About Me
Dr. William Elijah Jennings, (Dr. Dick), was born January 10, 1837, in Jackson County, Missouri. He was the son of John L. Jennings III and Sarah (Harris) Jennings. He lived with his parents in Jackson Co. Missouri until 1844-45 when the entire family moved to the Peters Colony in north Texas. He and his parents lived in Grayson Co. Texas until 1850 when he was thirteen years old. The family then moved to Williamson Co. Texas, and in 1852 Burnet Co. was created and the family then lived in Burnet Co. While living in the Jennings Creek Community with his parents, it is presumed that he went to school at either Burnet or the Oatmeal School. By June of 1861 he had enlisted in the Army of the Confederate States of America. Archives of the State of Texas Muster Rolls indicate that he was a member of the Burnet Guards, Burnet County Cavalry Co., 27th Reg., commanded by Capt.. William H. Magill. The Brigade Commander was General E.S.C. Robertson. He is also listed as a 2nd Sergeant of Co. 4, 3rd Frontier District, commanded by Capt. John Barton and General J.D. McAdoo. Because of the age of these documents, copying is not allowed. At the close of the Civil War, he was paroled from the service.
On November 21, 1861, he was married to Henrietta Elizabeth “Ritty†Pankey, daughter of Edward and Malinda Pankey. It is not known when or where he received his medical training, but it could very well be that he became a self taught doctor. His cousin, Mabry Jennings, who lived in Williamson Co., was a self taught doctor and practiced for many years. Regardless of how he received his training, he started practicing medicine between 1865 and 1875. He operated a sanitarium in Burnet and specialized in the treatment of cancer as well as being an Oculist. Dr. Jennings practiced medicine and lived in Burnet for many years where all of his children went to school.In February of 1901, Dr. Jennings and Ritty were separated but not divorced at that time. Shortly after their separation Dr. Jennings and Ritty sold a one-third interest in three parcels of land to their daughter and son-in-law, Kate and John Reed, for the price of $5.00. One of the parcels of land involved in this sale was the land included in the original State of Texas Land Grant to Dr. Jennings’ father, John Jennings III. This land sale stipulated that any rent or income of any kind would continue to go to Ritty. In addition, the title transfer was not to become final until after the death of Ritty. On April 5, 1904, Ritty filed a petition in the District Court of Burnet County asking that her marriage to Dr. Jennings be dissolved. On April 26, 1904, the court issued an order and decree that the marriage be dissolved, and that her motion requesting a divorce be granted,. It is not known what circumstances prompted this divorce. Sometime after his divorce from Ritty, Dr. Jennings married Lou Williams, and they continued to live in Burnet County. Dr. Jennings continue practicing medicine in Burnet County until after the turn of the century. Dr. Jennings died on August 27, 1911, in Burnet County, Texas. It is not known when or where Lou Jennings, his second wife, died or is buried. Ritty died May 7, 1925, in Burnet County, Texas.
