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We missed the birthday last week of William Jenkins, the
grandfather of the five Jenkins children who built the church of Corpus
Christi. Willam was born on February 5,
1767 at the family’s farm in Long Green Valley, Baltimore County. He was the third child and second son of
Michael and Charity Ann (Wheeler) Jenkins.
It was with William that the family fortune began to develop
and that the Jenkins family began their tradition of distinguished Catholic
laymen. In 1780, William Jenkins came to
Baltimore City as an apprentice to a tanner, William Hayward. After finishing this apprenticeship, he began
his own tanning business in a small business on Water Street. His business grew and he soon became one of
the city’s prominent merchants. William
was one of the charter members of the Northern Central Railroad, then the Baltimore
and Susquehanna Railroad, and also one of the original trustees of the
Cathedral.
His first wife was Ann Hillen (ca. 1773-1799), the daughter
of Solomon and Martha (Clements) Hillen of Charles County. Mrs. Ann (Hillen) Jenkins died soon after the
birth of their first and only child, Mary Ann.
On June 2, 1801, William remarried Eleanor (Ellen) Willcox,
the daughter of Mark and Mary (Flahavan) Willcox. William
and Eleanor had 7 children, among whom Thomas Jenkins to whom our church is
dedicated.
Two of the stained glass windows in the church are dedicated
to William & Ellen (Willcox) Jenkins.
You can find them in the back of the church on the Gospel side. The inscription at the bottom of the windows reads
“In loving memory of William Jenkins (1767-1843) and his wife Ellen Willcox
(1779-1816).” Quite possible the
selection of St. William of York and St. Helen can be attributed to the long
English, Welsh and Scottish background of the Jenkins family. [1]
William of York was a 12th century English priest
and twice Archbishop of York. William's
election to the See of York was challenged on the grounds of simony and
unchastity. He was cleared by Rome, but later, a new Pope, the Cistercian
Eugene III, suspended William, and in 1147, he was deposed as archbishop of
York. William then retired to
Winchester where he led the austere life of a monk, practicing much prayer and
mortification. In 1154 he was restored
to his See but he died a few months later.
Following his death, many miracles were attributed to him. He is shown wearing
his chasuble, signifying the celebration of the Mass, and the pallium, the symbol of the archdiocesan jurisdiction delegated to him by the papacy. His right hand is uplifted in benediction and
his left hand holds the pastoral staff. [2],[3]
St. Helen was the mother of Constantine the Great who
decreed tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. She devoted the latter part of her life to
good works and founded churches in the Holy Land. She is credited with a pilgrimage to Syria
Palaestina, during which she is claimed to have discovered the True Cross of
Jesus's crucifixion. Medieval English chroniclers claimed that St.
Helen was the daughter of an English King. [4]
In Corpus Christi’s stained glass window, St. Helen is
crowned as a queen, holding the True Cross.
Her face is turned toward it with great reverence.
[1]
Meginnis, Frances, Requiescat in pace : A
History of Corpus Christi-Jenkins Memorial Church (N.p.: n.p., 1973), p.
14-16.
[2]
"William of York." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Feb.
2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_York>.
[3]
"St. William of York." AmericanCatholic.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb.
2015.
<http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1925>.
[4]
Hall, James, Dictionary of Subjects and
Symbols in Art (Boulder: Westview, 2008), p. 151.
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