James Bailey Hankins

When Uncle Jimmy arrived in Kentucky from his home in California most every summer in the 1950s and 60s to visit his nieces and nephews, it was an event. Jimmy was the youngest and last surviving brother of my paternal grandmother. My father and his siblings adored him, and Jimmy returned the feelings.

James Bailey Hankins was born on 27 March 1901 at his Uncle John Hankins’s house near Dalton in Hopkins County, Kentucky.¹James Bailey Hankins (California) to (his cousin) Thomas Hankins, Letter, Nov 1956; copy privately held by Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2002; noted he was born at Uncle John’s house near Dalton in 1901. “California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5180 : accessed 10 Jan 2010), James B. Hankins, 1974, San Diego Co.; from California Death Index, 1940-1997, Dept. of Health Services, Sacramento; Jimmy’s DOB. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005698452 : accessed 6 Jun 2019), digital film 005698452, images 2441 and 2442, Los Angeles Co., CA, Marriage Record, 717: 209, no. 3299, Hankins-Lesh, 26 Mar 1927; full name James Bailey and parents’ names. He was the youngest of Thomas Leander Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty’s seven children.²1910 U.S. census, Hopkins Co., KY, population schedule, District #3, enumeration district (ED) 90, sheet 7A & B, dwelling 143, family 146, Tom L. Hankins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 8 Jan 2010); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 481.

In April 1912, when Jimmy was eleven and his brother Perry was thirteen, their best bird dog contracted rabies and attacked them. On 20 April, the boys were out on the road with the dog in the Grapevine area of Hopkins County where they lived. The dog had been acting strange for several days before it turned on them. According to the report published in The Hustler, one of the boys carried a shotgun and was able to shoot the dog after a desperate fight.³“Local News of Interest,” Hustler (Madisonville, KY), 26 Apr 1912, p. 5, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 Jan 2021).

On 30 March 1917 at Earlington, Kentucky, just three days after his sixteenth birthday, Jimmy enlisted in the U.S. Army.⁴“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1200 : accessed 22 Mar 2010), James Hankins, no. 20612, Sawtelle; from Records of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; NARA, Washington, D.C. The United States was only days away from entering World War I. Jimmy’s brother Perry had joined the Army five months earlier, and their brother Elvie joined a year later.⁵“U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925–1970,” digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2375 : accessed 21 December 2012), Perry Hankins, serial no. 1556832 and Albert E. Hankins, serial no. 891559; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92, NARA, Washington, D.C. Jimmy, Elvie, and Perry all went to France, and they were together there in 1918, at least long enough to have a picture taken.⁶James Bailey, Albert Elvie, and William Perry Hankins photograph, 1918, from James Bailey Hankins’s album, privately held by Martha Carver Abbott, Greenville, KY; abt. 1972, J. B. gave his photo album to his McCauley nieces in Greenville during one of his last trips to KY, Elizabeth McCauley Carver held it, Martha received it from Elizabeth (her mother) abt. 2003; image digitized by Linda McCauley 23 Jul 2013; annotated AEF-1918. AEF = American Expeditionary Forces.

Jimmy sailed for France from Hoboken, New Jersey, aboard the USS Great Northern on 2 May 1918.⁷“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), Outgoing > Great Northern > 2 May 1918–26 Jul 1918 > image595, entry for James Hankins, serial no. 1555795; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92, NARA, College Park, MD. Before he left, he wrote a letter to his parents that was published in a local newspaper, probably The Bee (Earlington) or Madisonville Messenger.⁸“James Hankins’ Farewell Letter Before Sailing,” undated clipping, ca 1918, from unidentified newspaper, privately held by Sue Morgan London, AZ, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2004. That letter shows the somber side of a young soldier heading into war.

“Camp Merritt, N. J.
Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Hankins.
Dear Father and Mother: – I write you my farewell letter. I received your kind letters. I was so glad to hear from you all. Mother, you ask me why I had to go to France. They wanted some good men over there and I thought it was my duty to go. I didn’t have to go. Just wanted to go, and when you are reading this letter I will be sailing across the briny deep. But don’t grieve or worry about me. If I never get back you can say I died fighting for my country and nobody can say I was a slacker, and if I get back, like I feel I will, I can tell you something of this war. So do the best you can and have a good time. Don’t grieve for me. I will be back some day if I live, and if we never meet here on earth any more we will meet some day where parting is no more and there are no more goodbyes, for there is a better land than this, and if we never meet here we will meet up there. So I will close [my] farewell letter in the good old U. [S. A.] Good-bye.
Your loving son,
James Hankins”

Jimmy returned from France, on the USS Mount Vernon, leaving from the port of Brest on 28 June 1919 and arriving in Hoboken on 5 July.⁹“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174: accessed 10 Jan 2021), Incoming > Mount Vernon > 20 Jun 1919–5 Jul 1919 > image 967, entry for James Hankins, serial no. 1555795; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92, NARA, College Park, MD. He was discharged from the Army on 29 July 1919 in Louisville, Kentucky.¹⁰“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” James Hankins.

