The Banks Family
1 Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………….………….…… 1 Henderson, Kentucky……………….……..…………….….……. 2 The Great Migration………………………….………………….…….. 3 The Midwest………………………….…………..……………….…… 4 Danville, Illinois…….…….……...….….……………..………… 5 Detroit, Michigan……….….…...……….……………..…..….…. 6 Chicago, Illinois…..…….…………….…………….….………… 7 California Migration……………………………………….……..……. 8 Southern California………………………………………….…… 9 Northern California……………...……………………………… 10 Marriage………………………………………………………….....… 11 Military………………………………………………………………...12 Church…………………………………………………………………13 School………………………………………………………………… 14 Maps………………………………….………….…………………….15 Deaths………………………………………………………………… 16 Index…………………………………………….……………………. 17
George Banks and his wife Fannie are shown listed in the 1870 United States Federal Census in Henderson County, Kentucky. The couple is buried at Mount Zion Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky on U.S. Highway 41. The preceding generation of Banks would embark on a journey at the turn of the century filled with new opportunities throughout the United States. The eldest two sons George Jr. and John trekked to California in the 1880s while the eldest daughter Mary migrated to Chicago, Illinois. The remaining children: Drucilla, Bully, James, and Sallie remained in Henderson with their parents. The descendants of James Banks would eventually migrate to Detroit, Michigan during the Great Migration. This family history book details their experiences as well as maps out the places along their journey.
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In the 1880s George Banks, Jr. and his brother John Banks left Henderson, Kentucky en route to California for better opportunities. Shortly after arriving to California, they both got married and started to build their family’s legacy.
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California
Marriages by State
• George Banks and Mattie Freeman
• Clarence Zurita and Delores Bradley
Illinois
• James Thomas Banks and Carrie Pace
• Ewing “Pete” Banks and Bessie Orton
• Catherine Louise Banks and Jesse Smith
Kentucky
• James Banks and Anna Banks
• James Thomas Banks and Carrie Pace
• James Thomas Banks and Estelle Kelley
• Lelia Banks and Vannie Schaffer
• Gustava Cooper and Ed Cooper
• Clarence Banks and Sophia Robinson
• Nina Cooper and Edgar Turner, Sr.
Michigan
• James Anne Towles and Isaac Hood
• Edgar Turner, Jr. and Laurel Williams
• Kenneth Turner, Sr. and Gloria Jean Mosley
• George “Jack” Banks and Laura Thornton
• Dorothy Cooper and William Snell
• Drusilla Banks married William Conley
New York
• Robert Edward Banks, Sr. and Lucy Mills
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Newspaper: San Diego Union
Date: April 29, 1890
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Figure 1. Family Tree of Clarence Zurita (son of Arthur G. Banks, Sr.)
The Great Migration (1910-1970)
The Banks family remaining in Henderson would leave the town during The Great Migration. The first of James and Anna Banks children to leave Henderson was James Thomas Banks. He would gain success working as a train dining car chef. More than 20,000 African Americans worked as Pullman porters by the 1920s.
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James Thomas Banks Jr.
Birth: 19 Mar 1888 in Henderson, Kentucky
Marriage: 27 May 1914; 3 Dec 1954
Death: 13 Dec 1971 in Chicago, Illinois
Burial Location: Washington Memory Gardens (Thornton, Illinois)
James Thomas Banks was born in Henderson, Kentucky and moved to Chicago, Illinois shortly after turning 22 years old. During his adulthood he spent many years living in Jones, Michigan. He died in Chicago, Illinois on December 13, 1971.
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Children of James Banks and his wife Anna
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James Thomas Banks (1888-1971)
Clarence Edward Banks (1891-1960)
Ewing Rankin Banks (1895-1947) Also known as: Uncle Thomas Also known as: Uncle Pete
Gustava Banks (1889-1977)
Lelia Banks (1897-1985)
Druscilla Banks (1899-1931) Also known as: Grandma Cooper
The Great Migration continued…
The second youngest son of James and Anna Banks married Sophia Robinson on 28 Oct 1914. The couple had four children including Clara Mae, Ruth Elizabeth, Robert, and Catherine. In the late 1920s they left Henderson, Kentucky to Danville, Illinois.
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Catherine Louise Banks
Danville High School (Danville, Illinois)
Listed as K. Banks in the 1937 class yearbook
Gustava Cooper (née Banks)
Birth: 8 Sep 1889 in Henderson, Kentucky
Marriage: Unknown
Death: 15 Sep 1977 in Detroit, Michigan
Clarence Banks resided at 578 E. Ferry Street in the 1930 United States Federal Census. The head of household was Lelia Shaffer (née Banks). His sisters Lelia, Drusilla, and Gustava along with their mother Georgianna (Anna) Banks and brother Ewing (Pete) Banks were listed as living in the household as well. Others listed in the household were George Henry (Jack) Banks, Nina V. Cooper, Dorothy M. Cooper, and Jamesanna (Janie) Banks.
