Family History - Person Sheet
Family History - Person Sheet
NameAndrew Bankson (unproven) 
1566
1566BirthJuly 2, 1748, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania2323
FatherAndrew Bankson (ca1720-1786)
MotherSarah Allen (ca1722-1786)
Spouses
MarriageOctober 30, 1771, Christ Church, Philadelphia2324
ChildrenJacob (Died as Infant) (1772-1773)
Marriageabout February 24, 1778, Burlington County, New Jersey2326
ChildrenSarah (ca1780-1857)
Notes for Andrew Bankson (unproven)
Basic demographic characteristics make Andrew Bankson a plausible, if unproven, father-in-law for Joseph Vandergrift. The ages of Andrew and Joseph’s daughter Sarah fit. The families are Episcopalian396,2324 and of respectable socio-economic status. Andrew had a brother who was an upholsterer2327 and who could have made an occupational connection with Joseph, who was a weaver.396 I’ve eliminated many other Banksons as possibilities, which is a fair strategy when there aren’t many people with a particular last name, which is the case here.
Perhaps the outstanding weakness of this scenario is the question of how Joseph Vandergrift, who evidently stayed very close to his roots in Bensalem for his whole life, could have met Andrew Bankson, who lived in downtown Philadelphia and across the Delaware River in New Jersey. These locations are all within greater Philadelphia, however, and there is demonstrated presence of both families in Byberry,2328,2329 a former town midway between Bensalem and downtown Philadelphia.
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The first sign of Andrew’s presence that I have found is the record that on October 1, 1771, a Richard Hunt became indentured to him.2330 A few weeks later, on October 30, he married Mary Tallman. Andrew Bankson, Jun’r. is shown in the 1774 tax lists2331 of the City of Philadelphia in the Upper Delaware Ward (northern downtown area). He had no land or taxable personal property, so was assessed no tax. In September 1776, he was in New Jersey and enlisted as an ensign in the Second Battalion.2332 He left that company in February 1777. By March of that year he was Quartermaster in the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania.2333 Records for March of 1778 show him as “in Arrest and Absent.”2334
Meanwhile, his wife Mary apparently died at some point. Andrew then married Elizabeth Ford in Monmouth, New Jersey on February 24 of 1778.2325 Augustine Tallman of Burlington County, New Jersey was one of the bondsmen for the remarriage.2335
On May 29, 1781, Andrew was admitted to a Masonic lodge.2336 In 1783, he was witness for the marriage bond of George Elkington and Beulah Wells in the Township of Burlington, New Jersey.2337 In the same year, he was witness for the appointment of a guardian for Thomas Woodmancy Talman, the minor son of Thomas Talman, deceased, of Evesham Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.2338 It may be noted that the younger Thomas was later co-administrator for the estate of Andrew’s brother William.2339
The New Jersey census records for 1790 through 1820 were lost in a fire, so the first-choice source of information about Andrew’s later life is unavailable.
Perhaps the outstanding weakness of this scenario is the question of how Joseph Vandergrift, who evidently stayed very close to his roots in Bensalem for his whole life, could have met Andrew Bankson, who lived in downtown Philadelphia and across the Delaware River in New Jersey. These locations are all within greater Philadelphia, however, and there is demonstrated presence of both families in Byberry,2328,2329 a former town midway between Bensalem and downtown Philadelphia.
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The first sign of Andrew’s presence that I have found is the record that on October 1, 1771, a Richard Hunt became indentured to him.2330 A few weeks later, on October 30, he married Mary Tallman. Andrew Bankson, Jun’r. is shown in the 1774 tax lists2331 of the City of Philadelphia in the Upper Delaware Ward (northern downtown area). He had no land or taxable personal property, so was assessed no tax. In September 1776, he was in New Jersey and enlisted as an ensign in the Second Battalion.2332 He left that company in February 1777. By March of that year he was Quartermaster in the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania.2333 Records for March of 1778 show him as “in Arrest and Absent.”2334
Meanwhile, his wife Mary apparently died at some point. Andrew then married Elizabeth Ford in Monmouth, New Jersey on February 24 of 1778.2325 Augustine Tallman of Burlington County, New Jersey was one of the bondsmen for the remarriage.2335
On May 29, 1781, Andrew was admitted to a Masonic lodge.2336 In 1783, he was witness for the marriage bond of George Elkington and Beulah Wells in the Township of Burlington, New Jersey.2337 In the same year, he was witness for the appointment of a guardian for Thomas Woodmancy Talman, the minor son of Thomas Talman, deceased, of Evesham Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.2338 It may be noted that the younger Thomas was later co-administrator for the estate of Andrew’s brother William.2339
The New Jersey census records for 1790 through 1820 were lost in a fire, so the first-choice source of information about Andrew’s later life is unavailable.