Talk:John Riley Banister

Genealogical & biographical interest

I, too, am a distant relation of this Banister. Some 20 years ago and accompanied by my two daughers --- Sarah and Hannah, I followed this path back to Banister Hollow, Missouri. It is north of Springfield in Camden County.

I discovered that the original homestead had burned, with only the stone fireplace standing. Nearby was a replacement cottage. But one of the barns was intact ---hand-hewn beams with the caulking long disintegrated.

I did not try to find the remains of the mill that Banisters operated on a nearby creek.

I did find the Banister Baptist Church. You will pass it on the crest of a small hill before you descend into the hollow.

From the outside it seemed well preserved, and was obviously still in use.

I am particularly interested in definitive research that would link this Banister line to the very prestigious line that existed in Virginia well before the Revolutionary War. There was a John Banister, an Anglican clergyman and early American botanist, whose life and work were published in modern times by the University of Oklahoma Press. There was a Col. Banister who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses and who fought for the patriots in the Revolutionary War.

Dave Thornton (my grandfather was Lawrence William Banister, son of John Riley's father by the second "wife").

dtjbthornton@aol.com or jdthorn@nycap.rr.com

• Hi Dave! I am similarly interested in exploring a link between John Riley Banister and John Banister (scientist) (not to mention expanding the Wikipedia entry for the latter). A bunch of John Banister's are listed here. Very interesting information about Banister Hollow, the still-in-use church, and your trek with your daughter! Since you seem to be in a position to know first-hand, is six-hundred miles correct? — FJ | hello 06:36, Jun 2, 2005 (UTC)