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The Great Depression and The Aftermath
During the nation’s economic depression, Clarence Banks left his wife in pursuit of better opportunities in Detroit, Michigan.
The couple’s eldest child, Ruth Banks fell ill shortly before Clarence’s departure and passed away at the age of 15 years old. Clarence, convinced that his wife could not care for her children alone, sent two of his children to accompany him in Detroit. His daughter, Clara, and son, Robert, Sr. were left to live with their extended family.
Clara contracted tuberculosis while living in the confined living space. Clarence did not contact his wife about the death for several months and refused to disclose her burial location. Sophia shared the devastating news with a prominent family in Danville, Illinois. The wife of the prominent family empathized with Sophia and paid for an investigator to locate additional information, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
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1940 United States Federal Census (Danville, Illinois)
Sophia Banks and her daughter Catherine Banks remained in Danville, Illinois. Sophia was forced to fend for her and her only living daughter after husband, Clarence Banks had abandoned them in 1929.
Sophia was trying to make ends meet but could not find full-time employment, so she decided to write a letter to the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A few weeks after mailing her request, she received notice to report to a local nursery school to start her new job as a cook under the WPA program.
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Spring 1991
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California
Internments by State
Mt. Hope Cemetery (San Diego, California)
• George Banks, Jr.
Rose Hills Memorial Park (Whittier, California)
• Helen Elizabeth Harris
Illinois
Atherton Cemetery (Danville, Illinois)
• Ruth Elizabeth Banks
Lincoln Cemetery (Blue Island, Illinois)
• Mary Bailey
Washington Memory Gardens (Thornton, Illinois)
• James Thomas Banks
Kentucky
Mount Zion Cemetery (Henderson, Kentucky)
• George Banks, Sr.
• Fannie Banks
Fernwood Cemetery (Henderson, Kentucky)
• James Banks
• Anna Banks
• Martha Anne Banks
• Ewing Banks
Michigan
Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery (Warren, Michigan)
• Sophia Banks Deadwiler
• Catherine Smith
Poe Cemetery (Jones, Michigan)
• Carrie Banks
Wendt-Lincoln Cemetery (Clinton Township, Michigan)
• Clara Mae Banks
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Carrie Banks (née Pace)
1st Wife of James Thomas Banks
Birth: 7 Dec 1887 in Atlanta, Georgia
Marriage: 27 May 1914 in Chicago, Illinois
Death: 22 Mar 1954 in Dowagiac, Michigan
Burial Location: Poe Cemetery in Jones, Michigan
GPS Coordinates: 41.92750, -85.81870
Historical Records
1910 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
1950 United States Federal Census
Cook County, Illinois Marriage
Indexes, 1912-1924
Michigan, Deaths, and Burials
Index, 1867-1995
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Carrie is buried at Poe Cemetery in Jones, Michigan.
Ewing “Pete” Banks
Birth: 3 Aug 1895 in Henderson, Kentucky
Marriage: 29 Dec 1920 in Chicago, Illinois
Death: 1 Nov 1947 in Henderson, Kentucky
Burial Location: Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky
Historical Records
1910 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
1950 United States Federal Census
Cook County, Illinois Marriage Indexes, 1912-1924
World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963
GPS Coordinates: 37.82433, -87.59120
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Ewing is buried at Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky
Descendants of George and Fannie Banks
(1) George Banks and his wife Fannie were born in Kentucky. Their parents are unknown. George Banks was born circa 1826 and Fannie was born circa 1830. Their children are listed below in order by birth.
(2) Mary Banks
(2) George Banks, Jr.
(2) John Banks
(2) Nannie Drusilla Banks
(2) Bully Banks
(2) James Banks
(2) Sallie Banks
Children of George and Fannie
(2) Mary Banks married Channon (Bailey) Barrett
(3) William Channon Bailey-Barrett
(3) Fannie Bailey-Barrett
(3) George Bailey-Barrett
(3) John Bailey-Barrett
(3) Birchey Bailey-Barrett
(2) George Banks, Jr. married Mattie Freeman
(3) Arthur Garfield Banks, Sr.
