December 13, 2024
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing again on Edward Bangs and family lines. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
I am currently working with Denise Luitwieler to prove her lineage for membership into the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. She descends from two of the offsprings of Edward Bangs, aka “The Pilgrim,” who married scions of Mayflower passengers William Brewster, John Howland, and Elizabeth Tilley. (You can view full lineage here: Part 1.)
Many of the Bangs’ descendants had several offsprings. Denise’s family were farmers and cotton pickers for many generations. They moved from Plymouth to Maine, Ohio, Arkansas, Oklahoma and California.
Here is a death notice for Denise’s 2nd great grandfather John B. Bangs, who died 2 August 1919 in Arkansas. He was the son of Orrin/Oran Bangs (1805-1870) and his second wife Nancy (Johnson) Bangs (1828-1880); the grandson of John and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Bangs; and the great grandson of James and Deborah (Cate) Bangs.
John Bangs was survived by his wife Sarah Jane (Solomon) Bangs (1854-1944) and 10 children: 1. Nancy Alvira (Bangs) Poff; 2. Susan Jane (Bangs) Kendrick; 3. Kathyrn “Kattie” (Bangs) Ginn; 4. Andrew Calvin Bangs (married Pearl Hinckle); 5. Nellie (Bangs) Elliot; 6. Laura Alpha (Bangs) Beckham; 7. Arthur B. Bangs (married Nora J. Kendrick); 8. Nora Edna (Bangs) Lancaster; 9. Elvin Franklin Bangs (married Lettie Pittman); 10. Mary (Bangs) Hill.
Here is a photo of John and Sarah and their extended family. I marked the couple with a red arrow.
Denise descends from John and Sarah’s daughter Kathryn Bangs, who married Perry Oscar Ginn, son of Barreak/Barack C. and Mary Ann (Goodrum) Ginn. They had seven children.
Below is a photo of Kathryn (Bangs) Ginn and Perry Oscar Ginn with their first four children. Denise’s grandmother Willia Winzola Ginn is not yet born. This photo show (left to right): John B. Ginn (1902-1980); sitting Perry Oscar Ginn (1879-1941) with Harlan Ragsel Ginn (1908–2003) on his lap; Kathryn (Bangs) Ginn (1876-1957); Avis Alta (Ginn) Davenport (1907–2002) in front of her; and Richard Shelton Ginn (1905–1959).
Denise has an obituary in her records for her great grandmother Kathryn (Bangs) Ginn which has some descriptive family history.
This article reports:
On July 30, the people of this community were saddened when they received word of the death of Mrs. Kathyrn Ginn of Chandler, Oklahoma. Mrs. Ginn died in Shawnee, Oklahoma, hospital July 27th.
She had been ill for several years and most of her children were at her bedside at the time of her death. She was the daughter of the late Sarah and John Bangs. Mrs. Ginn was born and reared in Stone County.
She was married to Oscar Ginn, a native of Stone County, November 10, 1901. They moved to Oklahoma in 1909 and settled on a farm near Chandler where they reared their family. Her husband preceded her in death 16 years ago.
…Survivors include two daughters: Avis Davenport of Shawnee; and Zella Trent [married 2nd Jacob Chandler Herr Jr.] of Whittier, California. Five sons: J. B. of Shawnee; R. S. of Moss Landing, California; Jack of Cottonwood, California; H. R. and Jim of Chandler. Five sisters: Nancy Poff; Susan Kendrick; Nora Lancaster of Mountain View; Mary Hill; and Nellie Elliott.
Other survivors are three brothers: Andrew Bangs of Mountain View; Frank Bangs; and Art Bangs. Eleven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Kathryn was laid to rest in Oak Park Cemetery in Chandler, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
Denise’s grandmother Willia Winzola Ginn (1917-2000) married Thomas Jefferson Trent (1910-1996) and had one son, Thomas Jefferson Trent.
Willia married 2nd Jacob Chandler Herr (1915-1979), son of Jacob Chandler Sr. and Edith W. (Lockwood) Herr. Willia had Denise’s mother Catheryn Joan Herr (1936-1994), who married Robert Paul Luitwieler (1935-1987), son of Samuel Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Nicholson) Luitwieler. You can read all about her Luitwieler line in the links at the end of this article.
Below is a photo of Denise’s mother Cathryn Joan as a baby, with her grandparents Perry Oscar and Kathryn (Bangs) Ginn.
Stay tuned for another Edward Bangs line connected to Katie Crocker of Barnstable. I found yet another Mayflower line in her tree!
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Note on the header image: “Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” by William Halsall, 1882. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Related Articles:
- Luitwieler Family Comes to America
- Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er’ (part 1)
- Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er’ (part 2)
- Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er’ (part 3)
- Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er’ (part 4)
- Letters from California Gold Rush ‘49er’ (part 5)
- Union Soldier’s Civil War Diary (part 1)
- Union Soldier’s Civil War Diary (part 2)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 41 (part 1)