Teri and I made a day trip to the Sparta/Leon area of western Wisconsin, with my cousin Pam Jenkins and her husband Mark Hamel following in their car. This was Pam’s first trip to the area. Both Pam and Mark are keenly interested in family history and really enjoyed the day. Over the past two decades, I have done extensive family research into the Jenkins history of emigrating from Wales in 1858 to becoming successful farmers in the Pleasant Valley and Fish Creek areas. On several trips to the area I had already discovered old cemeteries and the location of the farms. Thus, I was able to act as a tour guide for Pam and Mark as they were discovering our family history. What follows is a brief description of our day.
After lunch in Leon, we visited Leon Cemetery where our great grandfather Thomas (1841-1920) is laid to rest with his two wives Mary Lloyd (1846-1881) and Laura Rathbun (1866-1954). Also buried in the Jenkins plot are the three children from Thomas’ marriage to Mary Lloyd: Milton, Anna, and Margaret. All three died in early adulthood (before age 30) of unknown causes. A baby Hallet, from Thomas’ second marriage to Laura, is also buried here. He was born and died on Christmas day, 1888.
After cleaning up the headstones at Leon Cemetery, we drove south to Melvina to visit the old Rathbun farm. Thomas Rathbun, Jr. (1798-1878) and his wife Lucinda Austin (1806-1889) came to Jefferson Township from Norway, NY in 1843, five years before Wisconsin gained statehood. They became one of the most successful and prominent families in Monroe County. Nine of their twelve children were born in New York state, two were born in Racine County, WI, and the last child, George, was the first white child born in Jefferson Township (1853). Six of the eight Rathbun sons served in the Civil War. One of the sons, Hallet, is my great-great-grandfather. Thomas and Lucinda are buried in the Rathbun Pioneer Cemetery on a hill overlooking the farm. We also made a brief stop at Melvina Union Cemetery where much of the Rathbun family have been buried over the years.
Our day trip continued to the Thomas Jenkins farmstead in Leon Township (separate article), then over a wooded ridge (this is in the famous unglaciated Coulee region) to Jenkins Valley and Fish Creek. There we paused to admire the beautiful scenery where Evan Jenkins, Sr, had his 580-acre farm. We then drove on to the Welsh Presbyterian Cemetery where Evan, Sr (1813-1898) and his wife Margaret Williams (1813-1879) are buried (separate article). We then drove on to Fairview Cemetery in Bangor (named for the Welsh city), located in La Crosse County. Here a large number of Jenkins families are buried, including three of Evan Sr’s five children: David (1848-1910) and wife Annie Emmons ((1858-1941), Evan Jr (1852-1927) and wife Mary Evans Phillips (1857-1933), and Llewelyn (1855-1904) and wife Nell Humphreys (1858-1944). Note the Welsh nature of all the family names!
It was a day full of interesting discovery for all of us.