Mary Henrietta Jenkins

Llanwenog Church

Mary Henrietta Jenkins, my wife's great grandmother, and wife of Simon Evans, was born to Welsh parents in Stourbridge, England in the Spring of 1878.  Although she was born in England, the family home was Llanwenog, Wales (See a short description below that was written in 1833).  Currently the population of this very small town in central Wales is under 1000.  It's most prominent feature is its church (pictured left). 




Sir Rhys ap Thomas built the tower to commemorate the victory of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, in which Sir Rhys bore a very important part supported by the men of Llanwenog.


How Mary came to be born in England, may be explained by the fact that her father was a courier.  At any rate by 1881 she was back in Llanwenog with her parents and brother Thomas living in a home on Plasnewydd "street".

"Llan" is Welsh for Church or Parish.

"LLANWENOG (LLAN WENOG), a parish in the upper division of the hundred of MOYTHEN, county of CARDIGAN, SOUTH WALES, 5 Miles (W. S. W.) from Lampeter, containing 1647 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises the upper and lower divisions, is pleasantly situated on the river Teivy, and on the turnpike road leading from Lampeter to Cardigan. It is distinguished as the scene of a memorable battle, which was fought in 981, between the Danes, under their famous leader Godfrid, and the native Welsh under Eineon ab Owain (in which the former were totally defeated), or, according to Dr. Meyrick, between Eineon and his countryman Hywel ab Ievav; and a square intrenchment in a field called Cae'r Vaes, or " the field of battle," on the farm of Ty cam, in this parish, is still pointed out as the spot where the engagement took place......"
[From Samuel Lewis's A Topographical Dictionary of Wales 1833]


In 1903 she married Simon Evans, also from Llanwenog.  Simon had been living in America since 1881, and had become a US citizen in 1892.  Mary was only 2 years old when he had left at the age of 16 for London and then America.  How they came to be married is an unknown to us.  But in 1903 Simon traveled from Sheridan Wyoming to Llanwenog Wales and the two were married in January of that year.  In March they left Wales and came back to Wyoming on the liner Oceana (see Simon J. Evans).


They lived in Sheridan, raising their children, Sarah, Simon, Mary, and Mayoworth.  She lived to be only 47 (May 13, 1925).