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.

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.