Jacob Bankston b. ca 1740 by Myra Vanderpool Gormley
Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
Find-A-Grave Memorial ID 86844870
To: Jean Roberts: jeanlroberts@comcast.net
From: Myra Vanderpool Gormley myravgormley@gmail.com
and shakingfamilytrees.blogspot.com
From the website:
Jacob Bankston, birth 1731, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA
No evidence is provided for this date and/or place of birth, although few of the Find-a-Grave websites provide any sources/references. It seems to be that only when a correction or suggestion is made that a “source” is required by the submitter.
However, the above information appears to have been taken, directly or indirectly, from “A Genealogy of the Bankston (Bankestok) Family,” compiled by Edna Augusta Robertson Vacher and printed in 1947. This 79-page family history manuscript was microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1971 and is available at its Family History Library as Film No. 858672 (item 7). It is now also available online at familysearch.org in digital version — #7814870, starting with image #445 (of 1,044).
In 2013 in Bankston Erratta, the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde-Beatty, the Swedes Colonial Society’s genealogist, issued a report disproving many of Vacher’s claims and advising researchers to have a healthy skepticism about the accuracy of the genealogy presented in that manuscript and to verify any published material. Additionally, some of Vacher’s genealogy was used in “The Direct Lineage of Young Peter Bankston [Eight Generations, 1640-1878] and The Descendants of Young Peter and Louisa Magee Bankston (Six Generations, 1823-1988),” [hereinafter, Young Peter Bankston] compiled by Jesse Homer Bankston in 1988.
On page 14 of a microfilmed version of her manuscript, Vacher says a Jacob Bankston, son of Lawrence and Rebecca Hendericks [sic] Bankston, was “born in Philadelphia, Pa., abt. 1731, died abt. 1817 in Clark [sic] Co., Ga, He married 1753 to Elinor Cock (Cox).” [No evidence or citation to any reference was provided — see rebuttal below.]
She then listed four children as being their children: John 1754-1823; Elijah 1765-2-22-1849; Elinor [no dates] and Jacob Jr. [no dates] without any evidence for her assertion. She also claimed “Jacob Bankston and his family moved (from Philadelphia) about 1758 to North Carolina where they remained until just before the Revolutionary War, moving on to Wilkes Co., Ga. He enlisted in the Georgia Continental Army and was in the service until the close of the war.” [No proof is provided for a son John, daughter Elinor or a Jacob Jr. (she did not provide any for Elijah, but more recent research has confirmed this kinship — you’ll note there’s no mention of a daughter, Araminta either).
In Young Peter Bankston (p. 11), three children are listed as belong to Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks: 1. Peter, born in Philadelphia, died in Georgia; 2. Jacob, 1731-1817; and 3. Daniel, 1733. The compiler provided no references or citations.
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
On page 18 of Vacher’s manuscript [image 462 of DGS 7814870] says “Their [Lawrence and Rebecca] children: 1. Peter, born in Philadelphia Pa.; died in Georgia, Jacob, born 1731-1817; Daniel, born 1733; [Lawrence] married 2) Ann Major of Virginia, about 1747; their children: 1. Lawrence Jr., born in N.C. 1748-1844 in Georgia; 2. John, born 1750; 3. Richard, born 1752; 4. Andrew, born 1754-1837; 5. Mary, born 1756; all children born in North Carolina.
There is no proof that Lawrence had a second wife named Ann Major and modern researchers are unable to find a woman of this name].
There are so many errors in this, that each child has to be dealt with separately — Vacher provided only one “source” for all this information found here, and it is impossible to distinguish what she is referencing. That “source” is listed as (Genealogical and Historical Society Vol. 3, p. 96) — it has not been identified or found by modern-day researchers of this family.
