Joseph Jenckes, Jr.

Joseph Jencks, Jr

• Baptized: Oct. 12, 1628 Buckinghamshire, England
• Death: Jan. 4, 1717 Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island
• Burial: Governor Joseph Jencks Lot (Defunct) Pawtucket Providence County Rhode Island, USA
• Parents: Joseph Jenckes and Joan Hearne
• Wife: Hester 'Esther' Ballard - married before 30 Nov 1652.

Family

Austin's "The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island" page 113 lists the children of Joseph and Esther Ballard Jenckes as 

• 1. Joseph m. Martha Brown, 
• 2. Elizabeth m. Samuel Tefft, 
• 3. Sarah m. Nathaniel Brown, 
• 4. Nathaniel m. Hannah Bosworth, 
• 5. Esther m. Samuel Millard, 
• 6. Ebenezer m. Mary Butterworth, 
• 7. Joanna m. Sylvanus Scott, 
• 8. Abigail m. Thomas Wipple, 
• 9. William m. Patience Sprague (1), Mary (2). 

Biography

From Find A Grave Memorial# 19416717

• He was baptized in Colnbrook, Horton, Co. Buckinghamshire on Oct 12,1628,
• the son of Joseph Jenckes (also spelled Jenks, Jencks) and his first wife Joan Hearne Jenckes.
• Joseph Jenckes II is known as the founder of Pawtucket.
• A skilled ironworker, he had come to the New World to join his father, Joseph Jencks I,
  • who had organized and operated the first American iron works in Saugus, MA.
• In 1670, Joseph II left Massachusetts, intending to build his own forge in Rhode Island.
• On October 10, 1671, he purchased 60 acres of land on the west bank of the Blackstone River, marking the establishment of the first permanent settlement of Pawtucket.
  • However, it was short-lived, as the Jenckes settlement was burned to the ground in 1675 during King Philip's War.
• When the war ended, the Jenckes forge was rebuilt, and soon it became the center of a small village including the foundry, a gristmill, and sawmill.
• The commerce of the village was founded on the production of iron products essential to the survival of these early settlers.
• Joseph Jenckes was admitted a freeman in 1677, and
  • served several terms in the Rhode Island Assembly between 1679 and 1698.
• During 1685–1688, at the direction of King James II, Rhode Island became a county in the Dominion of New England, under Governor Sir Edmund Andros.
• After the Revolution of 1688, King William and Queen Mary ascended to the throne, and Joseph Jenckes was included in a small group selected to write a letter congratulating them on their ascension and informing them that Sir Edmund Andros had been arrested in Rhode Island.
• About 1652 or 1653, he married Esther Ballard, in Lynn, Essex Co, MA.
  • Children:
    • Joseph Jenckes III, Elizabeth Jenckes Tefft, Sarah Jencks Brown, Nathaniel Jencks, Esther Jenckes Miller, Ebenezer Jenckes, Joanna Jenckes Scott (mother of Sarah Scott Hopkins and Joanna Scott Jenckes, and possibly mother of Sylvanus Scott), William Jenckes, Abigail Jenckes Whipple, and Mary Jenckes Jenckes (possibly the second wife of Daniel Jencks).
• Family links:
  • Parents:
    • Joseph Jencks (1599 - 1683)
    • Joan Hearne Jencks (1607 - 1635)
  • Spouse: Esther Ballard Jenckes (1632 - 1717)
  • Children:
    • Joseph Jenckes (1656 - 1740)*
    • Elizabeth Jenckes Tefft (1658 - 1740)*
    • Sarah Jencks Brown (1660 - 1707)*
    • Nathaniel Jencks (1663 - 1723)*
    • Ebenezer Jenckes (1669 - 1726)*
    • William Jenckes (1675 - 1765)*
  • Sibling: (**Half-sibling)
    • Joseph Jencks (1628 - 1717)
    • Daniel Jenckes (1663 - 1736)**
• Burial: Governor Joseph Jencks Lot (Defunct), Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA

