James Banko

Hi Marianne.

I have the same information on James Banko (via Brends Lee) and last October was lucky enough to visit his grave a Eyrecourt and to read the inscription. Other family members are buried in the same cemetery.

It is difficult to prove the Huguenot connection although various forms of the Banko name survive in various countries and have possibly descended from Huguenots who fled from France. The Eyre name has been prominent in Wiltshire, Brickworth and Whiteparish, England, with detailed family lines of Eyres available on line, including Col. John Eyre who established Eyrecourt 'Castle' a Eyrecourt. (O'Madden's Castle previously.) The name 'Banks, Bancks, John, also appears in the same Wiltshire records in the full text of 'Wiltshire notes and queries' available at http://www.archive.org/stream/wiltshirenotesqu05deviuoft/wiltshiren   

Some Huguenots went first to Holland, Isle of Jersey, England and then Ireland. Wiltshire had some of these.

Another H. connection ? The Bigoe name is of Huguenot origin an the Eyres and a Banco had marriages with Bigoes.

I have found a brief mention of a Banco with other apparent Huguenot names in Holland. (I'll try to find it again).

Via 'GeneaNet' website I have records of the Banco name at Villers, Le Leubourg, Normandy, Limousin etc in 1400s through to 17oo's.

'De Banco' apparently has 'early Saville pedigree', according to 'Richard May's Page'. Family Search.org has a 'Banco and Marina de Bara' marriage record at Santa Cruz, Valladolid, Spain in 1591. Nanni d'Antonio di Banco is a famous Florentine sculpture and architect of 1384 - 1430.  In fact many records of the name seem to be artisans of some kind.

I have also traced the name to the del Bancos (Jewish origin)who were originally west of Barcelona, went to Italy  where they were a prominent Venetian Italian family with a range of skills being educated and influential, including money lending. They then moved to Germany to Warburg. The family then took the' Warburg' town name and is later credited with being prominent in beginning the American Reserve Bank.

Hope this is food for thought and you may have other info which I would be interested in. I am in Bendigo. Good luck. Roisin

Hi Marianne,

As an Aussie you may appreciate that they were Eyrecourt's best cricketers... I hope that family trait has continued!

Best regards,

Steve.

Hello,

I was very excited when I was reading this post, I am also a decendent of James Banko from Eyrecourt and I also went to Eyrecourt (in 2010) and explored the ruins of the castle and church. I have a heap of photos from this adventure and some can be found here: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/e/e/Brenda-Lee-Victoria/in…

I am always looking for new information about the Banko's and would love to find out more about their orgins before Ireland. Has anyone been able to find any definitive records about their lives in England and beyond?

I am contactable by email: kbanko@gmail.com

Kellie Banko

Hello,

I was very excited when I was reading this post, I am also a decendent of James Banko from Eyrecourt and I also went to Eyrecourt (in 2010) and explored the ruins of the castle and church. I have a heap of photos from this adventure and some can be found here: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/e/e/Brenda-Lee-Victoria/in…

I am always looking for new information about the Banko's and would love to find out more about their orgins before Ireland. Has anyone been able to find any definitive records about their lives in England and beyond?

I am contactable by email: kbanko@gmail.com

Kellie Banko

Hello Kellie.

It is wonderful to have someone else trying to find out about the Banko origins before they arrived in Ireland. It seems the Huguenot history fits well with their craftsmanship skills and with their connections with the Eyres from Wiltshire. I will keep searching online for other clues as to their existence and lifestyle before Eyrecourt. 'FamilyTree Maker' (Brenda Lee) has a comprehensive account of the family from Eyrecourt into Australia.

James Banko's grave at Eyrecourt has a significant position, as you have seen, by the church wall. Christy Cunniffe of Ireland XO has posts on this site which give details of other family members and spouses buried at Eyrecourt also.

Thomas Banko and Mary Eides were my Great Great Grandparents.

I am the eighth generation  from James Banko. d.1722 Eyrecourt.

Regards,

Roisin.