Starting with the first and foremost problem of this genealogy — the marriage to Elinor Cock (Cox), which is widely quoted and even the National Society of Daughters of American Revolution (NSDAR) accepted it many years ago (back in the 1950s), along with its accepting a John Bankston (b. 6-11-1754—9-15-1823) as this Jacob’s son (This John married a Henrietta Coates). There are least 13 Ancestor Files at NSDAR utilizing this erroneous information and all that I’ve seen used the same Patriot (Jacob) and the same Child (John), with the birth of Jacob listed as circa 1733. All the DAR papers I’ve seen for this Patriot cited Vacher. Many DAR members, of course, used a short form, claiming Jacob as their Patriot and only providing generational links from themselves to wherever the line connected to a John and Jacob.
Being previously accepted by the DAR does not prove or guarantee that any of the information is correct. I belong to the DAR also and am a former registrar for my local chapter. However, as I understand it, the only way to “correct” information that the DAR has is to submit a supplemental ancestor using Jacob and providing the more recent research proof and references. I simply have not had the time or desire to spend $80 on this to do so. But I may at some point.
More confusion: Since Lawrence and Rebecca, had removed from Pennsylvania (not Philadelphia, by the way) to North Carolina by 1744, why would a purported son named Jacob, return to Philadelphia in 1753 — about 500 miles away — to wed?
The main problem for researchers to recognize is there was a Jacob Bankston who married an Elinor Cock (Cox), which is cited on the website with thanks to Deborah Myer linking to:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89061958997;view=1up;seq=18
What has been overlooked by most researchers is that this Jacob Bankson who married in Philadelphia in 1753 is NOT the son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks. This is a common problem in all genealogies — the assumption that someone of the same name is the same person.
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
This link above is to a secondary and derivative source — Old Swedes Church Marriage Records compiled from the original records by Park M’Farland, jr. [sic] and published in Philadelphia in 1879 by M’Farland & Son, Printers. On p.10, under 1753, therein under June, it lists: Jacob Bankson [sic] and Elesnore [sic] Cox, by license, 14th June, 1753. This same information can be found in Glori Dei [Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania] Marriages, Baptisms and Burial, 1750-1789, #31, page 11 and on microfilm No. 511,806, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Additional research reveals that the Jacob Bankson who married Elesnore [Elinor] Cox in 1753 is the one who wrote a Will 2 August 1757 and died there 5 August 1757, buried 6 August, aged 37 years [meaning he was born 1720] and additionally, this Jacob and Elinor had no children.
It’s impossible to be an ancestor when there are no descendants.
For proof that the Jacob Bankson who married Elinor Cox in 1753 is the one who died in 1757 and was born, not in 1731 [Vacher], but in 1820, see Gloria Dei, Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Burials, 1750-1878, p. 17 Microfilm No. 511,822, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. This Jacob Bankson’s Will was written 2 August 1757 and probated 10 August 1757. See FHL microfilm No. 21,724, Wills, Vol. I-K; Will Book K, pp. 557-559 #345 (which has now been digitized and is available at familysearch.org/ DGS 7726374 (image 645). An extract of this Will is also found Ancestry.com:
Name: Jacob Bankson
Residence: Philadelphia Co.
Description: Decedent
Date: 2 Aug 1757
Prove Date: 10 Aug 1757
Title: Yeoman, Jr.
Book/Page: K:557
Remarks: Bankson, Jacob, Jr. Co. of Philadelphia. Yeoman. Aug 2, 1757. Aug. 10, 1757. Wife: Elinor. Brothers: Andrew, Peter and John. Sister: Deborah. Mother: Elinor. All relatives are legatees. Exec: Brother John and cousin Andrew Bankson, shopkeeperActually, the Jacob Bankson who died in 1757 in Philadelphia and left a Will, was a son of a John Bankston (1681-1739) — not the son of Lawrence and Rebecca. That Jacob (d. 1757) was a first cousin to Lawrence. This can be determined by examining the names of his relatives mentioned in his Will and studying the more scholarly genealogy prepared by Dr. Peter S. Craig of the Colonial Swedes Society.
Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks did have a son named Jacob, but he was not the Jacob who married an Elinor Cox and who died without issue — and their Jacob was not born in 1731 in Philadelphia.
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
From the website:
Jacob married Jemima (maiden name unknown) in North Carolina in 1753.
Jacob, son of Lawrence (for brevity’s sake), did have a wife named Jemima [—?--] but date and place of their marriage has not been determined. Jemima, his wife, is mentioned in a deed dated 10 February 1798 in Hancock County, Georgia, and in the original minute book of the Mars Hill Baptist Church (Frances W. Reid and Mary B. Warren, Mars Hill Baptist Church (Constituted 1799), Clarke-Oconee Co., Georgia (Athens, Georgia: Heritage Papers, 1966), pp. 1- 4, 9.) appears the names of Jacob Bankston and Jemima Bankston (listed separately under males and females. They were dismissed by letter from this church in 1803.
From the website:
He [Jacob] was a Revolutionary Patriot from Georgia.
Correct, although Vacher’s claim that he was in the “Georgia Continental Army” is in error. He was in the Militia. The same is true of his brothers — none served in the Continental Army.
From the website:
Information pertaining to Jacob’s grandfather, Andrew Bankson and great-grandparents, Anders Bankson Sr. and Gertrude Rambo is basically accurate.
However, the nine children listed for Jacob are riddled with misinformation and only four of these nine are proven to be his children, towit: 1. Elijah Bankston (1765-1848, Butts County, Georgia); 2. Henry Bankston (1773-1811, Clarke County, Georgia); 3. Araminta Bankston (1782- 1861, DeKalb County, Georgia); and 4. William Bankston (1767-1807 Clarke County, Georgia) recently proven by DNA.
Note: I, too, started with this old genealogy by Vacher, but when an 1800 Family Bible of Isaac Autry/Awtrey and Araminta Bankston who married that year was found in a descendant’s trunk in the attic, it revealed that my 4-great-grandmother, Araminta Bankston, was the daughter of a Jacob Bankston, and I needed to figure out which one because Vacher claimed, without proof, that there were two Jacobs (father and son) and she gave dates of birth (without any proof ) that they were born in 1731 and 1760.
Hypotheticially either could have fathered my Araminta who was born in 1782.
I was able to eliminate the childless couple — Jacob Bankston (1720-1757) and Elinor Cock, of Philadelphia, which evidently is the Jacob that Vacher claimed was born in 1731 (again no evidence or any references) — as the parents of my Araminta Bankston’s father, Jacob, or the father of Elijah Bankston because they were childless and in any case had died long before my Araminta was born.
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
I turned to sorting through Georgia records looking for clues and evidence. Three records proved to be most helpful. Two appear in The Early Records of Georgia, Volume I, Wilkes County. (Abstracted and compiled by Grace Gillam Davidson, published 1933 in Macon, Georgia) and now available online at:
http://www.giddeon.com/wilkes/books/early-records-of-ga-vol 1/index.shtml
There is a 1786 deed in Wilkes County, Georgia, which mentioned that Peter, Daniel and Jacob Bankston sold 400 acres in Pennsylvania, which was “from our father, Laurence Bankston.” (Wilkes County, GA, Deed Book AA — 1785-1787 p. 127.)
This same trio also sold 37.5 acres in Philadelphia, mentioning that it was “willed to our mother, Rebecca Hendricks.” (Wilkes County, GA, Deed Book AA — 1785-1787 p. 125)
On 9 June 1811 in Clarke County, Washington, the following record was recorded regarding a Creek Indian Depredation Claim of 1782 [emphasis mine]:
“Whereas I Jacob Banckston is about to remove to the Missippi state [sic] this to sertyfy [certify] that I have bargind and sold unto Elijah Banckston, my son all my right[s] and title to the claim that I did againstt the Creek Nations of Indians for property taken at McNabs Fort Wilk[es] County 1782 which property was valued to five hundred and fifty five dollars and I do hereby give over all my right[s] and title to the above mentioned claim unto to above Elijah Banckston or sum written and hereby in power him to Recept for the same in my name and this my order shall recept to whom may be impowerd to pay of [off] the claim. Signed Jacob Banckston.
