Researching David Jenkins

Jenkins was born at Pendeulwyn (English: Pendoylan), Glamorgan, son of a well-established gentry family. He was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, admitted to Gray's Inn on 5 November 1602 and called to the bar in 1609. In March 1643 he was appointed, against his will, as puisne judge of the Carmarthen circuit of the court of great sessions. He was a strong supporter of the Royalist cause in the civil war and, later that year, was involved in raising money for the siege of Gloucester. He indicted several prominent parliamentarians for high treason. Jenkins was captured by the parliamentarians in December 1645 in Hereford and imprisoned in the Tower of London, Newgate Prison and latterly in Wallingford and Windsor Castles. Whilst in prison in the 1640s, Jenkins wrote a number of political tracts which were collectively published in 1648 as: The Works of the Eminent and Learned Judge Jenkins upon divers Statutes concerning the King's Prerogative and the Liberty of the Subject.

Jenkins was brought before parliament in April 1647, but argued that it had no power to try him in the absence of the king. His arguments were expounded in his scholarly work, Lex Terrae which cited important authorities. The nub of his case, against the legitimacy of parliament in appointing justices and passing laws, was that such acts could only be performed with the explicit authority of the king and that the claim that the king was 'virtually' present in proceedings of the two Houses of Parliament was false.

On 22 February 1648, Jenkins was brought to the House of Commons to face charges including the writing of treasonous pamphlets. He refused to kneel at the bar of the house and was fined £1000 for contempt. In 1650 Jenkins was amongst other prisoners that the Rump Parliament considered executing. He said that if he was to go to the scaffold he would be "hanged with the Bible under one arm and Magna Carta under the other".

Jenkins was eventually released in 1657 prior to the restoration of the monarchy. His estate at Hensol had been sequestered in 1652, but he regained it (estimated to be worth £1500 p.a.) and lived there, becoming patron of the bards. He died in 1663 and was buried at Cowbridge. The obituary for Jenkins is apparently the first of its kind in the English-speaking world, published in The Newes on 17 December 1663 by Charles II's Surveyor of the Press, Roger L'Estrange. Part of it read:

"... that Eminent, Loyall, and renowned Patriot, Judge Jenkins, Departed this Life at his House in Cowbridge, [at] 81..in perfect Sence and Memory. He dyed, as he lived, preaching with his last Breath to his Relations, and those who were about him, Loyalty to his Majesty, and Obedience to the Lawes of the Land. In fine, he has carried with him all the comforts of a Quiet Conscience, and left behind him an unspotted Fame..."

Throughout the late 80's, as the original lead vocalist, Jenkins continued touring in the world of country music, with Southern Pacific. As, they racked up hits like “Midnight Highway” and “New Shade of Blue” and “Honey I Dare You.”The band toured all over the United States. In 1994, Dave teamed up with the well known native Hawaiian singer, Kapono Beamer. They released the album “Cruisin’ on Hawaiian Time”Together they were nominated for the prestigious Hoku Award for Album of the year. Dave has recorded with other greats including, Jefferson Starship, Huey Lewis and the News, The Doobie Brothers, to name just a few. Currently, as of 2019, he is joined by Cory Lerios, co founder of Pablo Cruise, Steve Price, original member and Larry Antonio and Robbie Wyckoff, as they tour to perform their two greatest hits. Dave's favorite thing to enjoy is being in Hawaii with a surf board and in his flip flops.

Born at Trecastle near Brecon, Jenkins was apprenticed to a tailor at a young age, due to the death of his father. He did not take an interest in music until he was nine years old. At the time, Jenkins was a member of a choir which was to compete in a local Eisteddfod.

At age sixteen, his musical interest deepened and Jenkins began serious study of the Tonic-Solfa system. Two years later, he received an advanced certificate from the Tonic-Solfa college and began conducting his own choir. At age 20, Jenkins and his choir won a competition at Llanddeusant. He next turned his attention to the study of composition, harmony and counterpoint and was awarded a prize for the best anthem from the Tonic-Solfa college.

In 1874, he began studying music at Aberystwyth. By his second term, he had been awarded a three-year scholarship and became an assistant to Joseph Parry. Jenkins continued participating in various Eisteddfodau at home and abroad. He had won a prize at the Utica, New York Eistoddfod in 1873 and won a national prize at Pwllheli in 1875. Jenkins also continued composing and studying music. He was awarded the top prize in composing for his cantata Arch y Cyfamod at Carnarvon in 1876; the next year, Jenkins received a Bachelor of Music degree from Cambridge University.

Jenkins spent four months touring the United States in 1885; during that time he served as a conductor and as a judge at the various singing festivals. In 1893 he returned to Aberystwyth as a lecturer. Jenkins continued composing while at the university; composing an oratorio, Dewi Sant (Saint David), for the 1894 Eisteddfod at Carnarvon, and a cantata, The Psalm of Life for the 1895 Cardiff Triennial Festival. This work was performed by 2,000 voices at the Crystal Palace, London in the same year.

He continued his activities conducting choirs and serving as a judge at various Eisteddfodau; Jenkins also became a co-editor of the music journal Y Cerddor, sharing the duties with Emlyn Evans. He rose to Professor at Aberystwyth in 1910; retaining this position until his death in 1915.

He joined Arsenal as an apprentice in 1963 and showed promise as a talented winger. He made his senior debut in a 2nd round League Cup replay against Gillingham in September 1966 shortly after turning 20. His league debut came against West Ham United in November 1967, when he came on as a sub for George Graham.

Jenkins played in the 1968 League Cup final, in which he was injured in a collision with Leeds United goalkeeper, Gary Sprake. However, he did not secure a regular place in the Arsenal side until the following season when he made 14 league appearances, scoring three goals, before being swapped in mid-October for Tottenham's winger, Jimmy Robertson.

His final game for Arsenal was against Coventry City on 12 October 1968, when, as it happened, he came off to be replaced by George Graham. He made his debut for Tottenham seven days later against Liverpool.

Both Jenkins and Robertson had limited opportunities at their new clubs and moved on after a couple of seasons, Jenkins to Brentford and Robertson to Ipswich Town.

Jenkins was the son of John Jenkins of Haverfordwest and his wife Mary Evans daughter of John Evans. He was educated at Teignmouth Grammar School. He served for several years in the merchant navy and in 1854 and 1855 commanded a troop ship in the Baltic. In 1860, he founded the firm of Jenkins & Co in London which began owning ships in 1861 and sailed mainly to India and the Far East.

He contested Harwich at the 1868 general election, without success. At the 1874 general election Jenkins was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Penryn and Falmouth. He held the seat until the 1886 general election, when he was defeated by the Conservative Party candidate William Cavendish-Bentinck.

Jenkins died at the age of 66.