Banta Bunch

So here we are climbing the family tree, such a huge tree with many, many branches.
I've always wanted to know more about the faces that peer at me from old family photographs
Oh, how I wish I had the foresight to ask more questions when my grandparents were alive.

My first search started with my paternal grandmother's parents, Ella Mae Banta Hawkins.
The Banta family line begins with one Epke Jacobse Banta.

                                                              
                                                          
                                                                 Epke Jacobse Banta

Epke Jacobse Banta:

He had been a miller in Minnertsga and Oosterbeirum in the 1640's and 1650's. Court records indicate he and his wife bought a house in Oosterbeirum in 1652, but sold it at a loss in 1655, returning to Minnertsga. When his mother died in 1652, she left an inheritence to him, which was held in trust by his father until after 2-1656. On 10-8-1656 he was arrested, brought before the Public Prosecutor, and fined for permitting a Roman Catholic Priest in his home to baptize his child.

                                    Image Credit: L.F. Tantillo (Len Tantillo)

                          I recently discovered a painting of the ship that carried my ancestors to America on the first voyage of The Faith! They set sail Feb. 13, 1659 and arrived May 5, with 98 colonists aboard. In the background is Manhattan Bay. Gov. Pieter Stuyvenant's "Great House" and the church within the walls of Fort Amsterdam are the most prominent skyline buildings.

An only son, Epke brought his wife and family from the Port of Harlingen to New Amsterdam, departing 2-12-1659. They came on the 'De Trouw' (the Faith), Captained by Jan Jansen Bestevaer. This was when the Dutch West India Company was rushing to colonize more rapidly than the English, thereby retaining it's stronghold on the area. The List of Passengers shows him as Epke Jacobsen, farmer from Harlingen, along with his wife and sons, aged 3/4, 2, 3 4, and 6. He first settled at Vlissingen (now Flushing, Queens County) on Long Island, where he was an Innkeeper. He removed to Bergen (now Jersey City) by about 1675. He was appointed a judge and member of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1679. On 3-25-1685 he obtained 183 acres at New Hackensack (Hackensack River, near Overpeck's Creek). On 6-17-1685 he sold land to Hendrick Rinckerhoff at Old Hackensack. He appears on many court documents in the Hackensack area from then until his death as Epke Jacobs. The name 'Bonta', 'Bonter' or 'Banta' is believed derived from the farm on which his Grandparents lived near the Frisian Arum. However, members of the family were referred to very extensively as Epke, Eptkey, etc. in records into the mid 1500's. --------------------

Epke and his wife lived in the vicinity of Harlingen, an important seaport of Friesland. Research indicates that he was a miller, the owner of a "wintmolen" or windmill. They lived first at Oosterbierum where their son Seba was born, and later at Minnertsga where their other children were born. These are both small villages within a mile of the Zuyder Zee. This part of Friesland is flat and much of it is below sea level and protected by dykes. Land had become scarce in Holland. Freedom of religion had drawn many people from other countries, which put a strain on an already over-crowded country. This may have been a factor in why Epke chose to emigrate to America. He immigrated in 1659 to America. The family left Friesland, Holland late in1658 or early the next year and set sail for America. They arrived in New Netherland on February 12, 1659 on the ship DeTrouw (The Faith) with Captain Jan Jansen Bestevaer. They settled in Flushing on Long Island about eleven miles from New Amsterdam, where they became innkeepers. Twelve years later on December 29, 1671, Epke purchased a grist mill in the adjoining town of Jamaica. Sometime after their arrival, the family discarded the use of the patronymic naming system. As you can see from the early generations, the use of a family surname was not practiced by the inhabitants of Friesland, and thus to distinguish one John from another, for example, there was added the baptismal name of the father, usually with the addition of se, s, or sen indicating relationship. Thus, Epke, son of Jacob, was known as Epke Jacobs or Jacobse. The first use of the Banta family name so far as is known started in 1640 in Holland where he had begun to sign his name as Jacobi Epkes te Bonta. This appears in the States Archives in Friesland at Leewarden. Translated, the spelling means "Jacob Epkes at Bonta". Most likely it was derived from the fact that Epke's grandparents had a farm named Bonta near the Frisian Arum. In America the first use of the surname appears in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church records of Hackensack, NJ on August 22, 1696. For a short time thereafter the name appeared sometimes as Banta and sometimes as Epke. Research indicates that since the name was not used in Holland by any other family, it is safe to assume that all those bearing the Banta name descend from Epke Jacobs. 

Long Island was partly inhabited by English and partly by Dutch. Both countries felt they owned it. The English King promised the island to his brother, James the Duke of York. They sent Captain John Scott to Long Island.  He arrived at the end of December 1663, where he took over some of the Dutch villages. Peter Stuyvesant was unable to come to the aid of the villages because his troops were engaged in hostilities with the Indians. After several months, the English sent ships into the Hudson River, and Stuyvesant was forced to surrender. When the English came to power, they imposed heavy taxes on the Dutch settlers.  Epke Jacobs sold his mill on Long Island sometime before 1675 and moved his family to New Jersey. Many other Dutch families followed suit.  He died Unknown. He was married to Tyeeta Dirckadr before 1652.

Children:

·         Cornelius Epke (born in 1652).

·         Seba Epke (born in 1654).

·         Hendrick Epke Banta (born in 1655).

·         Derrick Epke (born in 1657).

·         Weart Epke (born in May 1658).

Jacobs Mill

Banta Swift Creek homestead, PA

According to Theodore M Banta in his book "Conquest of a Continent" Hendrick Banta's house in the Conewago settlement. Built in 1743, he purchased it a few years later. He and his family lived in it for 13 years before going to Kentucky.

Hendrick "Henry" III Banta died on October 14, 1805, when he was 86 years old in Shelby, KY.

