Abraham Van Rance Bancker (genealogy)

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Surname/tag: Bancker

'Abraham Van Rance Bancker of Philadelphia', in Howard James Banker, A Partial History and Genealogical Record of the Bancker or Banker Families of America and in particular the descendants of Laurens Mattyse Bancker (1909), pp.338-341; image copy, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/15375/images/dvm_GenMono000806-00174-0?pId=339 : accessed 7 November 2023).

'ABRAHAM VAN RANCE BANCKER OF PHILADELPHIA.'

'411. ABRAHAM VAN RANCE BANCKER was born in Baltimore, Md., about 1804. His father is supposed to have been engaged in flour milling, and it is believed that his name was also Abraham Van Rance. The father seems to have died when his family were young, and the boys at least were bound out to learn a trade. One of the boys, Joseph, is said to have lived in New York City and to have had a large family, but no trace of them has been found. There was at least one girl, Maria, who never married and lived in Mt. Joy, Pa. Abraham had a son whom he named Marinus. This son is still living and understands that he got his name from Col. Marinus Willet, who was in some way connected to the family by marriage. This suggests that the family is descended from one of the sons of Christopher, No. 306,* but none of Christopher's sons was named Abraham. I am inclined to doubt the family tradition that the father of Abraham was a nother Abraham, but would not be surprised if his name was William and that he married a Van Rance. However, there is no proof of this and it is idle to speculate with so few facts. A careful search of Baltimore records has furnished no clue to the family,† but it seems very probable that it is in some way connected with the Adam Bancker family.‡'

[footnote] '* See page 250.

[footnote] '† An Abraham Banniker, born Oct. 13, 1769, was left an orphan in 1785, but it is not probable he has any connection with the above family.'

[footnote] '‡ See page 343.'

'We know certainly that Abraham drifted to Philadelphia when a young man and there married Elizabeth Grubb about 1826. He became a tailor and lived the rest of his life in that city. He was a soldier in the Mexican War and also served throughout the Civil War in the same regiments as his son Marinus. He died in 1869. His wife died at the age of 68 years. He had the following children:'

'Valeida;'

'John;'

'Morris,'

'Marinus,'

['Morris' and 'Marinus' are joined with the remark: 'bo. Aug. 12, 1845;']'

'Charles, died young;'

'William;'

'Mary, died young;'

'Louise;'

'Van Rance;'

'Hiram Lee;'

'Joseph.'

'Valeida was the eldest. She married an Arnold and lived at Iona, Mich. She had at least one son, Henry, who is said to be still living there.'

'John married and had six children. He was chief bugler in the 13th Connecticut Vol. during the Civil War, and at Port Hudson under General Banks he was one of 200 picked men selected to make a desperate charge over the ramparts of the enemy. The charge was not actually made on account of the surrender of the place. He lived in Philadelphia after the war and is now dead. His wife and two sons and a daughter were living in 1900.'

'Morris was a twin to Marinus and died young.'

'Marinus married, Dec. 23, 1863, Hannah Gilmore, who was born Mar. 20, 1846, a daughter of Elizabeth and Arthur Gilmore. He enlisted, Apr. 24, 1861, with the consent of his father, in Co. E, 18th Pa. Vol. Inf. to serve three months, then re-enlisted in Co. C, 91st Pa. Vol. Inf. for three years. After serving over two years, he re-enlisted in the field under orders from the War Department as a veteran volunteer in the same regiment for three years more or during the war. He served until the end of the war and was in every engagement of the Army of the Potomac up to the surrender at Appomattox. He was never wounded, but was once captured by General Ross's Brigade and was soon recaptured by the New Jersey Brigade. He holds three honorable discharges from the Civil War service. He also enlisted in the Spanish War in Co. I, 71st N. Y. Vol., and was all through Cuba with General Shafter. He is a cigar-maker and has his home in Springfield, Mass., with his son. He has only one child, William Marinus, who was born Mar. 16, 1874. The latter married, Aug. 22, 1902, Louise Perry, who was born Oct. 30, 1880, a daughter of Amos Perry and Almira La Belle. he enlisted in Co. C, 1st Reg't U. S. Marine Corps and was with General Chaffee all through the Boxer uprising in China and marched to Peking to the relief of the legations. He is a cigar-maker in Springfield, Mass., and has three children: Edward, born Mar. 29, 1903; Howard, born Nov. 4, 1905; and John, born May 18, 1906.'

'William was a physician and druggist in New York City and is now dead. He had one son, Charles, who was a druggist on Eighth Ave., in Harlem, in 1900.'

'Louise married Daniel P. Dieterich, owner of the Goodyear Patent Right. He died Mar. 1, 1892, aged 58 years. She was living in 1900 at the Colonade Hotel, Cor. 15th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia. She had no children.'

'Van Rance married and lived in Lexington, Va. He fought on the Confederate side in the Civil War and was an orderly sergeant in a battery of artillery in the famous "Stonewall" Jackson's Brigade. After the war he disappeared suddenly and nothing is known of him. His wife and two children are believed to be living in Lexington.'

'Hiram married about 1855 Margaret Welsh. He was a musician and lived in Philadelphia, where he died about 1858 or 1859. His widow married again and had six children. Her second husband is dead. She was living in 1900. Hiram had only one child, Hiram Lee, born Sept. 2, 1856. He married first Julia Gable, who died of typhoid fever one year and four months after her marriage. He then married, Jan. 31, 1898, Lucy Garver, who was born Sept. 29, 1875, a daughter of Wesley B. and Susanna Garver. He is a stone-cutter and a chenille-weaver and was living in 1900 at 2969 Leithgow St., Philadelphia. He had no children by either marriage.'