John Banks (abt. 1638 - 1710)

Born about 1638 in Sunderland, Issell, Cumberland, England

Husband of Ann (Littledale) Banks — married 25 Aug 1664 in Pardshaw, Cumberland, England

Descendants

Died 6 Oct 1710 at about age 72 in Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, England

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Biography

John was a Friend (Quaker)

A member of the early Quaker leaders and preachers known as the Valiant Sixty, John was born about 1638 at Sunderland, Issell, Cumberland the only child of William and Emme Banks.^[1] His father had no real estate but was a tenant farmer, fellmonger and glover. Both of his parents became members of the Pardshaw Monthly Meeting after John's conversion. He attended school from age seven to fourteen and at age fourteen taught school one year at Dissington. After this he was employed at Mosser Chapel near Pardshaw where he read the scriptures and homily to parishoners but was disillusioned. In the tenth month of 1654, Banks wrote that he "received the knowledge of God" never having heard a Quaker speak or attending one of their meetings.^[1] Shortly after, attending a Quaker meeting at Pardshaw, he was "smitten to the ground with the weight of God's judgment" and helped up by two Friends.

John Banks, along with several other Quakers, was first imprisoned in 1663 at Carlisle for defying a justice of the peace who had struck a Quaker woman in prayer in Cumberland.^[2] His release was granted after some weeks and the extraction of one cow and horse from his father, with whom he lived, worth six pound ten shilling.^[1] Shortly after his release he was jailed again for not being able to pay the fees that were in addition to the fines covered by livestock. After this episode which consumed much of early 1663, he traveled and preached through Westmorland, Lancashire and some parts of Yorkshire before visiting more distant counties.

He married, first, Ann Littledale on 26 Aug 1664 at a friends house in Pardshaw, Cumberland.^[1] By his own writing, it appears he stayed at home for approximately four years until sometime in 1668 he was called forth "to travel in the work of the ministry," which included Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. He wrote that his travels in 1668 had taken him twelve hundred and sixty-eight miles covering much of England. From the letters between John and Ann it is seen that Ann had first become ill sometime in 1668. In 1670 he made the first of approximately a dozen crossings to Ireland. In Ireland he was jailed at Wicklow but an understanding jailer allowed him to hold meetings in the jail causing more furor among the priesthood. After questioning Banks regarding his beliefs, the governor freed him.

In 1684, Banks was again imprisoned at Carlisle in Cumberland for a period of six years and nine months. Nearly immediately upon his release, Banks resumed his travels and preaching. Ann passed away 2 Dec 1691 and was buried 4 or 6 Dec 1691 (the day is not clear in John Banks' Journal) at the Friends burial ground at Eglesfield, Cumberland.^[3] John Banks called her death "the greatest trial I was ever met with."

He married, second, the widow Hannah Champion (of Meare, Somerset) 28 Oct 1696 at Glastonbury.^[4][5] He settled in Meare, Somerset with Hannah, continued his endeavors, and attended each Yearly Meeting in London. By mid-1705 he was at times severly afflicted with gout causing him to restrict his travel. In 1708, he removed to Street near Glastonbury to be near friends and his Meeting. By mid-1709 the infirmities of old age and gout required him to be assisted at most times but it is written that his spirit remained cheerful and that he was at peace. He passed away 6 Oct 1710 at his home in Somerset, England.^[4]

Children

• Sarah - b 28 Oct 1666, Pardshaw^[6]
• John (twin) - b 12 Jun 1669, Pardshaw, Cumberland^[6]
• Mary (twin) - b 12 Jun 1669, Pardshaw, Cumberland^[6]
• Ann - b 11 Oct 1672, Pardshaw, Cumberland^[6]
• Mary - b 20 Dec 1674, Pardshaw, Cumberland. Note that this is a second Mary indicating that the Mary of 1669 had not survived childhood.^[6]
• Emme - b 9 Jul 1678, Moor Gate, Cumberland^[6]
• William - b 23 Aug 1680, Moor Gate, Cumberland^[6]

Note: John, Sarah, Ann, Mary, William and Emme are all addressed in various letters John Banks wrote while imprisoned. In one letter John is called the eldest but Sarah was born three years earlier.

Research Notes

While John Banks was associated with Pardshaw Monthly Meeting, he is not the same John Banks who married Susannah Steel 17 Apr 1695. The John who marrries Susannah Steel appears to be John Banks' eldest son John.

Daughter Sarah was in service in London in 1682 according to a letter from her father.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Journal of John Banks, Doctrinal Treatises and Other Writings of Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Ed. Evans and Evans), Rakestraw, Philadelphia, 1838, II:8, 12
2. ↑ Besse, Joseph, A collection of the sufferings of the people called Quakers, London, Hinde, 1752 Vol I:129, 134, 125
3. ↑ Journal of John Banks, p. 40, Google Books
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Testimony of Hannah Banks, Journals, Doctrinal Treatises and Other Writings of Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Ed. Evans and Evans), Rakestraw, Philadelphia, 1838, Vol II:7
5. ↑ Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1176: Monthly Meeting of Middle Div of Somerset (Frome, Yeovil, Glastonbury) (1652-1762)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6} Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1026: Monthly Meeting of Pardshaw (Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Broughton)(1650-1787)

• Christopher Farrand. Family and Ministry: John Banks as Minister and Father in 'Quaker Connections' (magazine of the UK Quaker Family History Society), November 2020, pp.5-13