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His son worked as a cartoonist.
BURRIS A. JENKINS. Sr.
From the Encyclopedia of American Biography: "Jenkins, Burris Atkins: clergyman, educator, college president, was born Oct 2, 1869, in Kansas City, MO. He has been pastor of the Third Christian Church.. Indianapolis professor in Butler College, Indianapolis.. and is now president of the University of Indianapolis.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on 2 October 1869, Jenkins received his A.M. from Harvard in 1896. After, he was ordained and served parishes in Santa Barbara, California, Indianapolis, Indiana, Buffalo, New York, and Kansas City, Missouri. Jenkins also briefly served as Professor of the New Testament at the University of Indianapolis and as President of Kentucky University. He published numerous books and was also editor and publisher of "The Kansas City Post" (1919-1921), and publisher of "The Christian" (1926-1934). He died in 1945. (Source: Harvard Divinity School).
Burris Jenkins was revered nationally as a minister and author. He and his wife were friends with actress Ethel Barrymore. He was an accomplished author, writing seventeen books on a variety of subjects. He aired radio broadcasts that were heard by millions. Writer Sinclair Lewis' book "Elmer Gantry" gained popularity due to Lewis' dare to God to strike him down while standing in Jenkins' pulpit.
From "Kansas City and Its One Hundred Foremost Men", compiled and published by Walter P. Tracy, 1943, page 123:
Eminent as a preacher, noted as an author and beloved as a man and citizen. This is a modest eulogy of Dr. Burris Atkins Jenkins, pastor of the Linwood Boulevard Christian Church. Dr. Jenkins is a native of Kansas City and has spent most of his life here. He was born October 2, 1869, son of Andrew T. and Sarah Henry (Baker) Jenkins.
He graduated from Bethany (West Virginia) College in 1891, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The degrees of S. T. D. (1895) and A. M., (1896) were earned from Harvard. He was ordained a minister of the Christian (Disciple) Church in 1891; was pastor in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1896-1900; Professor New Testament Literature and Exegesis 1898-1900, and President 1899-1900 of the University of Indianapolis. From 1901 to 1907 Dr. Jenkins was President of the Kentucky University, leaving that position to return to his native city and become pastor of the Linwood Boulevard Christian Church. In this capacity he has endeared himself to the community and has built up an organization which is accomplishing wonderful work.
To the delight of thousands of people Dr. Jenkins recently began preaching the same sermon twice on Sunday morning, the first sermon being radiocast.
Wishing to make a fight for the League of Nations, in which he believed with his whole soul, Dr. Jenkins became editor and publisher of the Kansas City Post on January 1, 1919, continuing in this capacity until November 1, 1921. As a war correspondent with the British, French, Italian and American Armies in 1917 and 1918, Dr. Jenkins saw enough to convince him that war should not be tolerated by civilized people; and he made this fact clear through the editorial columns of the Post. While independent in politics he was strongly for Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations.
Fraternally, Dr. Jenkins is a Mason, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He belongs to the Kansas City Club, Mission Hills Country Club, and the Co-Operative Club.
The ancestral record of Dr. Jenkins in this country goes back to the Jenkinses of Culpeper County, Virginia, and the Caldwells, of Virginia.
As an author Dr. Jenkins has found his work; and those who have followed his writings realize that he is making a worth while contribution to society and will leave behind something that will endure to the good of mankind. Among his more prominent books are these: "The Heroes of Faith", 1896; "The Man in the Street and Religion", 1917; "Facing the Hindenburg Line", 1917; "It Happened Over There", 1918; "The Protestant", 1918; "Princess Salome", 1921; "The Bracegirdle", 1922;and "The Literary Beauty of the New Testament", 1925.
Dr. Jenkins was married on May 23, 1894 to Mattie Hocker, of Lexington, Kentucky, daughter of T. Logan Hocker and Betty Lauderman Hocker. They have three children, Burris Atkins Jenkins, Jr., who is a cartoonist for the New York World, Paul Andrew Jenkins, married Catherine McPherson, and Logan Jenkins. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Jenkins is located at 3529 Charlotte Street.
"Biography of Burris A. Jenkins, 1869-1945. Newspaper editor and minister", by Susan Jezak Ford, from the Biography collection of the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library:
Burris A. Jenkins - Dr. Burris A. Jenkins used Kansas City as his pulpit, communicating with thousands of people through newspapers, radio waves and authorship of 17 books. He served as pastor of the Linwood Boulevard Christian Church, later the Community Christian Church at 4601 Main Street. Often considered too outspoken for his era of occupation, Jenkins won scores of followers with his blunt sermons and essays.
Jenkins was born in Kansas City in 1869, attended Central High School and received his undergraduate degree from Bethany College in West Virginia. He was ordained in 1891 and served as a pastor in Indianapolis. He received advanced degrees from Harvard and went on to serve as a professor and president of the University of Indianapolis and president of Kentucky University. He left Kentucky to return to Kansas City as pastor of the Linwood Boulevard Christian Church. The church burned in 1939 and Jenkins chose Frank Lloyd Wright as the architect for the church's new home overlooking the Country Club Plaza.
Jenkins served as editor of the Kansas City Post from 1919 to 1921, hoping to fight for the establishment of the League of Nations. After two years, it became necessary for him to choose between the newspaper and his pulpit and, without hesitation, he resigned from the Post.
"Live dangerously!" Jenkins would thunder from the pulpit, embracing his own philosophy against all adversaries. Unconventional in nearly every aspect of his chosen field, Jenkins often preached from Biblical texts, such as the latest book or his travels abroad. The church frequently hosted motion dances, card games and fundraising boxing matches. These activities led to opposition to Jenkins and the Community Church from other Cambellite Christian Churches in the city.
Then energetic Jenkins held the title of pastor of his distinctive church for 38 years. Upon his death in 1945, tributes were paid to him from the pulpits of many denominations throughout the city.
Source: http://www.elmwoodcem-kc.org/family_history/elmwoodce-j/pafn02.htm