Maintained by: Kevin Avery; Originally Created by: Superkentman; Record added: May 17, 2007; Find A Grave Memorial# 19416717

Governor Joseph Jencks Lot (Defunct) Also known as: Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Pawtucket #9

• Cemetery notes and/or description:
  • Note: This cemetery is considered lost and no trace of it can be found today.
    • The Jencks family selected a 165 ft. square lot to lay their beloved to rest on Broken Back Hill, at that time a pleasant setting overlooking the river. The first burials were probably Joseph Jenks, the founder of Pawtucket, and his wife Esther Ballard in 1717. It remained in active use until the establishment of Mineral Spring Cemetery in 1774. The final recorded burial was Jonathan Jenks in 1781. After time the burial ground was heavily vandalized and it had apparently completely disappeared by 1894, when William Phinney, one of the older citizens of the Pawtucket, wrote an article for the Pawtucket Gazette & Chronicle about his recollections of the cemetery, which he had lived adjacent to as a child. He recalled that there were about sixty slate stones with angels' heads carved on the face. At that time they were badly leaning, broken and defaced. Mr. Phinney drew a plat of the burying ground indicating the surrounding buildings and the major grave locations including those of Joseph Jenks Sr. and his wife and Governor Joseph Jenks. Then in June of 1925, five gravestones and human remains were unearthed during excavation for construction of a garage on a lot between the Allen House on Read St., the Masonic Temple on High St., and behind the Capt. Ellis House on Roosevelt Ave. The first stone examined was that of Joseph Jenckes, Colonial Governor of Rhode Island 1727-1732. It was one of two slabs used to cover a well behind the Allen House. There were four other stones discovered that day: Martha [Brown] Jenks, Lydia Jenks, William Jenckes, Esq., the foot stone of Governor Joseph Jenks, and an unidentified stone.

      ---

Preservation Society of Pawtucket, RI

Taken from: http://www.geocities.com/pepa3.geo/Jenks/josjnkjr.htm (dead link)

JOSEPH JENCKES JR. is noted as the founder of Pawtucket. He was a young ironworker, born in England, who had come to America at the age of 15 to join his father, Joseph Jenks, Sr. Joseph Jenks, Sr had organized and operated the first American iron works at Saugus, Massachusetts. In 1670, young Joseph left Saugus intending to settle in Warwick, Rhode Island on the "Pawtuxet" River. It is not certain just how he learned of the more powerful "Pawtucket" Falls on the Blackstone River, but with a readily available supply of timber and nearby bog iron ore, it was the ideal place to build his forge.

This area was still wilderness then. It was the northern boundary of Roger Williams' settlement of Providence, but had remained quiet woodland and fertile flood plains. On October 10, 1671, Joseph Jenks, Jr. purchased 60 acres of land on the west bank of the Blackstone River. This transaction marks the establishment of the first permanent settlement of Pawtucket.

The small Jenks settlement was burned to the ground in 1675 during the King Philip War. The Indians of the New England region had been feeling the expanding power and presence of the English colonists. Massasoit, the Wampanoag chieftain, had managed to maintain friendly relations with the colonists. He dies in 1660, and in 1662 was succeeded by his son, Metacomet, also known as King Philip. The Wampanoags nursed an increasingly hostile attitude toward the white men and in 1675, after a series of aggravations, the Indians finally attacked. Many colonial towns were either wholly or partly destroyed during the war which finally ended in August 1676, when King Philip was killed. The results of the conflict were disastrous for everyone and almost fatal for the Indians, who would never regain their strength in southeastern New England.

The Jenks forge was rebuilt when the King Philip war ended, and soon there was a small village clustered near the Pawtucket Falls. It included several stone-ended dwellings, the forge, the foundry, a gristmill, and sawmill. Despite the small size of the village, it was an important center for iron products such as farm tools and housewares that were vital to the survival of early settlers.

notes

From New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 9, July 1855. Page 202-203. "The Jenks Family."

