Si Jenks

American character actor of rustic types, Si Jenks was born Howard Hansell Jenkins in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on 23 September 1876, to John (a shopkeeper) and Catherine Jenkins. He was the sixth of seven children. Little is known of his boyhood. At 21, on 21 April 1898, the first day of the Spanish-American War, he enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard (Co. F, 6th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry). He served until October, 1898 (two months following the end of the war), but never left the U.S. during his tour of duty. The following January, he enlisted for three years in the U.S. Army, but only served eight months, as an artilleryman, again without leaving the U.S. He returned to Norristown in 1899 after his military service and worked at a local inn as a hostler through at least 1904. At some point, he developed an interest in entertainment as a career. By 1919, he was married to Victoria Allen, with whom he teamed up in a vaudeville act called "Small Town Wise Crackers." They