Researching John Jenkins

He was born in Charlottetown, the son of Reverend J.C. Jenkins and Penelope Desbrisay who was the daughter of Theophilus Desbrisay. He was educated at the Central Academy in Charlottetown and at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, England. Jenkins served as a surgeon in the Ottoman Army during the Crimean War. He was coroner and health officer for Charlottetown and married Jessie Esther, the daughter of Stephen Rice in 1856. His election to the House of Commons in 1882 was declared invalid after an appeal; Jenkins was elected to the same seat in an 1884 by-election after Frederick de St Croix Brecken resigned his seat to accept an appointment as postmaster for Charlottetown. He was elected to the provincial assembly in 5th Queens in an 1891 by-election held after Patrick Blake ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons and served until 1893.

Jenkins also raised horses and owned a ranch in Western Canada which his son Henry Herbert "Tammy" Jenkins ran, Tammy was a former NWMP vet. J.T. died in Charlottetown at the age of 89.

His son Stephen Rice Jenkins was also a physician and served in the provincial assembly and his son Louis, a farmer, was a member of the provincial assembly.

Jenkins initially studied clarinet in high school but switched to saxophone after six months on the instrument. He played in jam sessions led by Joe Segal at Roosevelt College from 1949-1956. He played with Art Farmer in 1955 and led his own group in Chicago later that year. In 1957, he played with Charles Mingus and recorded two albums as a leader. He played as a sideman with Johnny Griffin, Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Paul Quinichette, Clifford Jordan, Sahib Shihab, and Wilbur Ware in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but essentially dropped out of music after 1962, aside from a few dates with Gloria Coleman.

After leaving the jazz world he worked as a messenger in New York and dabbled in jewelry; he sold brass objects at street fairs in the 1970s. After 1983, he began practicing again and playing live on street corners; shortly before he died he played with Clifford Jordan.

He died on 2 July 2017 from cancer of the kidney at the age of 53.

Jenkins was born in Cardiff and grew up in the village of Penybryn, near Gelligaer. He attended Bargoed Grammar School but left at 13 to take up a job as a blacksmith's apprentice. He enlisted in the British Army in 1950 becoming a non-commissioned officer in the Royal Army Dental Corps, and serving in Germany, Cyprus and Austria. In 1964, Jenkins became a member of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru, a Welsh nationalist movement, effectively becoming the leader of the organisation after a short period. He was influenced by major events in Wales during the time, such as the Tryweryn Bill and the Aberfan disaster, which he believed were the result of the subjugation of the nation. After spending two years reshaping the logistics and security of the group, the organisation began a bombing campaign against targets they identified as detrimental to the interests of Wales.

The first bombing targeted a water pipeline at Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and the campaign continued with attacks on numerous targets for several years, including tax offices, monuments and an English-owned business. The attacks culminated in four bombs being planted to disrupt the investiture of Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969. The first device exploded prematurely, killing two MAC members, while two failed to detonate. One of these laid undiscovered for several days before seriously injuring a 10-year old boy who discovered the device. The last exploded in the garden of a police Chief Constable. Later that year, Jenkins was arrested and charged with theft and explosive offences in relation to the bombings and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Released in 1976, he studied to become a social worker and was employed in the profession for the majority of his later life. He spent a further two years in jail after admitting that he provided the address of a safe house to a wanted fugitive in the early 1980s.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Jenkins graduated from Bates College in 1974. While at college, he excelled in martial arts and upon graduating toured Japan competing in the Karate World Championships. He won the 1977 Championships in karate, and won three other mixed martial arts championships in karate and ju-jitsu.

He returned to Maine to work at his alma mater as director of housing in 1980 before formally entering politics in November 1993. His first political contestation was for the Mayor of Lewiston which he won with a 3 to 1 margin. Two years into his mayoral tenure, he ran and eventually unseated an incumbent legislator to become a member of the Maine Senate representing the 21st district. After a brief hiatus to become a business consultant and a motivational speaker, he entered the 2007 mayoral race for Auburn eventually winning it as a write-in candidate. He returned to business consulting after his term end in 2009.

On November 17, 2017, according to the Maine Ethics Commission, Jenkins announced his candidacy for the 2018 Maine gubernatorial election as a political Independent.