INTRODUCTION
WHAT HAVE WE HERE?
gallimaufry (gal-eh-maw'-free): 1. A hash made from leftovers. 2.
A jumble; hodgepodge.
In this hodgepodge collection,
we present genealogical data on over 300 early British Bandys plus a large
portion of the Bandy family in the United States from the mid-18th century to
the present.
About 4262 individuals
with the surname of Bandy are listed, with another 8640 (1st: 5700, 2nd: 6200, 3rd: 7000)related people. Other surnames, each with 55 or more
persons listed, are Anderson, Ballard, Bragg, Brock, Brown, Bushart, Caldwell,
Cate, Coles, Cusick, Davis, Hart, Jackson, Jacobs, Johnson, Jones, King, Lutz,
Miller, Parks, Robinson, Rudisill, Scott, Settlemyre, Sigmon, Smith, Westbrook
and Wilson. Where known, dates and
locations of births, marriages and deaths are included, as well as the
documentation for each piece of data.
The entire collection
falls into 4801 family groups, 1125 of which have Bandy as their
surname. Each family group contains,
where known, the husband, wife and any children. The interrelationships between these families are also
indicated.
An index of individual
names is included. Married women are
listed in this index under both their maiden and married surnames.
We have spent
particular effort in sorting out what can be proven and what is supposition
about the Bandy family structure in 18th century Virginia. Several chapters discuss our findings and
conclusions here.
HOW DID IT BEGIN?
In 1962, when Burt's
grandmother Eubank died, we became the possessors of an early 1800 Eubank family
Bible as well as many family momentos she had collected. We had no interest in genealogy at that
time, but our curiosity was piqued by encountering names of people we had
seldom, if ever, heard of. As we asked
about these names, we began to realize that there was considerable family
history in the minds of older members of our families - if we did not get them
to tell us about it, the information would die with them.
We began to collect
data on the families of our four parents - Bandy, Eggleton, Eubank and
Noel. At first, we only sought information on immediate family
members. However, over time, we
encountered and recorded the significant works of a number of researchers on
these families. Although we were
interested primarily in our direct lines, when we found data about other
branches, even though sometimes quite distant, we put them in our records - use
of a computer made this practical.
With respect to the
Bandy line, the data from these various sources fit together very well with two
exceptions. The first exception is the
Bandy family structure in Virginia in the 18th century. The differences in information reported by
various people teased us into doing considerable research on our own aimed at
determining just what were the Bandy family relationships then. Secondly, we found some serious
discrepancies in that portion of Jane's direct line which others had
reported. We now have her line
documented back to Richard Bandy whose will was probated in Virginia in
1795.
This collection of Bandy
genealogy, then, is the result of combining all of the data we received from
others with our own research on the Bandys of 18th century Virginia and
subsequent generations of Jane's direct line.
HOW VALID IS THE DATA?
In the area of the 18th
century Bandys and in that of Jane's own line, we made considerable effort to
build our conclusions on publicly recorded data, which we cite. Where we have made supposition, we note it.
In some cases regarding
the 18th century Bandys, our conclusions are not provable beyond all
doubt. In these cases, we believe the
conclusions we have reached are valid because any other hypotheses that we can
think of, or that others have suggested, require a chain of unlikely circumstances. The cumulative effect of these unlikely
links makes the entire chain almost impossible.
Early in our
collecting, we did not realize the importance of recording the source. This is the reason that no references are
given in some cases.
The source, or
documentation, was not included for much of the information we received from
others. In most cases, we have made no
attempt to authenticate this work that other researchers did - we simply report
it. In almost all instances, we give
our source for each piece of data (e.g. which researcher it came from, county
probate records, censuses, and so on).
The reader is cautioned and urged to look in our reference list to see
the nature of the data source and draw his/her own conclusion as to the
validity of that particular item. This
caution is not meant to question the validity of others' works - it is simply
stating that we have not researched all of the data presented here.
Generally, when the
same information was reported from more than one source, the reference cited is
the first one we encountered. Also,
when different or conflicting information was received, we report each, along
with the sources.
Although we personally
do not certify much of the data, we believe it is still of value to future
researchers to have this large amount of information collected in one format
and place. If properly used, the
knowledge of another researcher's conclusion is very often helpful, even if
that conclusion is undocumented.
ERRORS
Unfortunately, whenever
one is dealing with the volume of data being given here, there will be
typographical errors. We have tried to
be careful and double check our copying, but we know there will be some
errors. To any researcher whose data we
have incorrectly reported, we sincerely apologize and wish to assure you that
this was unintentional.
We truly hope that any
errors a reader discovers will be brought to our attention. In addition, as new data is found or new
conclusions are reached, we would appreciate being kept advised. We plan to keep our collection updated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following chapter
is devoted to the work that John McDowell "Mac" Ballard did in the
early 1900's collecting data on the Bandy family. Dr. Allen Hill Bandy, Sr., graciously lent us the Mac Ballard
letters for our review. These provided
valuable data in a number of places and gave us significant insight into family
traditions. We want to especially
recognize Mr. Ballard's efforts.
We wish to express our
thanks to those researchers who assembled sizeable portions of the data we
repeat here - Mabel Ruth Bandy (Mrs. Fred) Anheuser, Dr. Allen Hill Bandy, Sr.,
Carolyn (Mrs. Morris) Bandy, Dale Bandy, Julia (Mrs. Ralph) Bandy, Robert
Dorris Bandy, Ross Bandy, Weldon W. Betts, Betty J. Bradley, Edna (Mrs. Charles
C.) Bless, Robert C. Coles, Arlene Cook, Arleta Jackson (Mrs. Joe) Cowan,
Charles Davidson, Elizabeth Donahue, Jackson Driver, Wallace Dunlap, Linda
Betts (Mrs. Don) Essary, Dee Fozzard, Virginia (Mrs. Richard A.) Jackson,
Carole (Mrs. J. P.) Lawson, Marsha Janene (Mrs. R. W.) Nichols, D. L. Parks,
Donna M. (Mrs. Menford) Ratzloff, Kathryn (Mrs. J. Thomas) Roller, Jeanine W.
Scott, Linda (Mrs. David) Stufflebean and Edythe Rucker Whitley.
We have corresponded
with a large number of others who sent us lesser amounts of Bandy data. For responding and for sharing, we give each
of these our thanks.
Needless to say, we
hope to continue corresponding with both of the above groups and any others who
have information we can add to this collection.
There were two times in
our investigation of 18th century Bandys and Jane's direct line, when we were
especially frustrated. At one of these,
finding Marcia (Mrs. Maurice) Bandy's article in the supplement to Cumberland
County, Virginia, and Its People helped fit some pieces of our puzzle
together. At the other, the break came
when Imogene (Mrs. Robert) Jeter shared, among other things, a letter from
Mattie Bandy (Mrs. Preston) Jones. We
wish to extend special thanks to Marcia and Imogene for pointing us to clues
which broke these roadblocks.
Much of our research
was done in the Salt Lake City Family History Library of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints. We thank
them for this fine facility and for sharing it with all genealogy researchers.