" .... I will remark that Joseph Jenckes, junior, after residing there with his father a few years, as also at Concord, and having married Esther, the eldest daughter of William Ballard of Lynn, (a farmer who came over in 1635, when this daughter was two years of age, as appears by the interesting discoveries recently published by Dr. Savage in our Historical Collections,) went, 'with a young family,' into the State of Rhode Island, where his posterity have been numerous and respectable.

"He first settled in Warwick, a town so called from the Earl of that name, long President of the Plymouth Council, and in 1642, Admiral of England for the Parliament, whose ancestress was Elizabeth Jenkes,J wife of lord chancellor Rich, and, as I judge, descended of the Shropshire stock, though her father and brother were of London. Afterward he removed to Pawtucket, and settled on a large tract of land he purchased of the Indians—a tract, which has since occasioned much litigation, and rendered an account of his descendants, its claimants, a matter of public interest in the vicinity. He was one of the 'Assistants,' or as we should say in Massachusetts, 'Counsellors,' of the Governor, in 1681. In Backus's Catalogue his name is spelt Jencks, although his autograph, which I have seen, spells it Jenckes, as many of his descendants do to the present day."

"Beside five daughters, who were all married, he had four sons, who left large families. Their names were:

• Joseph, who was Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 to 1732;
• Nathaniel, a Major of the militia;
• the Rev. Ebenezer, Elder in the Baptist church, and pastor of the ancient flock in Providence; and
• William, a Judge, who died in 1765, at the venerable age of 91.

"Their father at his death was eighty-four years old, and the same age was attained by the governor. I have the pleasure of acquaintance with gentlemen descended of each of these brothers. Benedict, in his History of American Baptists, Vol. I. pp. 492-495, gives a pretty full account of this eldest and largest branch of the family."

additional data

Joseph Jenckes Jr (<Joseph <John <William <Hugh) was born about Oct 1632 in Colnbrook,Middlesex,England. He died on 4 Jan 1716/1717 in Pawtucket,Providence,Ri.

b. in Colnbrook or Houslow, England 1632; d 4 jan 1717 at Pawtucket RI age 84. m Esther Ballard, dau
of William Ballard and Elizabeth b 1633 d 1717. He joined his father in Lynn MA in 1647 at age of 15.

He moved to RI and settled first in Warwick, then North Providence. He with others founded the town of Pawtucket RI. He built a forge at Pawtucket which was destroyed in the Wampanoag War of 1675.

In 1681 he was an assistant to the government of RI. His son Joseph was the Governor of RI from 1727 to 1732, See: History of Lynn Essex Co., MA.

Came to New England at age 15, and joined his father after the death of his maternal grandparents. He lived with his father in Lynn, Mass before moving in 1669 to Warwick, Rhode Island. Mar 25, 1669, Joseph was granted land at Warwick RI on either side of the River Pawtucket for the employ of his Saw Mill. Jan 18, 1670 he was foreman of a jury. Oct 10, 1671 he bought 60 acres situated near Pawtucket Falls where he established his Forge & Saw Mill. He was a Deputy in 1677, 1680-86, 1689-91, and was Assistant Deputy 1696-98 in the Rhode Island Assembly. On July 2 he was chosen by the assembly to run the eastern line of the colony. He is said to have built the first home in Pawtucket, as one of the founders of Pawtucket. He was a man of much enterprise and a public spirited citizen.

Joseph & Esther had four sons and five daughters. One Daughter, Elizabeth, married Samuel Tefft and they are the ancestors of William Howard Taft. The oldest son of Joseph and Esther was Joseph, who became Governor of Rhode Island. Another son Ebenezer was a minister, William was a Judge, and Nathaniel a Major.