So, there was a Jacob Bankston who was the son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks and he had a son, Elijah Bankston, and he planned to leave Georgia for the “Missippi state” [sic] which would have been the Mississippi Territory in 1811 as Mississippi was not yet a state, and he was a candidate as the father of my Araminta Bankston who married in 1800 to Isaac Awtrey.
The Reconstructed 1790 Census of Georgia (De Lamar and Rothstein, 1985) lists only one Jacob Bankston. It had been an early indicator that there might be a problem with the old Vacher genealogy.
Georgia Tax Digests (Volume I-V) cover the years from 1789 to 1817 (“An Index to Georgia Tax Digests” (five volumes) published for the R. J. Taylor Jr. Foundation, Atlanta, GA. The Reprint Co., Publishers, Spartanburg, SC 1986.) And, in order to keep track of the many Bankstons and the numerous counties in which I found them in northeast Georgia during these years, I created a spreadsheet. There were never two Jacob Bankstons listed the same year in these records. My conclusion is there was only one Jacob Bankston, and he was not born in 1731, and he was not
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
the son of the childless Jacob Bankston and Elinor Cox — the Jacob who died in 1757 in Philadelphia.
A thorough search was conducted in pre-1850 Georgia probate, land, and tax records and none turned up a Jacob Bankston Jr. (purportedly born ca 1760).
The designation of Jr. and Sr. does not necessarily indicate son and father; sometimes it was just used to distinguish men of the same name (usually for the benefit of the taxman); they could have been nephew/uncle — or not related at all.
Figuring out where the Jacob Bankston fit into the household of Lawrence Bankston (1704-1771) and Rebecca Hendricks (1710 -before 1786) required some in-depth research and a number of cousins working together.
How we figured out approximately when this Jacob was born:
His parents, Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks were married about 1725-6 in Pennsylvania and lived there first, but by 1744 Lawrence was listed as a taxpayer in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Land and court records pertaining to Lawrence’s estate reveal that he had five sons, and at least one daughter — she married James Lea.
In a 1793 a deposition of James Lea pertaining to land owned by Lawrence Bankston in Caswell County, North Carolina, he said that Andrew was his (Lawrence’s) eldest son, Peter was the second son, Lawrence (Jr.) was the third, Daniel was the fourth and Jacob was the fifth and youngest son. So now we had the birth order of the five sons.
Children in this time and locality were frequently born about two years apart, so based on the eldest child, probably a daughter, being born within a year after the couple was married, say 1727, this couple (Lawrence Sr. and Rebecca) could have had six children born from ca 1727 to about 1739, using an estimated time frame of about two years between each child (six children x 2 years apart = 12 years). There also is possibly another daughter that researchers believe is part of this family, but critical evidence is lacking.
If Jacob is the youngest child (we only know he is the youngest son) of Lawrence and Rebecca, his date of birth could range from about 1739 to 1743. Of especial interest in figuring out the ages of the sons of Lawrence is the 1755 tax list of Orange County, North Carolina, where is listed Lawrence Bankson [sic], Esq. and sons — 5 white polls. To be counted in the poll, each son had to be 16 years of age or older, which verified that Lawrence had four sons in 1755 — all born before 1739, but his fifth and youngest son, Jacob, evidently was born after 1739 or he would have been included on this tax list.