Jimmy returned home to Hopkins County. In 1920, he lived with his parents on McEuen Avenue in Earlington and worked as a car repairer for the railroad.¹¹1920 U.S. census, Hopkins Co., KY, population schedule, Earlington, enumeration district (ED) 93, sheet 3B, dwelling 62, family 74, Tom Hankins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 8 Jan 2010); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 576.

On 16 March 1923, Jimmy entered the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Sawtelle in Los Angeles County, California, for tuberculosis treatment.¹²“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” James Hankins. His brother Perry had died of the same disease the previous year.¹³“Perry Hankins Dies At Denver, Colorado,” undated clipping, ca. Dec 1922, from unidentified newspaper (possibly the Bee (Earlington, KY) or Madisonville (KY) Messenger), privately held by Sue Morgan London, AZ, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2004; cause of Perry’s death. “U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925–1963,” Perry Hankins; Perry’s DOD. Another brother, John, died while Jimmy was hospitalized, and he could not return home for the funeral.¹⁴“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 4 Sep 2013), death certificate no. 23559 (1923), John C. Hankins; from microfilm 7016130–7041803, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

Jimmy recovered and was discharged on 20 March 1924. The hospital record reports Jimmy’s residence after discharge as Denver, Colorado, but he lived at 112 S. Oliver Street in Los Angeles and registered to vote in Los Angeles County sometime that year.¹⁵“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” James Hankins; discharge date and subsequent residence. “California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61066 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Los Angeles County > 1924 > Roll 015 > image 178, entry for James B. Hankins; from Great Register of Voters, CA State Library, Sacramento. He made his home in California for the rest of his life.

Jimmy married Rachel Lesh on 26 March 1927 in Glendale, California. He worked as an electrician for a studio, probably Warner Brothers where he worked for many years. Rachel worked as a bookkeeper for an electrical contractor. Jimmy still lived at 112 S. Olive Street in Los Angeles. Rachel lived at 515 S. Middleton in Huntington Park.¹⁶FamilySearch, digital film 005698452, images 2441 and 2442, Los Angeles Co., Marriage, Hankins-Lesh. Personal knowledge of author; Jimmy worked for Warner Brothers Studio.

Rachel, who went by Rae, was the daughter of James R. Lesh and Gay Reagan.¹⁷FamilySearch, digital film 005698452, images 2441 and 2442, Los Angeles Co., Marriage, Hankins-Lesh; parents’ names. Personal knowledge of author; Rachel went by Rae. She was born on 16 June 1903 in Aberdeen, Washington, which is on the west coast in Grays Harbor County.¹⁸“California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5180 : accessed 10 Jan 2010), Rachel Hankins, 1967, San Diego Co.; from California Death Index, 1940-1997, Dept. of Health Services, Sacramento; Rachel’s DOB. “Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854–2013,” digital images, Ancestry (https:www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2378 : accessed 3 Dec 2016), John Chalenor-Rachel Lesh, 2 Sep 1925, Spokane Co.; from Washington Marriage Records, 1854–2013, WA State Archives, Olympia; Rachel’s birthplace. Her family moved to Kettle Falls in Stevens County, Washington by 1910 and to Spokane by 1920.¹⁹1910 U.S. census, Stevens Co., WA, population schedule, Kettle Falls, enumeration district (ED) 4, sheet 5A, dwelling 102, family 103, James Lesh; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 8 Jan 2010); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 1672. 1920 U.S. census, Spokane Co., WA, population schedule, Spokane City, enumeration district (ED) 170, sheet 6B, dwelling 144, family 147, James R. Lesh; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 8 Jan 2010); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1940. According to Jimmy and Rae’s marriage record, she was single, and this was her first marriage.²⁰FamilySearch, digital film 005698452, images 2441 and 2442, Hankins-Lesh. However, she had married John Chalenor on 2 September 1925 in Spokane.²¹“Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854–2013,” John Chalenor-Rachel Lesh, 2 Sep 1925. John did not die until 1977, so they apparently divorced or had the marriage annulled.²²“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441 : accessed 10 Jan 2021), John Chalenor, SSN 531169650; from Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.