Some of the records of Private Thomas Banco from Eyrecourt who served in the British Army (74th Regiment of Foot) from 1812-1814 are available online. It appears he would have fought in the Peninsular War of which there is much information available.

Best Regards, Steve.

Thanks for all the links. I will be travelling to ireland in November 2016 to look up Eyrecourt and the Banko family.

I'm also a descendant of Thomas and Mary (Eides).

Carmel

Hi Carmel.

Enjoy your trip to Ireland and especially Eyrecourt. As you probably are aware, Birr was the home of several Banko/Banco families after Eyrecourt, and before they migrated to Australia, so you may also wish to visit it.

I hope you get to look around the Eyrecourt graves of the Banco family which can be seen at the derelict church on the Howard property. (with owner's permission)

Regards,Roisin.

Marriane

We are probably related. I did my DNA profile with ancestors.com and it came back that 4% from the Iberian peninsula. My brother has traced our family tree on our mothers side back many centuries to Ireland. He discovered the James Banko was John Eyre's sword smith and that he is our 8th great grandfather.

Small world this is - 6 degrees of separation

Peter Burge

Melbourne

James Banko 1722 Eyrecourt

Hi Peter,

Yes. It is a small world and interesting that you have a DNA profile with some Iberian Peninsular. 

You would have read my earlier posts on the Banko ancestors. They are an interesting family to trace their progress through several countries.

Would you be able to tell me the resource used by your brother that showed that James Banko was John Eyres' Swordsmith? I have information of his silversmithing and later descendents being Gunsmiths, Watchmakers and Coach Builders.

My ancestor, grandfather, was Thomas Banko who was born at Kyneton. I am interested in knowing your mother's earliest Australian Banko ancestor?

Regards, Roisin.

Roison

This is scary or wonderful. Okay we are related

My great great great great grandmother was Mary Banko nee Eides and is buried Kyneton

My great great great grandmother was Catherin Madden nee Banko and buried Barmah

My great great grandmother was May Ann Thorp nee Madden and buried Barmah

My great grandmother was Mary Ann Hilet nee Thorp and buried Mooroopna

My grandmother was Mary Ann Handley nee Hilet and buried Preston

My mother was Eilleen Elizabeth Burge nee Handley and buried Cheltenham

The Thorp's lived around Dookie and I used to go there for school holidays many many years ago

Oh and my favourite tipple is Jamiesons Gold Reserve and looking forward to visiting their distillery

cheers

Peter Burge

Hi Peter.

It is interesting to find a relative, and Ireland XO has been a great source of information for me, particularly when I visited Ireland a few years back and was taken to Eyrecourt graveyard, where I saw the grave of James Banko etc. Amazing!

Try to go there if you get the chance. It is on the Howard property so you need to check with the owner, who lives on the farm alongside, which was apparently John Eyre's original house.

Another source closer to home, is the Echuca Historical Society, which gave me some interesting background material on the families. If you can locate it, the book is 'Spanning the Years, Barmah Town and School' 'Commemorating the centenary in 1996 of Barmah State School. ISBN 064629913. I don't have a copy but photocopied a couple of pages.

My Grandfather Thomas Banko and your Great Grandmother, Catherine Madden, were brother and sister. According to my records, Catherine, the eldest,  was born 1816, and Thomas, 4th child, born 1826 probably at Birr, Galway.( Not far from Eyrecourt.)

Thomas, buried at Echuca,  married late in life and died when my mother, Dorothy was only ten. I have gathered info on their parent's early days at Kyneton and their property at Barmah. The map I have marks the farms of Banko and Hilet, opposite each other.

You could email me on bicrod@outlook.com if that's helpful.

Cheers, Roisin.

Dear Peter and Roisin, 

I ave just returned from Ireland and Eyrecourt was overun. We managed to find Sarah's grave but no others.

I'm also from Melbourne and Mary Banko nee Eides was my gt gt grandmother.

I've not done DNA testing but my neice did: Grace Jeffery through Family tree dna..

Carmel Miller