THE JENKS FAMILY is a numerous one in the towns of Pawtucket and Lincoln. The name is variously spelled, Jenks, Jencks, or Jenckes. The first settler of this family in America was Joseph Jenks, who came from Buckingham, England, to Salem, Mass, in 1645. he was the first founder that worked in brass and iron on the Western Continent, and a large number of his descendants have since that time engaged in the same trade.

He had a son, Joseph, who was born in England in 1632, and who came to what is now Pawtucket about 1655. He followed his father's trade and was among the first settlers in that locality. He married Esther, daughter of William and Elizabeth Ballard. In 1676 his forge was destroyed by the Indians during King Phillip's War. He held the position of assistant for a number of years. His children were: Joseph, Esther, married Samuel Millard, Elizabeth, married Samuel Teft, Sarah, married Nathaniel Brown, Nathaniel, Joanna, married Sylvanus Scott, Ebenezer, Mary, married Daniel Jenckes, Abigail, married Thomas Whipple, and William. Joseph died January 4th, 1717.

From New England Journal of Genealogy:

JENKS: JOSEPH, Pawtucket, s. of the preced. b. in Eng. liv. a short time at Concord, and in R. I. at Warwick bef. P.; built, it is said, the first ho. in that planta. m. Esther, d. of William Ballard, had, beside six ds. four s. ea. of wh. built a ho. at P.; Joseph, b. 1656; Nathaniel, 29 Jan. 1662; Ebenezer, 1669; and William; and he d. after being an Assist. of the Col. 4 Jan. 1617, a****d 84 and has number. sav. bousand in hosterity. Some of the 8th genenat. are in Ohio. H****forge was destr. in Philip's war. The ds were Joanna, wh. m. Sylvanus Scott, d. 1750, in 85th yr.; Abigail, m. Samuel Whipple, had eleven ch.; Eliz. m. a Tefft; Sarah, m. Nathaniel Brown; Mary, sec. w. of her uncle Daniel; and Esther, m. Samuel Miller of Rehoboth. §JOSEPH, Providence, s. of the preced. m. Martha, d. of James Brown, had Joseph, wh. d. young; Obadiah; Catharine; Nathaniel; Martha; Lydia; John; Mary; and Esther; was a very useful man, agent of the Col. in London sev. yrs. and Gov. five yrs. but resign. some reasonab. time bef. his d. 15 June 1740, in 84th yr. NATHANIEL, Providence, sec. s. of sec. Joseph, sw. alleg. to Charles II., May 1682; had Jonathan, Nathaniel, Hannah, and Eliz. ¦¦ RICHARD, Boston, ar. co. 1666, freem. 1683. SAMUEL, Lynn, third s. of the first Joseph, freem. 1691, m. Eliz. Darling, had Samuel, b. 11 Nov. 1687; John, d. young; Eliz. 28 June 1692; Mary, 27 Dec. 1695, d. unm. 17 July 1729; Joseph, d. young; Abigail, 2 Nov. 1702; and Nathan, 25 Mar. 1705. He m. next, 5 May 1709, wid. Eliz. Floyd, and d. 1738, aged [p.544] 84, and his wid. d. 6 June 1757, in 86th yr. WILLIAM, Providence, youngest s. of sec. Joseph, a judge, m. Patience Sprague, had Jonathan, William, Margaret, Patience, John, Susanna, Esther, and Mercy. He d. 3 Oct. 1765, in his 91st yr.

Five of this name, the old form of wh. was Jenckes, had been gr. at Harv. in 1834, and five at Brown Univ.

