Rev. Daniel Jenkins and the Jenkins Orphanage Band

Portrait of Rev. Daniel Jenkins displayed in the City Council Chamber  in Charleston City Hall, 80 Broad St.

         On a cold December day in 1891, Rev. Daniel Jenkins happened to come across four young black boys, all under the age of 12, huddled together in an abandoned warehouse. He discovered that they were all orphans and were left to fend for themselves on the streets. Rev. Jenkins immediately took them home with him and gave them a place to live and a sense of family. Unfortunately, these four boys were simply the tip of a huge iceberg that represented the hundreds of young black orphans in Charleston who had no place to live and no parents to care for them. While there were nine orphanages in South Carolina for white orphans, none existed for black orphans. Rev. Jenkins set about to change the lives of the boys he encountered and the many others they represented......and the Jenkins orphanage was born.
        In January of 1892, Rev. Jenkins petitioned the city for the use of the abandoned Marine Hospital on Franklin Street and received permission for its use and a small stipend. Robert Mills, who designed the Washington Monument, as well as other famous national, state and local buildings, was the architect. The building was built in 1834 and had once served as a hospital, but was badly damaged during the war. It was located right beside the City Jail which was, no doubt, a source of both fear and motivation for the young boys living at the orphanage. 

Site of Jenkins Orphanage, formerly Marine Hospital, 20 Franklin St.

        Rev. Jenkins' primary goal was to teach each of his young charges to become self-sufficient so that as adults they would no longer need to rely on the charity of others. To achieve this goal, he felt that farm land need to be purchased to teach the boys the skills the would need to become self-sufficient. He petitioned the City of Charleston for funds, but was denied. He could barely afford to make the orphanage livable and provide for the basic needs of the children. Funds were not readily available for South Carolina's only black orphanage even though over 360 orphans lived at the orphanage now, instead of on the streets of Charleston. In desperation he searched around for ideas that could help raise the necessary funds.....and the Jenkins Orphanage Band was born.  His plan was based on the military bands of the day. His requests for funds were not very successful; however, a request for instruments yielded more fruitful results. Old instruments were donated, with a large donation of new and used instruments from Siegling Music House on King St. Graduating Citadel cadets donated their old uniforms which became the first uniforms of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Rev. Jenkins was not a musician himself and so he hired two local musicians to teach the boys: "Hatsie" Logan and Francis Eugene Mikell. They learned not only to play instruments, but music theory and music history, as well.

        Soon the band was playing on street corners all over Charleston to try to raise as much money as possible to keep the orphanage open. Unfortunately, funds were much too meager but, instead of giving up, Rev. Jenkins used his last remaining funds to take the 13 member band on a tour of some northern cities. Their success was less than they had hoped, but, once again, Rev. Jenkins was not ready to give up. With the last bit of money they had, he took the group to London. There they performed on the streets of London....and were promptly arrested for disturbing the peace. The group, which had become a favorite on the streets of London, suddenly received the support of the churches in the area and a favorable support in the newspapers.

          By1896, the band had established regular tour routes up and down the Eastern coast and in Europe. They played in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Vienna and London. In 1905, the band played in President Roosevelt's inaugural parade and President Taft's inaugural parade in 1909. In the 1910s and 20s, the band included the styles and rhythms of the jazz beats sweeping the nation and the Gullah songs and dances of their lowcountry heritage. DuBose Heyward insisted that the band play for the two year run of his play Porgy on Broadway and they performed at each performance. By now, there were five separate bands and two vocal ensembles. 

       Follow this link to a rare audio tape and early pictures of the
Jenkins Orphanage Band

        Some of jazz music's finest players received their musical training in the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Among them, Jabbo Smith (contemporary and rival of Louis Armstrong), Cat Anderson (who was a lead trumpet player in Duke Ellington's Band), Freddie Green (famous jazz rhythm guitarist) and Edmond Thornton Jenkins (famous clarinetist and composer and son of orphanage founder Rev. Daniel Jenkins).  I would encourage you to explore the many video and audio tapes found on the web and particularly on youtube of each of these musicians, remembering their beginnings as members of the Jenkins Orphanage Band.

       In the August 26, 1937 issue of Time Magazine, an article and picture were published honoring Rev. Daniel Jenkins and the Jenkins Orphanage Band.

       Rev. Jenkins' dream continues even today with The Jenkins Institute for Children. Explore their website and see the plans of Rev. Daniel Jenkins still impacting children of the 21st century who need a dream just as much as those who went before them. They are deserving of our support!