Charles Jenkins

Jenkins, Charles. (Barnstable, Massachusetts, August 28, 1786--December 28, 1831, Portland, Maine). Son of Southworth and Huldah (wright) Jenkins. Married (1) Ruth Benjamin (1794-1822); (2) Amelia Leavitt. Two children. Congregational poster. Served in Greenfield, Mass., in the early 1820s and finally the Third Congregational Church, Portland, Maine, from 1824 until his death.

Jenkins was a well-known clergyman and a preacher noted for his powerful, evangelical massages. He published several collections of sermons. In 1827, he quoted from his pulpit in Portland a poem, "Sweet is the last, the parting ray," which was later set to music. Although the congregation assumed this poem to be of his own composition, his authorship has never been completely verified.

--C. Bernard Ruffin, DNAH Archives