Andrew Jackson Banta was born on January 9, 1790, in Nichols, Kentucky.He died in 1873 in Bourbon, Kentucky, having lived a long life of 83 years.

 Andrews J was the son of Hendrick "Henry" Banta who was born on January 23, 1762, in Sussex, New Jersey and his father was Hendrick Banta- born on July 27, 1740, in Hackensack, New Jersey,

Hendrick "Henry" III Banta was born on December 9, 1718, in Hackensack, New Jersey

Hendrick II Banta was born on January 13, 1696, in Hackensack, New Jersey

 Hendrick Epke Banta was born in June 1655 in Minnertsga, Friesland, Netherlands

  Epke Jacobse Banta was born in 1619 in Harlingen, Friesland, Netherlands

Jacob Epkese was born in 1598 in Arum, Friesland, Netherlands

Epke Lieuwse was born in 1569 in Het Bildt, Friesland, Netherlands

Lieuwse Te Banta was born in 1540 in Minnertsga, Friesland, Netherlands.

Lottimore Hayden family history

"Lott Hayden was born in 1763, Morristown, New Jersey to William Belemus Hayden and Lydia Kierstede.  His first wife was Nancy Colesworthy with whom he had two children, Washington born in 1792 and Nancy May, born 1795 in Morristown. 

If the on-line records I have seen are correct, Lott and Nancy were married Feb. 17, 1790 in Boston, Mass. according to records of the Boston newspaper, Columbian Centenial, call # 485692-June 30, 1790. From what I can gather, Nancy died not long after her second child was born.

After his first wife passed away "Lott" then married Mary "Polly" Bryan, who was the first white child born at Bryan's Station to James R. and Elanor Crawford Bryan in 1779.

Mary Polly and Lott were married Dec. 12, 1795 in Paris, Ky, Bourbon County. They settled in Bourbon County, (Now Nicholas county), on the North bank of Hinkston Creek, approx. one half mile from North Somerset Creek. 

 The property is part of the original land grant given to William Hayden, Lott's father, along with 5 of his sons for their service in the Revolutionary War. A two-story brick house was built on the property around 1797.

The Young family owned the property until the 1890's when it was purchased by Robert Brierly and it is still known as the Brierly Farm. 

Evelyn Briely was born in the old farm house and lived her entire life there and taught school in Bourbon and Nicholas Counties for over 30 years.

The Lott Hayden house still stands today and is the oldest brick home in Nicholas county.

The Hayden Cemetery is located on the farm and is the final resting place of Lott and Mary as well as their daughter Mary and her husband Robert C. Young.

Lots daughter, Elizabeth "Betsy" 

Hayden was born on January 13, 1797, in Kentucky. She had three sons and five daughters with Andrew Jackson Banta between 1816 and 1839. She died in 1862 in Bourbon, Kentucky, at the age of 65.
It's interesting to note that this picture was taken several years ago by an old classmate of mine, Audrey Skeen Preece.
When I first started getting into genealogy, Audrey and I found each other on Roots Web.com, and several years later we discovered out families were friends and neighbors.

This home is still standing and has recently been renovated.

To see many more photos of the Lott Hayden house go to

http://www.pbase.com/jtsmall/hayden_farmhouse&page=all

Andrew Banta House Bourbon County Ky.

Andrew and Lot Banta House; ca. 1814 Lot Young Road Situated on a rise overlooking the broad valley below, this substantial two-story weather boarded saddlebag log house consists of two rectangular pens flanking an enormous stone chimney with a brick cap. In a good state of repair, it is a rare illustration of a saddlebag log dwelling in the county. In close proximity is a one-and-a-half -story log pen superimposed by a frame barn. The pen is secured by primitive saddlebag corner timbering. One of several Banta homesteads in the area, this early house was constructed in 1814 for Andrew Banta. He was a son of Henry Banta, who emigrated to Kentucky from Pennsylvania in the late eighteenth century. According to Perrin, Banta and his family lived at Bryant's and Harrod's Stations before settling in the Flat Rock area of Bourbon County. A son of Andrew Banta, Lot, inherited the family farm, and was listed here on both the 1861 and 1877 maps.

Anderson Henry Banta, Keziah Minerva Soper Banta, right, and Ollie Banta. Anderson and Keziah are my great-great grandparents.

Anderson and Keziah, their daughter,

 Ella May Banta is my great-grandmother.

Ella Mae Banta was born on March 31, 1888, in Bourbon, Kentucky.She had six daughters with Marion Francis Hawkins and two sons. She died on July 30, 1961, in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, at the age of 73, and was buried in Sharpsburg, Kentucky.

Willie Lee and Frankie Dee, twins, were born to Ella and Marion on Oct. 18, 1918. Willie Lee is my paternal grandmother.

Willie and Clark Conn had one son, Milton Douglas Hawkins. Mamaw was an unwed mother and the reason daddy carries her maiden name. Mamaw married Ben Petitt. Her twin sister married Herbert Hardin, they didn't have any children.

Daddy, Milton Douglas "Dickie" Hawkins

Seated l-r Mrs.Lou Fischer, Ella Mae Banta Hawkins, back left to right, Ruth Hawkins Warner, Willie Lee Hawkins Petitt. The picture was taken in the house known as Bachelor's Hall and was located across the street from the present day Post Office in Sharpsburg, Ky.

 Ella Mae's Birth Certificate

Keziah Minerva Soper was born on March 24, 1860, in Kentucky. Her parents were Henry Harvey Soper and Elizabeth Wilson Boardman.

She married Anderson Henry Banta on November 24, 1879, in Nicholas, Kentucky. They had eight children in 22 years. She died on July 15, 1947, in Nicholas, Kentucky, at the age of 87.