Born: BEF 1650, Virginia
Died: BEF 1691, Stafford County, VA
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Marriage: Unknown
Children:
1. Gerard Bankes (b. BEF 1680)
Notes:
ORIGINS OF ADAM BANKES: *
*
Adam Bankes may be a son of James Bankes, a draper emigrant to Virginia in 1635 (b. abt 1600 -- see separate entry). This is speculative and is based on a number of indirect factors.
*
There is a tradition of multiple Banks brothers coming to America about the same time in the 1600s. These brothers moved to different locations. This tradition in various forms persisted in several branches of the family. William Bankes of King and Queen Co., VA (b. bef 1643 -- see separate entry) may be an early relative (possibly a brother) because this same tradition was present in the early 1900s in a branch of his family that can be traced by proven documents to William Bankes.
*
Reba Fitzpatrick Lea in her 1945 book, The Lea Family in Nelson County, Virginia, includes on p. 80 notes gathered by William Banks Lea in 1934 in Madison Co., VA. William was a descendant of Adam Bankes.
"On July 28, 1934, I called upon Mr. James Banks of Orange, Va., the only old man of the name, now living in either Culpeper, Orange or Madison Counties, hoping that he might be able to give me some additional information concerning the Banks family. Mr. Banks, although now in his 85th year (he stated he was born in 1849) is a man of prepossessing appearance and his mind seems as clear as though he was 50 or 60 years of age. Mr. Banks very frankly told me that he knew nothing authentic concerning the Banks family and that he did not belong to that branch of the family about which I was seeking information. I think, however, it is very probable that all the Banks are descended from the same family, for Mr. James Banks mentioned that five brothers of his branch came to America together which tallies exactly with my father's version of the arrival of the Banks in America handed down to him by his mother."
*
This James Banks was James William Banks, b. Oct 1849, probably in Madison Co., VA. His 1935 age (85) and middle name are also catalogued in 16 Nov 1934 in An Index to 172 Miscellaneous Issues of Orange County, Virginia Newspapers, dating from 1872 through 1936...., compiled by Robert A. Hodge, 1983. James was a dry goods merchant most of his life in Madison Co. James was the son of William Eldridge Banks (b. 1828) and Mary Elizabeth Willis (b. 1829). (His descent goes backwards thus: William Tunstall Banks, Baylor Banks, Tunstall Banks, William Banks, Ralph Banks and lastly William Bankes of King and Queen County). This is one of the best documented descents in the Banks families.
*
Miss Jane Pritchett Banks, an Adam Bankes descendant, in her 1908 booklet The Banks Family, states: "...three Banks brothers... came to America prior to the Revolutionary period.....One of these anterevolutionary brothers founded a home in Massachusetts. His most distinguished descendant was the late Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, of Civil War fame.....As to the two remaining brothers, one is known to have settled in Virginia; but of the other's chosen place of residence we have no assurance."
Because of other mistakes in Miss Jane Banks's book regarding the early generations, it is unclear how much of this can be accepted as fact. Migration patterns to Massachusetts were quite different from those to Virginia. The Puritans of East Anglia controlled the colony in the mid 1600s and were intolerant of in-migration except from their supporters. It is possible that the well known Nathaniel Banks, Massachusetts Governor and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the only known Banks whom Miss Jane Banks had not been able to categorize so she assumed there were only a few Banks emigrants. She lists in the back of her booklet every Banks family about whom she had ever heard. It should be noted that Miss Jane Banks did not do any research for her booklet, but her listing of the later Banks generations has proven valuable for researchers.
*
A somewhat similar story appears in History of California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley (whose publication date and author have not been located as this source came to light in 1993). The publication date is after 1901. This book contains a sketch of James Oliver Banks of California, briefly outlining his family. The author describes the early American origins in this manner:
"When three brothers established the Banks family in America one settled in New England, another went to Virginia and the third went still further south. From the Virginia immigrant was descended John Banks, a native of the Old Dominion and for years a resident of Kentucky, where he followed the stone-mason's trade, eventually removing to Missouri."
*
Index of Individuals Mike & Angela's Homepage