From Ancestry.com:

Name: Joseph JENKES Jr. 2 Sex: M Change Date: 08 FEB 2002 Death: 04 JAN 1716/17 in Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island,,,, 3 4 Occupation: a manufacturer 5 Birth: 1632 in Buckinghamshire,, England,,, 5 3 6 PROP: he was granted land 1669 Warwick,, Rhode Island,,,, 5 Note: Iron ore was discover the the Pawtucket Falls and Joseph Jr. built a foundry and forge which were destroyed during King Philips war in 1676. He rebuilt the works and laid the foundation of the great iron works of Providence. 5 Immigration: 1645 England,,, 4 Ancestral File #: Q9RF-93 and 1C95-NT 7 Birth: ABT 1632 in Colebrook, Middlesex,, England,,, 4 PROP: a tract of woodland on the Blackstone River 1671 near Providence, Pawtucket Falls,, Rhode Island,,,, 5 Note: He was the founder of Pawtucket. 5 Occupation: assistant of the colony to the Governor; he also served in this position in 1689-1691 and 1696 1681 Providence,, Rhode Island,,,, 8 Occupation: blacksmith and iron worker (his forge was destroyed during King Philip's War 3

Father: Joseph JENCKES b: 26 AUG 1599 in Saint Anne, Blackfriars, London, England,,, Mother: Joan HEARNE b: ABT 1607 in Saint Anne, Blackfriars, London, England,,,

Marriage 1 Esther BALLARD b: 28 OCT 1632 in Warwick, Warwickshire,, England,,, Married: ABT 1651 in Lynn,, Massachusetts 5 3 4 6

Children

1. Joseph JENCKES (III) b: 1656 in prob.,,, Massachusetts,,,,
2. Elizabeth JENCKES b: 1658
3. Sarah JENCKES b: ABT 1660
4. Nathaniel JENCKES b: 29 JAN 1662
5. Esther JENCKES b: 1664
6. Ebenezer JENCKES b: 1669 in Rhode Island,,,,
7. Joanna JENCKES b: 1672 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island,,,,
8. Abigail JENCKES b: ABT 1674
9. William JENCKES b: 1675
10. Mary JENCKES

For some twenty years after the founding of the colony at Providence by Roger Williams and his companions, or up to the year 1655, the site of the present city of Pawtucket still retained all its primitive aspects. Not a house had yet been erected in the place; nor had there been even an effort toward making a clearing. The banks of the river at Pawtucket Falls were covered with a virgin forest. The spot was certainly picturesque, but it could hardly be said to be a very inviting one to locate in at the time of which we speak. So, when Joseph Jenks, the first white settler, arrive, he had to make himself an abode in the wilderness.

Jenks was a young Englishman, born in Buckinghamshire, in 1632, and had been in the New World since 1645. His father, also Joseph Jenks, had preceded his son in coming to America, and is supposed to have formed one of the party who came over with Governor Winthrop.

Referring to the elder Jenks, Lewis, in his history of Lynn, writes: 'Joseph Jenks deserves to be held in perpetual remembrance in American history, as being the first founder who worked in brass and iron on the Western Continent. By his hands the first models were made and the first castings taken of many domestic implements and iron tools.'

It is on record the the General Court of Massachusetts granted to him a patent for fourteen years for the sole manufacture of engines to be driven by water, mills for making scythes and other edged toods, and a newly invented sawmill. This occurred in May, 1646, and in May, 1655, another patent was granted to him for seven years for the manufacture of an improved scythe for cutting grass.

Joseph Jenks, the younger, settled in Lynn, and there worked with his father until he had become a skilled mechanic. Being ambitious, as well as liberally endowed with pluck and perseverance, young Jenks at the age of twenty-three determined to strike out in life on his own account. Accordingly, he cast about for a suitable field for the exercise of his energies, and somewhere in 1655 found himself prospecting in this vicinity. Selecting a spot near the lowest falls on the Pawtucket River, he build a rude structure for a forge in a deep ravine on the western bank. He was impelled to make the selection of this site owing to the fact, no doubt, that the water-power here was ample for his purposes, and that the wood was abundant for making charcoal, which at this time was an indispensable element in the manufacture of iron. Jenks acquired sixty acres of land hereabouts, and it was not long before other settlers were attracted to the place.