We also know the birthdate of this Jacob’s son, Elijah (probably his eldest child). It was 1765. [Elijah Bankston’s RW pension application is transcribed and online (under Elijah Bankcston (Bankston) R478) at http://revwarapps.org/
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
Men seldom married before age 21 in this time and locality, so it can estimated that Jacob, son of Lawrence, probably married about 1763, and that he was born about 1740, give or take a couple of years. In making this determination, it also threw serious doubt of the claim that Jacob had a son, Jacob Jr. born in 1760. Biologically, it is possible to be a father at about 20, but highly unlikely in this instance — and no prior marriage has been found for this Jacob. For whatever reason that Vacher assumed there was a Jacob Jr., she provided no evidence whatsoever to support it, and since she was going on the erroneous assumption that the older Jacob was born in 1731 (we do not know how she made that assumption either) it appears to be a “guesstimate” on her part, based on inaccurate information to start with. Apparently, she took the 1753 marriage in Philadelphia and attributed it to Lawrence’s Jacob, but she neglected to find the additional records, which more specifically identify the Jacob who married in 1753.
Additionally, with a more logical birthdate of 1740 for Jacob, son of Lawrence, it throws cold water on Vacher’s other unproven contention that this Jacob had a son, John, born in 1754 — at age 14! That obviously is not likely. (Researchers are working on determining the children of Jacob and Peter, as they both apparently had sons named William and John, but that is research in progress).
The marriage of a Jacob Bankston to a Nancy Brewer in Clarke County, Georgia on 5 October 1808 has caused numerous discussions and many have attempted to make this marriage of a Jacob Bankston Jr., arguing that Jacob Bankston Sr. was TOO OLD. That argument would be credible — IF the correct date of birth of the older Jacob Bankston had been known, but everyone uses the 1731 date given by Vacher (without any evidence) or the 1733 date by DAR (also unproven). But, if this Jacob Bankston was born say 1740-43, a second marriage to a younger woman would not be out of line. After all we have a Jacob found “laying out a road” in 1800 in Georgia, when he would have been (by estimation) 60 years old.
From "The early history of Jackson county, Georgia.
"The writings of the late G.J.N. Wilson . . .
At the June Term of the Inferior Court in 1800, this "Order" was passed: "Ordered, that Gabriel Hubbard, Jacob Bankston, James Stringer, Robt. McGowen, Richard Easley, Wm. Loyd and Richard Thurmond be commissioners to lay out a road leading from the High Shoals of the Appalatchee to Jackson court house so as to cross the bridge across the Middle river
where the county may appoint.
"George Wilson, Absalom Ramsey and Jas. Pittman, Judges."
Jacob in Mississippi Territory/Louisiana.
According to the American State Papers, a Jacob Bankston was a claimant of one parcel of land in Baton Rouge Parish Louisiana by settlement in 1806. That date establishes him as a very early settler before land grants or legal records. There was very little actual government. The Spanish were in Baton Rouge
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
but not active. In early 1800s there were many settlement claims that as many as 3 or 4 on one tract] were made by settlement. Some made 75 or more settlement claims. The American State Paper listing Jacob Bankston as a claimant in 1806 was prepared by two land office employees in the St. Helena Parish Land office on 18 Nov. 1820. This list has claimants from 1803 to 1820. The report states, "In relation to the settlements made anteriorly to 15 April, 1813, we conceive it unnecessary to make any remarks. Under the present law they are where fairly made, entitled to donations." [so the actual date of his land claim is open to conjecture, but probably before War of 1812]. When Jacob's claim was recorded it was dated 1820, He was listed with 638.47 acres in Section 49, Township 2 S and Range 9 E. It was also reported that the claim was in St. Tammany not Baton Rouge.
The patent was dated 8-6-1846. In the same Township and Range in Section 44 is George Brewer and in Section 46 is James Lea and in Section 41 is Levi Bankston. Jacob and Levi Bankston's land are adjoining. John Bankston's land is in Township 2 S, Range 8 E. Sections 13, 14, 23, and 24. So their (Jacob and John) land was not adjoining.
