BANKS, FENDELL

Fendell (Fendal) Banks was born on 29 April 1856.¹1900 US Census. His entire family was enslaved on the Stagville Plantation in Orange County NC, a place where over 900 enslaved people once lived. Fortunately for him and his extended Banks family members, they were never separated. Detailed records from Stagville show family units, and from them we can put Fendell with his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He was also fortunate that his entire life wasn’t defined by enslavement. He was about nine years old when emancipation came for all enslaved people.

His family remained in the area known as Durham Township, which was part of Orange County until 1881, when Durham County was formed. In 1870, the then thirteen year old lived with his parents Abner and Emily and grandmother Sylvia.²1870 US Census, Dwelling 13, Family 14, Abner Banks, Page No. 2 (penned). Durham Township in Orange County. By this time, Fendell had already entered the workforce as a factory worker. Notably, the family owned their home—valued at $250—a mere four years post emancipation.³1870 US Census The family’s neighbors were Luke and Silva Cameron and their children. Silva was Abner’s sister.⁴1870 US Census By 1880, Abner and Emily were empty nesters. Aside from Fendell, his mother bore one child who died young. It is unknown when his sibling was born and died.⁵1900 US Census, House 413, Dwelling 45, Family 49, Abner Banks, Durham Township, Durham County, Sheet 3 (penned)

Fendell married Della Ray on November 27, 1882.⁶Marriage record. North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.Nov 27, 1882. They moved west to Winston-Salem, where Fendell was a grocer. The grocery and their home were located on 727 Linden Street.⁷City Directory, Directory of Greensboro, Salem and Winston, and Gazetteer of Forsyth and Guilford Counties [1894-1895), page 103. 1899, page 206. 1891-1892, page 142. In 1892, F B Banks was the grantee for a real estate transaction where the grantors Stephen and Lucinda Jeffries conveyed two lots: the Linden Street lot and 19 Southern Liberty. Four years later F B and Della Banks sold the Linden Street lot to Abner Banks. (M D canceled).⁸Forsyth County, NC, General Index to Real Estate Conveyances – Grantor, page 7 Between 1892 and 1907, there were several real estate transactions where Fendell and Della were the grantors, all for lots on Linden Street.⁹Forsyth County, NC General Index to Real Estate Conveyances.

It appears that Fendell and Della didn’t have any children. The 1910 census has no information about children born to Della.¹⁰US Census 1910, United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. Forsyth County, Winston Ward, Sheet 15 (penned), Fendal B Banks, 727 house number, 305 order, 307 family. At the time they had been married nineteen years and owned their home, mortgage free. Fendal is listed as a merchant and Della as a housekeeper.¹¹1910 US Census 1910

It is probable that Della died in 1907, but because North Carolina didn’t require that death certificates be submitted, a state record of her death doesn’t exist. The 1908 city directory shows F Benjamin Banks, grocer, living alone at 727 Linden Street.¹²1908 City Directory, page 392. The 1910 directory shows him at the same address with a wife listed as Ellen J.¹³1910 City Directory, page 77. Ellen was a teacher at the Woodland Avenue school.¹⁴1912 City Directory, Piedmont Directory Company, Incorporated Publishers. Home Office Asheville, NC, pg 347. Later, she worked as an agent for the Afro American Mutual Insurance Company.¹⁵1913 Directory of Winston, and Gazetteer of Forsyth and Guilford Counties, page 426. Their marriage would be short-lived, as Fendell died in Lincoln Hospital in Durham on 24 July 1914. His parents, who were in their late eighties, handled the final arrangements for their only living child. They secured the services of Scarborough and Hargett for the funeral, a funeral home that is still active in Durham today.¹⁶Death Certificate F V Banks. Fendell was buried in Geer Cemetery next to his grandmother, Sylvia. On his headstone, the words “Son of Abner and Emily Banks” were inscribed. In 1918, his father was buried on his other side, and in 1922, his mother joined them.¹⁷Death Certificate Abner Banks Emily Henderson Banks. Their small family is resting in eternity together as they were in life.

BORN: 29 April 1856.¹⁹1900 US Census.

DIED: 24 July 1914.²⁰Death Certificate F V Banks.

BIRTH PLACE: Orange County NC.²¹1900 US Census.

DEATH PLACE: Durham NC.²²Death Certificate F V Banks.

SPOUSE: Della Ray²³Marriage record. North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.Nov 27, 1882. and Ellen J.²⁴1910 City Directory, page 77.

PARENTS: Abner and Emily Banks.²⁵1870 US Census, Dwelling 13, Family 14, Abner Banks, Page No. 2 (penned). Durham Township in Orange County.

CHILDREN: N/A.

OTHER FAMILY: N/A.

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Grandmother Sylvia. ²⁶https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116581119/sylvia-banks

OCCUPATION: Grocer.²⁷City Directory, Directory of Greensboro, Salem and Winston, and Gazetteer of Forsyth and Guilford Counties [1894-1895), page 103. 1899, page 206. 1891-1892, page 142.

CHURCH: N/A.

AFFILIATIONS: N/A.

ADDRESS: 727 Linden Street, Winston-Salem NC. ²⁸ibid.

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A.