(3) Sandie James Banks
(2) John Banks married Rosa Slayton
(2) Nannie Drusilla Banks married Jack Robinson
(2) Bully Banks married Unknown
(2) James Banks married Georgianna “Anna” Bentley
(3) James Thomas Banks
(3) Gustava Banks
(3) Clarence Edward Banks
(3) Ewing “Pete” Banks
(3) Leila Banks
(3) Drusilla Banks
(2) Sallie Banks married James Williams
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Grandchildren of George and Fannie
(3) Fannie Bailey-Barrett married Rogers Walker1
(4) Bessie Jones
(4) Sallie Walker1
(4) Eugene Rogers Walker1
(3) George Bailey-Barrett married Josephine Jackson
(4) Mary Ann Bailey-Barrett
(4) Rebecca Bailey-Barrett
(4) Edna Bailey-Barrett
(4) Josephine Bailey-Barrett
(3) Birchey Bailey-Barrett married Susie Dean Brown
(4) Birchey Bailey, Jr.
(3) Arthur Garfield Banks, Sr. married Emma Allen1 , Mary Zurita2
(4) Arthur Garfield Banks, Jr.1
(4) Clarence Zurita2
(3) Sandie James Banks married Helen Viola Clayton
(3) James Thomas Banks married Carrie Pace1 Estelle Kelley2
(3) Gustava Banks married Ed Cooper
(4) George Henry Banks
(4) Nina Virginia Cooper
(4) Dorothy Cooper
(3) Clarence Edward Banks married Sophia Robinson
(4) Ruth Elizabeth Banks
(4) Clara Mae Banks
(4) Robert Edward Banks, Sr.
(4) Catherine Louise Banks
(3) Ewing “Pete” Banks married Bessie Orton1 Fannie Ramsey2
(4) Mark Anthony Banks1
(4) Martha Anne Banks2
(3) Leila Banks married Vannie Schaffer1 Herbert Towles2
(4) Harold Lee Schaffer1
(4) James Anna Towles2
(3) Drusilla Banks married William Conely
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Great grandchildren of George and Fannie
(4) Bessie Jones married Richard Williams
(4) Sallie Walker
(4) Eugene Rogers Walker
(4) Mary Ann Bailey-Barrett
(4) Rebecca Bailey-Barrett married Kale Ketter Moore
(5) Rosetta Moore
(4) Edna Bailey-Barrett
(4) Josephine Bailey-Barrett married Floyd Buchanan
(5) Floyd Buchanan Jr.
(5) Walter Nathaniel Buchanan
(4) Birchey Bailey, Jr.
(4) Arthur Garfield Banks, Jr.
(4) Clarence Zurita married Delores Bradley
(5) Satra Zurita
(5) Janna Zurita
(4) George “Jack” Banks married Laura Cecil Mae Thornton
(5) Maxine Alexander
(5) Nina Banks
(5) Jacqueline Davis
(4) Nina Virginia Cooper married Edgar Turner, Sr.
(5) Donald Turner
(5) Edgar Turner, Jr.
(5) Joan Turner
(5) Kenneth Turner Sr.
(4) Dorothy Cooper married William Snell
(4) Ruth Elizabeth Banks
(4) Clara Mae Banks
(4) Robert Edward Banks, Sr. married Lucy Mills
(4) Catherine Louise Banks married Jesse Smith
(4) Mark Anthony Banks married Barbara Ann Glynn
(4) Martha Anne Banks
(4) Harold Lee Schaffer married Ruby Miller
(4) James Anna Towles married Isaac Hood
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Banks, Mattie…..
Banks, Nathan…….… 10
Banks, Robert Sr…...… 6
Banks, Rosa……
Banks, Ruth………….. 2
Banks, Sallie…….…... 2
Cooper, Doris………….
Cooper, Gustava……… 6
Deadwiler, Sophia…….
Harris, Helen………
Hood, James Anna…..
McClure, Camille…….
McClure, Terry……..
Robinson, Nannie….
Schaffer, Harold…
Schaffer, Lelia…
Snell, Dorothy……….
Turner, Donald………….
Turner, Edgar Jr……….
Turner, Kenneth………..
Turner, Laurel…………..
Turner, Nina…………….
Zurita, Clarence……. 10
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Amanda…….... 10 Banks, Arthur Sr......... 10 Banks, Bully………
Carrie…………. Banks, Catherine L….... 6 Banks, Catherine R….. 10 Banks, Channel Sr.…... 10 Banks, Channel Jr…… 10 Banks, Clara Mae….…. 2 Banks, Clarence…..….. 9 Banks, Drucilla………. 2 Banks, Drucilla………. 2 Banks, Edward………. 10 Banks, Ewing…..…...... 2 Banks, Fannie……….... 2 Banks, George……….. 10 Banks, George H……. ..6 Banks, George Jr…..…10 Banks, George Sr…….. 2 Banks, Gregory Sr…..… 9 Banks, Helen………. 10 Banks, James…….……. 2 Banks, James T…….... 7 Banks, Laura…………... Banks, Mark…….…….9
Name Index Banks,
Banks,
Banks, Martha………… 2 Banks, Mary…….…… 2
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