Apparently, Jacob returned to Clarke County, Georgia where he is found (with no evidence that he had sold or deeded away any of his property there), particularly in tax records until ca 1815. He appears to be the same man who removed to the Mississippi Territory about (by estimate) 1816-1819, although in 1811 he said he intended to go then (but perhaps the War of 1812 interfered with his plans). He appears to be the one shown in early land records of Louisiana, in Half Moon Baptist Church records of Washington Parish, Louisiana, in the American State Papers claiming land west of Pearl River, Louisiana, and in the 1820 census of Washington Parish, Louisiana.
Information in the Pearl River Baptist Association in Mississippi/Louisiana enables one to learn when Jacob Bankston showed up there. The “Abstracts from Minutes of the Mississippi Baptist Association Half Moon Bluff Baptist Church” shows the Delegates to Mississippi Baptist Association starting in 1812. In 1819 and 1820 is listed “N. Morris, (and) J. Bankston.” On 2 February 1822 (p .20) “Chose Brother Jacob Bankston, Moderator.” Jacob Bankston also was a delegate from Half Moon Bluff to Pearl River Association on Sept. 7-9, 1822 and is listed as an ordained minister in list of delegates in 1822. The last mention of him is in these church records is 1823.
In 1820 Washington Parish, Louisiana census, Jacob Bankston is listed with 1 white male 45+ and 1 white female 45+ and 2 white females under 10. Nancy [née Brewer] Bankston is enumerated in the 1830-1840-1850 Washington Parish, Louisiana censuses. Apparently Jacob Bankston died ca 1824-27 (the latter date is when Nancy is referred to as a widow). However, Procession (probate) records for him have not been found in Louisiana; and no probate records have been located in Clarke County, Georgia either.
Note: The John Bankston, born purportedly about 1754 is not the son of a Jacob, born ca 1740, but rather is the son of Peter Bankston (ca 1732-1804). Peter was Jacob’s older
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Jacob Bankston: son of Lawrence Bankston and Rebecca Hendricks; father of Araminta
brother and Peter married a Priscilla [—?--], who survived him, NOT a Rachel Williams as Vacher claimed, again mixing up the Philadelphia Bankston families with those in North Carolina and Georgia.
Relying on Ancestry trees is imprudent and irresponsible. Most of them are copied or imported from each other with no real independent research having been conducted and the compilers exhibiting little understanding of the historical documents cited or used. A search of dozens of these trees in which a Jacob Bankston appears (with various birth dates given) reveals almost everyone is copied from what’s called “Ancestry Family Tree.” An example taken from a “tree” pertaining to: Jacob Bankston, born 1760 in Guilford County, NC and who died in 1857 in Washington Parish, Louisiana. The only “source” cited is another Ancestry tree, which has no sources either. Here’s how it reads:
When Jacob Bankston and his twin brother Jacob were born in 1760 in Guilford, North Carolina, their father, Jacob, was 29, and their mother, Elsenor, was 26. He had six brothers and five sisters. He died in 1857 in Washington, Louisiana, at the impressive age of 97.”
Twins were never (in all of the years I’ve been researching) given the exact same name. Moreover, since we’ve proven that the Jacob who married Elsenor (Elinor) Cox died without heirs in 1757 in Philadelphia; it would be impossible for them to be parents of a child born in 1760 North Carolina.
Because so many inexperienced “family historians” especially rely upon Ancestry and FamilySearch (and other online) trees and cite Find-A-Grave as their “sources” for their data, it is critical that the Find- A-Grave community endeavor not to post or publish any information that is known to be false or misleading — and to remove same when gross inaccuracies are pointed out. It is impossible for one to know everything about a particular family, but the continued posting of erroneous information is a disservice to all genealogists and historians.
Family trees are never 100% complete or 100% accurate, and as new material is discovered, and DNA results are proving or disproving old links, the flexibility to so note those finds and correct old, inaccurate genealogies at Find-A-Grave is most important to the community.
And we all owe our ancestors the best work we can do.
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