[illustration on p. 198: Main Street, Pawtucket (drawing)]

Inasmuch as the manufacture of tools, farming implements and household utensils is a peculiarly important branch of industry in a new country, it may be easily inferred that Joseph Jenks found ready demand for the products of his skill in the adjoining settlements. Scarcely, however, could he have dreamed that his little forge contained the germ from which house spring the great industrial center of to-day and a flourishing city of 30,000 inhabitants, with over a hundred different and extensive industries.

For some years the earlier settlers had to contend against many disadvantages. They suffered hardships and privations, but they accepted the situation as became pioneers.

Twenty years or so had passed and considerable progress had been made when King Philip's war broke out, and Pawtucket, in common with the surrounding settlements, was attacked by the Indians with terribly disastrous results. Not a building but was destroyed, and every vestige of the progress that had been made hitherto was swept away by the fury of the red man. It was not, in fact, for some time after that the now thoroughly frightened settlers had the hardihood to commence operations in the erection of homes. Peace being restored permanently, they set to work with a will, and the hamlet was established.

Alternate birthplace , Berkshire, England.
Immigration: 1642 Arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

New England Marriages Prior to 1700, pg 418. By Clarence Almon Torrey

• Jenks, Daniel (1663-) & Katharine [Balcom] Allen, w Isaac; b 1694, b 1692?; Rehoboth
• Jencks, Ebenezer (1664-1726) & Mary Butterworth (1677-1726+); 4 Mar 1695/6. 1695; Rehoboth/Providence
• Jenks, John (1660-1698) & Sarah Merriam (1660-), m/2 John Lewis; 11 Jul 1681/ Lynn
• Jenks, Joseph (1606-1683) & 1/wf [?Ann]/Ellen Horton; in Eng, b 1632, 5 Nov 1627, Horton, Eng; Lynn
• Jencks, Joseph (1632-1717) & Esther [Ballard] (1632-1717); b 30 Nov 1652; Lynn?/Providence/Warwich, RI/Pawtucket, RI
• Jeckes, Joseph (-1679?, 1683) & 2/wf Elizabeth __??___ (-1679?); b 1648; Lynn
• Jencks, Joseph (1656-1740) & 1/wf Martha [Brown] (-1727?); Providence
• Jenckes, Nathaniel (1663-1723) & Hanna Bosworth (1663-1720); 4 Nov 1686; Swansea/Providence

  ---

The Journal of American History, Volume 12. page 505-6

• Joseph Jenckes was born in England and brought over doubtless by his father to Massachusetts. He was eighty-four years old at the time of his death, in 1716, and therefore born about 1632.
• He removed from Lynn to Concord, Massachusetts, and after a short stay there settled in Rhode Island. His first residence there was at Warwick, but he later made his home at Pawtucket, and is said to have built the first house there. He held the high office of Assistant of the Colony, and was a blacksmith or iron worker, his forge being destroyed during King Philip’s War. he died on January 4, probably in 1716.
• Joseph Jenckes married Esther, the daughter of William Ballard, and their children were:
  • i. Joseph Jenckes, born in 1656, was Governor of Rhode Island for five years. From 1715 to 1727 , he was Deputy Governor. He lived in Providence.
  • ii. Nathaniel Jenckes, born January 29,1662
  • iii. Ebenezer Jenckes, born in 1669
  • iv. William Jenckes
  • 3-v. Elizabeth Jenckes was born in 1658. She married Samuel Tefft, as has appeared in the account of the Tefft ancestry of Mr. Loveland. She survived her husband, being the executrix of his will, which was proved on December 20, 1725. Through her marriage to Samuel Tefft, she became the ancestress of Mr Loveland.
  • vi. Joanna Jenckes, born about 1672 and died in 1756. She married Sylvanus Scott,
  • vii. Abigail Jenckes, who married Samuel Whipple
  • viii. Sarah Jenckes, who married Nathaniel Brown
  • ix. Mary Jenckes, who became the second wife of her uncle, Daniel Jenckes.
  • x. Esther Jenckes who married Samuel Miller of Rehoboth

***********************

Joseph Jencks, Jr Birth 	12 Oct 1628 Buckinghamshire, England Death 	4 Jan 1717 (aged 88) Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA Burial 	 Governor Joseph Jencks Lot (Defunct) Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA Memorial ID 	19416717 · View Source He was baptized in Colnbrook, Horton, Co.Buckinghamshire on Oct 12,1628, the son of Joseph Jenckes (also spelled Jenks, Jencks, Jenkes) and his first wife Joan Hearne Jenckes.

