JAMES PERCY JENNINGS

The following bio was taken from page 260 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas

In 1847 William Gennings of Spartanburg County, South Carolina wrote his will naming his wife Moriah and sons Simpson and Ransom.

Ransom Gennings (1825-1864) married Harriet LouElla, daughter of James K. and Emily (Bagwell) Finch. Their children were: Joseph, Francis, Morning, Elizabeth, William, James Henry, LouElla, Ransom, John, Julia, and Margaret. Ransom is buried in Bethlehem Baptist Cemetery as Gennings. Harriet moved to her old family home place where she lived for forty-three years. She is buried as H. L. Jennings in Cedar Springs Baptist Cemetery, showing that her family had changed the spelling of their name by then.

James Henry (1855-1940) came to Rusk County after 1880, possibly to the home of former neighbors. The story is told that James Henry left home because he was mad at his mother for giving a family gold watch to a younger brother. He never went back but brought a walking stick of his great-great-grandfather, James Keen with him. It is made of a twisted vine said to be from the swamps of Virginia and has a silver knob engraved "J. Keen 1811." The walking stick now has a crack repaired by a silver band. It was broken when James Henry used it to hit a mad dog, that attacked him near his home.

On Sunday morning, December 12, 1882, James Henry married Rose Welch at the residence of her father, Bob Welch of Welch Springs. Grandpa purchased 107 acres adjoining the Welch farm and farmed there all his life. It was a favorite place for all his children and grandchildren to visit over the years and swing in the grapevine swings near by.

The children of James Henry and Rose Welch were: Altonia Idell, died young; Harriet Kate (1885-1951), married Curtis Allred; Mary E. (1887-1937), married Emmett Beall; James Percy (1888-1952), married Josephine Jimerson; Edgar Ross, died young; Little May, died young; Robert Bruce (1894-1965), married Donnie White; Paul Donald (1897-1966), never married; and Bessie Lee (1898-), married Mannie Rowell.

James Percy came to Dirgin, in northeast Rusk County, to farm and met and married Josephine Jimerson on November 20, 1910. He bought a farm near her father and settled down to farming for many years. Their children were: Edna Mae, married Malvin Heath Watson; Mary Lois, married, first, Robert Acuff and second, G. H. Garver; Mollie Wilma, married James Wood; Abigail Christine, married Jack Hampton; Bobbie June, married, first, Edwin Gray; second, Nolan Rills, and third, Homar Shutz.

Many happy memories were shared by the family of five girls over the years on the farm where they worked in the field along with their parents. Christmas was a time for sharing when Papa brought out his gift of apples, oranges, nuts, big sticks of peppermint candy, and raisins on the stem. Many nights following Christmas the big wooden boxes were pulled out of the pantry and the family had a great feast around the flickering open fireplace.

The mother and father are dead now, but the five girls have a reunion each year and also send a round-robin letter to keep in touch and share old times together again.

Submitted by Edna Mae Watson