The Banks Family

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.

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.

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

Newspaper: San Diego Union

Date: April 29, 1890