History of Appanoose County, Iowa
Chicago: Western Historical Company,
1878
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W[esley] J[ohnson]
Banks, farmer, Section 8, Bellair Township, Appanoose County, Iowa; Post Office Centerville is of English descent. He was born in Grant County,
Kentucky, July 28, 1825. He is related to General Banks
of Massachusetts. His grandfather
was a soldier of the Revolution, enlisted when sixteen years of age and served for 7 years.
He was among the first settlers of Kentucky, moved to Putnam County, Indiana where he
was also an early settler. He was a farmer, his half-brother, Linn Banks served 12 months
in the War of 1812, under Richard Johnson of Kentucky. He had his horse shot from under him. He was beside
Tecumseh when he fell. When W. J.
Banks was fourteen years of age his father died. He and his elder brother, Daniel
P., kept house alone
until June 1846 when he
and his half-brother, James R., enlisted
for the
Mexican War.
He was in the
1st Indiana
Infantry under Col. James P. Drake. He was Corporal of Company A. His
brother died the first year, he
re-enlisted as wagon Master and served until the close of the war. He then went with a company
of troops to California as
teamster. He was 6 months on the road from the mouth of the Rio Grande,
some of the time living on one and
one-half crackers a day. After losing the greater part of an extensive and
valuable train in crossing
the
desert they arrived in Los Angeles.
He was discharged at Monterey, March 31, 1849.
He kept a livery stable and mined for one and one-half years. He returned to Indiana on December 23, 1852. He married
Nancy Wells Talbott. She was born in Putnam County, Indiana in 1831, the daughter
of Thomas Talbott, the youngest son of Edward Talbott who served in the Revolutionary War, afterward a pastor of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. At a meeting of the relatives of her father held at his residence
in Indiana in 1851, there were 180 members of the
family. Her mother's maiden name was Rankin, died in
September 1853. In 1864, Mr.
Banks settled in
Appanoose County where he now resides,
owns 270
acres of land valued at
$25 per
acre. They have 5
children: William E., a druggist in Russell,
Russell County,
Kansas, born in Indiana
in 1855; James
W., born in 1858; Thomas
W., born in 1860; Daniel
V., born in 1862;
Frank T., born in 1866, all at home, except the eldest.
Mr. Banks was a Whig in politics, now a Democrat. He held the office of Township
Trustee. Mrs. Banks is a member
of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
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The Centerville
Journal
28 August 1913 – Page 1
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Wesley
J. Banks, familiarity known to many residents of Appanoose county as
“Uncle”. Wesley Banks, one of the
earlier pioneer citizens of the county and for years one of the potent
influences in its development, a veteran of the Mexican war and a man well
respected and loved by all who knew him, passed away Sunday forenoon at 11:30
at the home of his son with whom he had made his home. The deceased had just
past his 88th birthday on the 28th of July upon which occasion
he had received many more than a hundred remembrances from his friends
throughout the county.
Wesley
J. Banks was born July 28th 1825, in Gerrard county, Kentucky, died
August 24, 1913, aged 88 years and 24 days. He was united in marriage to Nancy
Talbot Dec. 21, 1852. To this union was
born nine children three dying in infancy and a daughter at the age of 14. One son James died May 3, 1902. He is survived
by four sons, D. V. Banks, with whom he made his home, William of Loveland,
Colo., T. W. of near Cincinnati, and Frank of near Centerville, and by a host
of relatives and friends who mourn their loss. The funeral services were held
at 1:30 Monday from the late home of the deceased, conducted by Rev. J. H.
Carr, an old friend of the family accompanied by the members of the G.A.R. who
attended in a body. The interment was made in Oakland cemetery.
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