Author: Banks, John Waters
Biography:
BANKS, John Waters (c. 1808-1895: ancestry.co.uk)
His parents were Thomas Banks and his wife Catherine Waters who had married in Cranbrook, Kent, in 1805. Census records indicate that he was born in Ashford, Kent, in about 1808 but no birth record has been located. He lived in Canterbury and trained as a printer with his brother, Charles Waters Banks (later an influential figure in the Strict Baptist Church). By 3 Oct. 1837 when he married Emma Darker (d 1873 in Portsea) he was living in Sherwood Hill, near Nottingham. He had at least five children with Emma. He was ordained at St. Bees, Cumberland, in 1849 and in 1851 he was recorded as the curate at St. Mary's, Barnsley. He spent much of his working life as the chaplain for the convict ship at Portsea; towards the end of his life he was also rector at Nuthall, Nottinghamshire. In 1873 he married Elizabeth Pemberton. Another marriage record dates from 1875 in London but he had a nephew of the same name who lived in London and the record likely refers to him. The 1891 Census gives his wife’s name as Elizabeth. He died in Sydenham, Kent, on 12 Feb. 1895 and was buried at Nunhead cemetery. His only other publication is The Shunammite: Faith and Providence (1857). No first edition of his book of verse has been located. (ancestry.co.uk 13 Nov. 2022; Kentish Weekly Post 10 Oct. 1837; Yorkshire Gazette 29 Dec. 1849; London Evening Standard 15 Feb. 1895; contributions from AA) SR