather Harlan Geyer and are now in the possession of my aunt.

Written on back: Joe Kirkland, Margaret and Samuel Bear, Will Kirkland

This photo was probably taken in the 1880's. Margaret Jane Kirkland was married to Samuel Rupley Bear on 17 Feb 1880 (they're my great-great-grandparents). The other men are her brothers Joseph Kirkland (b. 1845 in Wetzel County, WV) and William Kirkland (b. 1840 in Ohio).

Samuel R. and Margaret Bear with children, ca. 1910

The children of Samuel and Margaret Bear are: Samuel Lewis Bear (b. 1881), James Allen Bear (b. 1883), Abraham Alexander Bear (b. 1886), Ruby Caroline Bear Wells (b. 1889) and Moses Washington Bear (b. 1894).

Henry Ginkens and wife, Martha Alice Watson Ginkens, with daughters: Bessie Belle (b. 1886), Beulah Benson (b. 1887), Mary Maude (b. 1889) and Artie Alice (b. 1891)

Samuel Lewis Bear and Bessie Belle Ginkens wedding portrait

Samuel and Bessie were married 15 May 1910 and are my great grandparents. The photography studio was located in Hot Springs, South Dakota (Fall River County).

Martha Watson Ginkens with children

Bessie Ginkens Bear (b. 1886) is in the back row on the right. Her siblings are: Beulah Belle Ginkens Entsminger (b. 1887), Artie Alice Ginkens Haines (b. 1891), Lela Leota Ginkens Barnebey (b. 1893), Ardys Austin Ginkens (b. 1895) and Lloyd Leonard Ginkens (b. 1897). I'm not sure who is pictured above. Martha Watson Ginkens and Artie Alice Haines both died in 1942, so the photo was taken prior to this.

Henry Austin Ginkens (b. 1857 in IA, d. 1924 in Fall River, SD)

According to the 1920 US Census, he and Martha were divorced between 1910 & 1920, but my family don't remember hearing about this and I suppose it would have been news back then.