Joseph Jenckes II is known as the founder of Pawtucket. A skilled ironworker, he had come to the New World to join his father, Joseph Jencks I, who had organized and operated the first American iron works in Saugus,MA. In 1670, Joseph II left Massachusetts, intending to build his own forge in Rhode Island. On October 10, 1671, he purchased 60 acres of land on the west bank of the Blackstone River, marking the establishment of the first permanent settlement of Pawtucket. However, it was short-lived, as the Jenckes settlement was burned to the ground in 1675 during King Philip's War. When the war ended, the Jenckes forge was rebuilt, and soon it became the center of a small village including the foundry, a gristmill, and sawmill. The commerce of the village was founded on the production of iron products essential to the survival of these early settlers.

Joseph Jenckes was admitted a freeman in 1677, and served several terms in the Rhode Island Assembly between 1679 and 1698. During 1685–1688, at the direction of King James II, Rhode Island became a county in the Dominion of New England, under Governor Sir Edmund Andros. After the Revolution of 1688, King William and Queen Mary ascended to the throne, and Joseph Jenckes was included in a small group selected to write a letter congratulating them on their ascension and informing them that Sir Edmund Andros had been arrested in Rhode Island.

About 1652 or 1653, he married Esther Ballard, in Lynn, Essex Co, MA.

Children: Joseph Jenckes III, Elizabeth Jenckes Tefft, Sarah Jencks Brown, Nathaniel Jencks, Esther Jenckes Miller, Ebenezer Jenckes, Joanna Jenckes Scott, William Jenckes, Abigail Jenckes Whipple, and Mary Jenckes Jenckes (possibly the second wife of Daniel Jencks).

He was in New England in 1645, apparently having left England before having reached his maturity due to the death of his grandfather, George Hearne, in 1643. He lived for a time with his father Joseph Jencks in Lynn, MA. He was outspoken politically and on 1 April 1660 he was imprisoned for criticizing King Charles II, saying, according to the charges, that "if he hade the King heir, he would cutte of his head and make a football of it," but he was apparently able to convince the authorities quickly that the evidence against him was insufficient. In 1669 he moved to Warwick, Rhode Island, but left the same year for Pawtucket, where the water supply for a forge and saw mill was more plentiful. He built the first house in Pawtucket and is considered to be the founder of the town. His mill was destroyed in 1676 by the Indians during King Philip's War. He also lived at times in Providence, RI. He was freeman in 1677, a Deputy in the Rhode Island Assembly in 1679, 1680 and 1691, and Assistant 1680 to 1685, 1589 to 1691, 1695, 1696 and 1698. During the period 1685 to 1688 James II was King of England and at his direction Rhode Island became a county in the Dominion of New England under governor Sir Edmund Andros. On 30 Jan 1690 Joiseph jenckes, five others and the Deputy Governor wrote to King William and Queen Mary, congratulating them on their accession to the throne (as a result of the Glorious Revolution of 1688), and stating that Sir Edmond Andros had been arrested in Rhode Island. He was chosen by the Assembly to run the eastern line of the colony in 1695. His will was proved 11 February 1716/17.

References

• William Ballard in New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635. Vol 1, A-B. Pages 146 - 151. Ancestry.com. New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.AncestryImage
• http://smallstatebighistory.com/the-birth-of-american-industry-why-...
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 5 2018, 14:42:15 UTC
• WikiTree contributors, "Hester (Ballard) Jenks (bef.1632-aft.1717)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ballard-39 : accessed 29 January 2025).