Linn Banks (January 23, 1784 – January 13, 1842) was a 19th-century slave owner, politician and lawyer, who served 26 years in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
(including two decades as its Speaker), but resigned in order to run for the U.S. Congress. He served one term and appeared re-elected, although that election was successfully contested by future Virginia governor and Confederate General
Extra Billy Smith.
Early life and education
He was born in what was then
Culpeper County, Virginia
Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...
(today part of
Madison County) to parents Adam Banks and Gracey James. He married on April 2, 1811, in Wake, North Carolina, to Eliza Jane Hunter Sanders. He was the great, great grandson of Adam Bankes, emigrant to
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest ...
, from the
Wigan, Lancashire
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington to ...
area of England in the mid-17th century.
Banks received a private education, then attended the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
studied law.
[Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971, GPO, 1971, p 548.]
Career
Admitted to the Virginia bar in 1809, Banks interrupted his legal practice to serve in the War of 1812. He would ultimately resume practicing law, as well as lead the local
Virginia Militia for decades, hence his honorific as "
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
". In 1824, Banks hosted the
Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
on his return visit to Virginia, when he visited President Madison and local militia units in Culpeper and Orange Counties.
Madison County voters elected Banks as one of their two (part time) representatives in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
in November 1812, and re-elected him many times over more than 25 years. He served from 1812 to 1838, alongside veteran William Morgan until 1814, then Daniel Field, George H. Allen, Robert Hill, Robert L. Madison, Robert Briggs and William Finks. When the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 instituted single member districts, Banks continued to represent Madison County. He also served as Speaker of the House for two decades, from 1817 to 1838.
Banks ran as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and won election to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
to fill the seat vacated by
John M. Patton
John Mercer Patton (August 10, 1797October 29, 1858) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. Patton served in the United States House of Representatives representing two different Virginia Districts and was the acting gove ...
's resignation in 1838. He only served until 1841, despite presenting credentials to the following Congress. Although he had appeared re-elected by a narrow vote over former State Senator
William "Extra Billy" Smith
William "Extra Billy" Smith (September 6, 1797May 18, 1887) was a lawyer, congressman, the 30th and 35th Governor of Virginia, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On his appointment in January 1863, ...
, Smith contested the election and before the contest could be decided, Banks resigned setting up a Special Election the following November. Banks ran in the special election but lost to Smith. Smith assumed that congressional seat in December 1841.
Afterward, Banks resumed his legal practice, as well as managing his estates and enslaved labor. He owned 45 slaves in Madison County in 1820, and more than 40 slaves in 1840.
Death and legacy
Banks drowned on January 13, 1842, while attempting to ford the
Conway River near
Wolftown, Virginia
Wolftown is an unincorporated community located in Madison County, Virginia.
Graves Mill and the Hoffman Round Barn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United Stat ...
. He was interred in the family cemetery on his estate called "Vale Evergreen" near
Graves Mill, Virginia
Graves Mill, also known as Jones Mill and Beech Grove Mill, is a historic grist mill complex located near Wolftown, Madison County, Virginia. The complex includes a three-story, heavy timber frame gristmill; a two-story, log, frame, and weatherboa ...
.
Robert A. Banks, a possible relative, although the marriage license of his 1865 remarriage listed his father as G.J. Banks, married Louisa J. Finks (daughter of this Bank's co-delegate) in 1847, almost a decade after he succeeded to the Madison County House of delegates seat on March 2, 1839, and was re-elected several times, (though he too lost an election contest in 1841 to the same John Booton whom he had unseated in 1838). Robert A. Banks owned about 70 slaves in Madison County in 1850, and 82 in Madison County in 1860.
[1860 U.S> Federal Census, Slave Schedule for Madison County, Virginia pp. 53-54 of 59]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Linn
1784 births
1842 deaths
Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia lawyers
American militia officers
Deaths by drowning in the United States
Accidental deaths in Virginia
People from Madison County, Virginia
College of William & Mary alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
19th-century American politicians