Some Wil(l)banks in Missouri

One of the Wil(l)banks strains in Missouri originated with Susannah Morrison, who married John Willbanks in Wayne County, Tennessee in 1838.

Before John died (before 1850) the couple had two children, Thomas Brown Willbanks and John Edward Wilbanks.

After John Willbanks's death, Susannah married the widower George W. Rinks. The blended Rinks-Willbanks family migrated to Missouri about 1857, reportedly settling in or near Webster County.

Susannah's son Thomas Brown Willbanks eventually settled in Wright County, Missouri, and married into the Todd family. Most of his descendants have retained the double-L spelling of the name.

Susannah's son John Edward Wilbanks married into the Prock family and settled in Howell County, Missouri. Most members of this line adopted the single-L spelling.

Susannah and second husband George Rinks had several children before he, too, died in 1863. Many of this clan eventually adopted the spelling "Rinck".

Susannah next married Andrew J. Peebles, who, alas, died in 1866, leaving Susannah a widow for the third time. There were no known children from this marriage, although it appears that Mr. Peebles was a widower with several children of his own. Records for this family are found under various spellings, including "Peoples".

Susannah died in 1871. Fortunately for us, she left a trail of legal documents behind her, as she and her husbands George Rinks and A.J. Peebles died intestate. Thus there is a whole raft of probate and guardianship records to be found in Wright, Phelps, and Texas Counties.

A distinguishing characteristic of Susannah's legacy is the disproportionately large number of her Wil(l)banks descendants who entered church work, becoming ministers in the Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, Baptist, and Presbyterian denominations.

John W. Wilbanks, 9 Aug 2000: JohnWilbanks@GenealogyMine.com.

[Contributed by John W. Wilbanks 1 Oct 2000 12:00am]