Never heard of "Jennie," but I have heard that old sailors referred to each
other and mariners in general as "Jack." The dialog sort of runs like this,
"Old Jack, he always knows when a storm is a'coming." Or, "Jack can tell when the
tide is shiftin' by th' change o' the wind." I suppose that some vernacular
group might have referred to women in the third person as Jennie in this same
way. My guess is that this was a regional indirect and not meant to demean any
woman in particular.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.