Jimmy and Rae moved many times over the years, mostly in the Los Angeles area, until Jimmy retired. In addition to moving often, Jimmy and Rae also changed their party affiliation on voter registration records numerous times. Jimmy was a Democrat in 1924, 1928–1930, 1942, 1944, and 1948.²³“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1924, entry for James B. Hankins. “California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61066 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), San Bernardino County > 1928-1930 > Roll 005 > image 220, entry for James B. Hankins; from Great Register of Voters, CA State Library, Sacramento; also Los Angeles County > 1942 > Roll 052 > image 426, entries for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1944 > Roll 063 > image 669, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1948 > Roll 075 > image 429, entry for James B. Hankins. He was a Republican in 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1950, 1952, 1956, and 1958.²⁴“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61066 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Los Angeles County > 1930 > Roll 026 > image 436, entry for James B. Hankins; from Great Register of Voters, CA State Library, Sacramento; also Los Angeles County > 1932 > Roll 030 > image 728, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1934 > Roll 034 > image 982, entry for James B. Hankins; San Bernardino County > 1936 > Roll 008 > image 1371, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1938 > Roll 045 > image 899, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1950 > Roll 076 > image 541, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1952 > Roll 083 > image 622, entry for Janes (sic) B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1956 > Roll 100 > image 191, entry for James B. Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1958 > Roll 116 > image 180, entry for James B. Hankins. Rachel was a Democrat in 1938, a Republican in 1928–1930, and refused to state a preference in 1932 and 1934.²⁵“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61066 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Los Angeles County > 1938 > Roll 045 > image 899, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; from Great Register of Voters, CA State Library, Sacramento; also San Bernardino County > 1928-1930 > Roll 005 > image 220, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1932 > Roll 030 > image 728, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1934 > Roll 034 > image 796, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins. She was registered the same as Jimmy in the other years.²⁶“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61066 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Los Angeles County > 1930 > Roll 026 > image 436, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; from Great Register of Voters, CA State Library, Sacramento; also  San Bernardino County > 1936 > Roll 008 > image 1371, entry for Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1942 > Roll 052 > image 426, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1944 > Roll 063 > image 669, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1948 > Roll 075 > image 429, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1950 > Roll 076 > image 541, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1952 > Roll 083 > image 622, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1956 > Roll 100 > image 191, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins; Los Angeles County > 1958 > Roll 116 > image 180, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins.

In 1928 Jimmy and Rae lived in the Morongo Precinct in San Bernardino County.²⁷“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1928-1930, entry for James B. Hankins & Mrs. Rachel Hankins. They lived at 748 N. Dillon Street in Los Angeles according to 1930 voter registration records but at 1344 West 4th Street based on their 1930 U.S. census record.²⁸“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1930, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins. 1930 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co., CA, population schedule, Los Angeles, enumeration district (ED) 419, sheet 3A, dwelling 26 family 54, James B. Hankis (sic); digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 10 Jan 2021); from NARA microfilm T626, roll 148. Their address was 1168 Bellevue Avenue in 1932.²⁹“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,”1932, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins. In 1934, Rachel was still at the Bellevue Avenue address, but Jimmy was at 318 1/4 North New Hampshire.³⁰“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1934, entry for James B. Hankins and 1934, entry for Mrs. Rachel Hankins. It is unclear if they were separated or if Rachel simply had not updated her voter registration information after a move.

They lived on Twenty Nine Palms in San Bernardo County in 1936 and 10833 Blix Street in Los Angeles in 1938.³¹“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1936, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins and 1938, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins. From 1939 to 1942 they lived at 814 North Pass Avenue in Burbank, then moved to 4823 Satsuma Avenue in Los Angeles by 1944.³²Burbank City Directory 1939 (Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Directory Co.), p. 118, entry for Jas B Hankins; digital image, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469 : accessed ) > CA > Burbank > 1939 > Burbank, CA, City Directory, 1939 > image 58. Also 1940, p. 163, entry for Jas B Hankins, CA > Burbank > 1940 > Burbank, CA, City Directory, 1940 > image 80; “California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1942, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins and 1944, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins. They remained on Satsuma Avenue until at least 1948 but lived at 3003 Riverside Drive in Los Angeles in 1950.³³“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1948, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins and 1950, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins. 4140 Franklin Avenue was their address from 1952 to 1958.³⁴“California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900–1968,” 1952, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins; 1956, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins; 1958, entries for James B. Hankins and Mrs. Rachel Hankins.

