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 THE STORY AS I KNOW IT.

Penelope Jenkins is believed to be the mother of Sarah (Sally) Perry who married Nathaniel Hubbard 1845 in Caldwell County Kentucky.  I came by her name from an Ancestry.com entry from Jane Bruce.  I have not been able to prove anything on line.  A trip to Kentucky awaits. 

We know Penelope was the name of James Perry's wife.  There is sufficient documentation on Penelope Perry.  The question is what was her maiden name and the story of her family.  Ms. Bruce states that Jenkins was her name.  She further states that her mother's name was Sarah Jenkins, fathers name unknown. I do not know where she got her information.

Penelope would have been bon about 1795 probably in Tennessee.  The Perry family moved to Caldwell county Kentucky by 1814 when their son John Perry was born.  Checking the 1810 Caldwell County Census there was a Nathaniel Jenkins family in Eddyville.  On the same page were the family of Eli Nichols, Reddich Nichols and William Rhodes.  All intermarried with members of the Perry family.  Eddyville is in present day Lyon County.  Lyon was created from Caldwell county in 1854.  The town now sits at the head of Barkley Lake, which was formed in the early 1960s.  the town had to be moved to survive.  It used to be next to the Cumberland River, which was dammed to create Lake Barkley.

 Ten years later, the 1820 Census lists Sarah Jenkins then a widow over 45 with 4 children still at home.  I don't know that this is the same family, but it does give us a clue to follow up.  This may be Penelope's mother, and her father died about the time the Perry family moved into Caldwell county.  Families did follow family.  The Sarah Jenkins family lived in Darnells Parish of Caldwell county.  I do not know where that is.

There is a rather lengthy biography of the Perry family in The Princeton Art Guild 1987 Year Book Caldwell Ct, KY. It states that "James and Penelope Perry came to Caldwell County from Robertson County, TN. James died in 1834….The Perry children were William, married Irena Hubbard, Hardy M, married Sarah Cook, Patsy married Butler Hubbard, James J., John, Sarah married Nathanile Hubbard, Whitnell, and Littleton."

The 1820 Census of Caldwell County lists James as head of household age 26-45. His wife 16 - 26. There were 2 boys 10-16, 3 boys under 10 and 2 girls under 2. That seems like a lot of children for a 26-year-old. However, the 1830 Census states that James is 40 - 50 and his wife is also 40-50. The children are as follows: 1 male 20-30, 1 male 15 - 20, 2 males 10 -15, 1 male 5 -10, and 1 male under 5, females 1 female 15 - 20, and 1 female 5-10.

Tracking all the siblings of Sarah Perry through the Census, I discovered that the 1850 Caldwell Census stated that William Perry was born in NC.  and then the 1880 Census had the following:
Wyley Perry age 66 Farmer born KY, both parents born NC
Sallie Hubbard, age 59, sister, born KY, both parents born NC
Joseph Hubbard, age 27
Thomas Hubbard, age 24

This was the first I had ever heard of a connection to North Carolina, but it certainly implies that James Perry had a line back to North Carolina before Tennessee.  Can anyone else make a connection?

Records of Revolutionary War Pension Papers of Soldiers who Settled Caldwell Countysay that James Perry gave a good neighbor testimony for Walter McChesney in 1832.

I have a copy of a court document of Caldwell county surveying the track of land that would be passed on to the "heirs and in-laws of said James Perry, deceased". It is dated July 1833.

I have a copy of a court document naming Penelope Perry guardian for John, Sally, Whitnell and Littleton Perry, infants of James Perry deceased. It is dated November 1836. Why this took 3 years I don't know.

The Princeton Art Guild 1987 Year Book Caldwell Ct, KY state that Penelope married William Rhodes in 1840. She died before 1850.

There is a Perry Cemetery north of Princeton Kentucky. Some of their children are buried there and it is possible this cemetery also holds the grave of James, but I have no record of his burial place.

If you know the answer please CONTACT US

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