Born in Allegheny City, Friend was appointed to the Naval Academy by Representative Thomas B. Bayne of Pennsylvania.

Friend was admitted to the Naval Academy from Pennsylvania on September 28, 1882 at age 17 years 3 months. He served on the Galena, Kearsage, and Swatara. He next served on the coast survey and then the gunboat Bennington. From June 1893, to September 1895, he was on ordnance duty at the Naval Proving Grounds, Indian Head, Maryland. On September 18, 1895, he was ordered to the Maine.

Career: Naval Cadet, 28 September, 1882. Ensign, 1 July, 1888. Lieutenant, Junior Grade, 5 January, 1897. Drowned 15 February, 1898.

Friend drowned on February 15, 1898 when his ship, USS Maine (Armored Cruiser No. 1) was destroyed by an explosion in Havana, Cuba.

Friend's classmates erected a plaque at the United States Naval Academy Chapel in his honor in Memorial Hall. It reads in part: "He spoke evil of no man." The Camp Friend W. Jenkins No. 16, Service Men of Spanish War, was established in Allegheny in March 1902. Jenkins Road aboard Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren is named for him.

Friend's father was a flour merchant. His brothers were Ernest, Jay Richard and Jenks who became a civil engineer. Ernest died at 4 months old in December 1875. Jay ran a grocery store called "The Old Tea House" and then became a real estate broker. He died in January 1905. Friend's sisters were Julia Hannah and Jane Salonia. Julia married a gold miner Charles Crawford, and she died in San Francisco of accidental gas asphyxiation on March 3, 1904. Friend's parents also adopted his cousin Florence (Mrs. Hinton Spalding) after the death in 1913 of her mother Helen (Mrs. Dean Moore Jenkins).

| enlisted = 1883 Class of '83 USNA

| discharged =15 Feb. 1898 USS Maine, Havana Harbor

| branch =United States Navy

| units= Naval Ship, USS Maine

| unit = USS Maine

Lt William Jenkins Died in Military Service during Harbor at Havana, Cuba.

Lt. Friend William Jenkins was in the graduating class at Annapolis Naval Academy of 1883.

Death:

He was one of the Officers on the Roster of the USS Maine. "A United States Navy ship that sank in Havana Harbor in February 1898, contributing to the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April. " The phrase "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!" became a rallying cry for action.

The Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. She blew up and sank on the evening of 15 February 1898, killing three-quarters of her crew. In 1898, a U.S. Navy board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a mine. After the ship was found in the harbor, Lt. F. William Jenkins was found near the door unable to escape. " His remains were returned to his native Pittsburgh, where they lay in state at City Hall." (from wikipedia.com)

Burial: Union Dale Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA

Cenotaph: United States Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis, Maryland

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William was born in 1865, to Friend William Jenkins, 1824–1888 & Saloma ____

1870 Allegheny Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Age: 5

Birth Year (Estimated): 1865

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Page Number: 92

Friend W Jenkins M 46 New York

Occupation: Flour Merchant

Saloma Jenkins F 42 New Hampshire

J Richard Jenkins M 14 Pennsylvania

Julia H Jenkins F 12 Pennsylvania

Jane S Jenkins F 8 Pennsylvania

Friend W Jenkins M 5 Pennsylvania

Jenks B Jenkins M 1 Pennsylvania

Maggie Quaig F 20 Pennsylvania

Lizzie Quaig F 15 Pennsylvania

Household ID: 723---Line Number: 13

[1]

1880 Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Age: 14

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: At School

Birth Year (Estimated): 1866

Birthplace: Pennsylvania, United States

Father's Birthplace: New York, ---Mother's Birthplace: New Hampshire

Sheet Letter: A--Sheet Number: 80---Person Number: 5--Volume: 1

F W Jenkins Self M 55 New York,

Occupation: Wholesale Flour Store

Salina Jenkins Wife F 51 New Hampshire, United States

J R Jenkins Son M 24 Pennsylvania,

Occupation: Tea House

Julie H Jenkins Daughter 22 Pennsylvania, At School

Jane Jenkins Daughter 17 Pennsylvania, At School

S W Jenkins Son 14 Pennsylvania, (s/b "F.W.") At School

Jenks Jenkins Son 11 Pennsylvania, At School

Florence Jenkins Adopted Daughter F 13 Pennsylvania At School

District: ED 4---Sheet Number and Letter: 80A--Household ID: 9439002

[2]

Siblings:

J Richard Jenkins M 14 Pennsylvania

Julia H Jenkins F 12 Pennsylvania

Jane Salonia Jenkins Lavanchy 1862–1918 Pennsylvania

Jenks B Jenkins M 1 Pennsylvania