Jimmy and Rae did not have children. When Jimmy retired from Warner Brothers Studios, they moved farther south to Carlsbad in San Diego County.³⁵James Bailey Hankins, son of Thomas Leander Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty, great-uncle of the author. Rae died there on 9 May 1967.³⁶“California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997,” Rachel Hankins, 1967. Her final resting place is unknown.

Jimmy married Lucille Goldie McCord Favor on 11 October 1967 at the 1^st Baptist Church in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona.³⁷“Lucille Goldie Hankins,” Messenger (Madisonville, KY), 22 Feb 1997, p. 3, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 Nov 2020); Goldie’s full name. “News from Earlington,” Messenger (Madisonville, KY), 27 Oct 1967, p. 8, col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 Nov 2020); wedding date and location; Note: Jimmy’s nephew Jewel Hankins is incorrectly identified as his father in this article. His nephew, Jewel Hankins, and his wife Thelma hosted the wedding reception at their home.³⁸Sue Morgan London, AZ to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, Facebook Messenger, note dated 2 Feb 2021; details about Jimmy and Goldie’s wedding and reception, which she attended. After a honeymoon in Hawaii, Jimmy and Goldie settled in Carlsbad.³⁹“News from Earlington,” Messenger, 27 Oct 1967.

Goldie was born on 16 November 1903 in Christian County, Kentucky, to David Fletcher McCord and Eugenia Boyd.⁴⁰“Lucille Goldie Hankins,” Messenger, 22 Feb 1997. Jimmy and Goldie had known each other growing up in Hopkins County.⁴¹James Bailey Hankins, son of Thomas Leander Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty, great-uncle of the author. She married Roy S. Favors on 13 October 1929, and they lived in Earlington.⁴²“Death Claims Roy S. Favors at Earlington,” Madisonville (KY) Messenger, 23 Sep 1958, p. 10, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 Nov 2020). Roy died on 22 September 1958.⁴³“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 4 Sep 2013), death certificate no. 19357, 1958, Roy Sanford Favors; from microfilm 7016130–7041803, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Like Jimmy and Rae, Goldie and Roy did not have children.⁴⁴“Death Claims Roy S. Favors at Earlington,” Madisonville Messenger, 23 Sep 1958; no children mentioned.

Jimmy and Goldie spent time in California and Kentucky. Before their marriage, Goldie had a trailer near Kentucky Lake, and they spent summers there for several years.⁴⁵Personal knowledge of author.

Jimmy died on 26 November 1974 in Carlsbad.⁴⁶“California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997,” James B. Hankins, 1974. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.⁴⁷Personal knowledge of author.

Goldie returned to Kentucky to live after Jimmy’s death. She died on 20 February 1997 at Versnick Health Care Center in Madisonville.⁴⁸“Lucille Goldie Hankins,” Messenger, 22 Feb 1997. She was buried beside Roy in Oakwood Cemetery (now known as Earlington Cemetery) in Earlington.⁴⁹Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : viewed 12 Nov 2021), memorial 99351047, for Lucille Favors, (Earlington Cemetery, Earlington, KY), digital image, 21 Oct 2012, by Lorna; double headstone with Roy.

On a Personal Note

Uncle Jimmy had a hand in naming me. A few months before I was born, he was in Kentucky working on the movie “The Tanks Are Coming” at Fort Knox for Warner Brothers. The cast and crew stayed in Louisville. Since my parents lived there at that time, they saw him often. 

One evening when Daddy got home from work, he told Mom he thought of a name for the baby if it is a girl. He told her they should name a girl Linda Faye. Then they drove downtown to pick up Uncle Jimmy for dinner.

When Uncle Jimmy got in the car, he told them he thought of a girl’s name that day while setting up lighting in a field at Fort Knox. He said they should name a girl Linda Faye.

I have heard that story many times over the years. From the time I was old enough to think for myself, I thought it was likely something Uncle Jimmy and Daddy cooked up in advance. But they never admitted to that. Regardless, Linda Faye is my name.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "James Bailey Hankins," Documenting the Details, 25 Mar 2021 (https://documentingthedetails.com/jbhankins : accessed [enter current date]).

Written by: Linda F. McCauley
Copyright © 2021 Linda F. McCauley. All rights reserved.

My Connection: Thomas Leander Hankins & Samantha Angeline Petty (great-grandparents) > Verda Waller Hankins (grandmother) > David Hankins McCauley (father)