Poems (Helen Jenkins)/Biographical Sketch

Believing that some account of the author's life will be of interest to the reader, I have prepared the following brief sketch:

Mrs. H. N. Jenkins (Helen N. Jerrard) was born in Plymouth, Me., Sept. 9, 1836.

Her parents, the late John and Jane Jerrard, were among the pioneers of that part of Penobscot County, and began life in the forest on one of the rugged but picturesque hills of Plymouth.

Here they made a pleasant home, and reared a family of eight children, of whom Helen was the sixth.

John Jerrard, a man well known in this part of the State for his sterling worth and business capacity, was, for many years, quite extensively engaged in lumbering on the Penobscot waters, where he acquired a competency. Highly appreciative of all that was best in literature, he hoped to give his children the advantages of a good education; but heavy losses, later in life, limited the educational privileges of the younger children, and thus blighted the dearest hope of Helen Jerrard's girlhood.

A lover of books, and fond of study, she made the most of such opportunities as she had. She also studied at home, assisted by an older brother, and read the works of the best authors, among whom Scott was her favorite.

In those years, some of the most eminent clergymen of the State, in their journeys by carriage through the country, visited the home of the Jerrards, and furnished ​many a rich intellectual treat for the eager listeners around the fireside; thus helping the genial, intelligent father, and the quiet, home-loving mother, to fill the hearts of their children with reverent love for the Great All-Father, and with a desire for the highest mental culture.

In March, 1858, Helen Jerrard married Frank D. Jenkins, then of Bangor, afterward, for many years, a successful merchant in Pittsfield, Me. In 1871, his health failing, he retired from business, and the family have since lived on a farm in Kenduskeag, Me.

Mrs. Jenkins' life has been energetic and helpful. Eight children, six of whom are now living, have been tenderly cared for by this loving, self-sacrificing mother.

It may be said, "A mother's songs should not be so sad;" but those who know how much sorrow has fallen to her lot, will not wonder at the undertone of sadness in many of her poems. Sickness and death have visited her home, and left their traces on her face and in her heart. Still, she is cheerful and patient in her home, entering into all the innocent enjoyment of her children with interest and pleasure. Her health, for a few years past, has been much broken, and she writes but little.

From her childhood, encompassed by a diffidence and reticence never wholly overcome, she has led a retired life. A reverent lover of Nature, she has found much of her highest enjoyment amid rural scenes.