A Surprising Discovery About Theodore James “TJ” Banta

TJ Banta, circa 1946

Theodore “TJ” Banta experienced profound loss and resilience by the time he married Verona Willard at the age of 27 in June 1906.   However, I did not realize the depth of his experience until making a surprise discovery while researching the “Find a Grave” database.  

For context, Barbara and I were preparing for an extended research trip that included Ford County, Kansas.  I knew my maternal roots were deep in Kansas.  Bucklin, Kansas was where the Willard and Banta branches of my family tree came together with the marriage of TJ Banta and Verona Willard.  Their roots were so deep that their remains were brought from California back to Kansas to rest within the family plot at Bucklin. 

Back to my surprise.  A “Find a Grave” search to see if other Banta relatives were buried in Ford County revealed two others: Birdie and Infant Son Banta.  They are buried in the same grave and share a headstone.  I was stunned when I read the inscription: Birdie E., Wife of T.J. Banta; and infant son. 

What? Why didn't I know about this? Could there be more than one TJ Banta in town? Is this my guy?  The time frame is right.  They are close to the same age.  They live in the same neighborhood.   

1900 Federal Census, Ford, Kansas family #12 & #13

 

The 1900 census for Ford, Kansas shows Birdie Small living next door to TJ's half-sister Melinda "Linie" [Banta] Stephenson, and in the same neighborhood as 21-year-old TJ.  

1900 Federal Census, Ford Kansas, family #38

Bucklin Banner, July 30, 1903

The 1903 newspaper announcement of their marriage added even more weight. 

Sadly, the newspaper reporting TJ’s half-sister coming to town for the funeral provides even more evidence that this was our TJ.

Bucklin Banner, March 17, 1905

 The note of thanks from the families of TJ and Birdie Banta, makes it clear that  TJ Banta had lost a young bride and infant son the year before he married my great-grandmother, Verona Willard. 

Bucklin Banner,  March 30,1905

Ford Cemetery, Ford, Kansas

More about Theodore James "TJ" Banta (1879-1951), 

My Grandfather’s Father 

    Born April 23, 1879, in Maple Hill, Kansas, the first child of James and Jennie Brock Banta. His mother and father were both widows when they married, and his father had ten children with his previous wife. TJ was born into a full home with many half-brothers and sisters from his father's late wife.  Unfortunately, he would never come to know his father as he died when TJ was just two years old, and a mere week before his sister Belle was born.  One can imagine the worries of a young widow coming home from the funeral to give birth in a home with so many more children to care for.  

    The next record of TJ is in the 1885 Kansas State Census which shows him and his sister Belle living as stepchildren of Frank Darling.  Their mother Jennie married Frank the year after James died. Their marriage did not last, and they were divorced nine years later when TJ was 12. 

    The following year, 1892 when TJ was 13, his mother married John McDonald.  Jennie and John moved to Washington state with her children TJ and Belle.  It was in Washington that she gave birth to sons Charlie and John in 1893 and 1895 respectively.

    By 1900, the family is back in Kansas.  Jennie, John, and the two McDonald boys are living in Maple Hill.   Jennie's daughter, Belle Banta, and her new husband James W. Taylor are also living in Maple Hill on a farm next to her half-brother Fred Banta.   TJ, now 21 years old, is living 250 miles away in Ford, Kansas very close to his half-sister "Linnie" [Banta] Stephenson and her family.  Birdie Small lived next door to Linnie and became acquainted with TJ. 

    In 1903, TJ and Birdie were married in Bucklin, Kansas.  Two years later, she would die giving birth to their first child, a son, who also died in the process.  At age 26, TJ is mourning the loss of his wife and son in Ford, Kansas. 

    The following year,1906, TJ marries 19-year-old Verona Willard, and they settle in the nearby town of Sodville, Kansas.  They are very close to Verona’s parents Samuel and Lenora Willard, enjoying family dinners each week according to the social section of the Bucklin Banner. They have four children (Clarence, Marvin, Belle, and Vernon) over the next six years.  

TJ and Verona Banta, 1917

     TJ was a farm section supervisor and had a reputation for getting high yields at harvest time.  However, he wanted more for his family.  He wanted to own his farm.  So, shortly after the birth of their youngest child Vernon, they moved to Lamar, Colorado in search of the American dream.    

TJ Banta Moving, Bucklin Banner, July 23, 1914

    Tragedy found TJ again when the Spanish Flu pandemic ravaged the country, taking the life of their oldest child, 11-year-old Clarence.  His remains were brought back to Bucklin, Kansas for burial in the family plot.  Afterward, they returned to Lamar, where their children graduated high school.  Marvin and Belle both found love in Lamar and married their respective spouses while living in Lamar   This is where the Banta and Stearns-Smith branches of my family tree come together when Marvin Banta marries Nina Stearns-Smith in 1928 (see blog post "The Kiss"). 

    TJ and Verona returned to Bucklin in 1929 after the death of her mother, Lenora Bryan Willard, and remained there to care for her father, the family patriarch Samuel Willard.  The Willard home was probably the most stable home TJ had ever experienced and he dearly loved being part of it.  TJ and Verona cared for Samuel until he died in 1939.  They remained in Bucklin for several more years, assuring the Willard home remained in the family.      

    They decided to move to Hayward, California in 1946 to be near their adult sons Marvin and Vernon.   TJ liked to help with the work in Marvin's cabinet shop.  My mother frequently shared the story of how her grandpa TJ accidentally cut his fingers off while using the table saw at the shop. "If it could happen to him it surely could happen to you!" she would warn whenever I was around anything sharp. 

The Banta Family, Hayward, CA, circa 1946

    In the photo above, the Banta family is gathered at the home of Marvin and Nina Banta.  On the left are Harry Higbee and Belle Banta Higbee,(TJ's daughter and son-in-law). On the right are TJ and Verona Willard Banta.  In the middle are Marvin and Nina Stearns-Smith Banta (TJ's son and daughter-in-law), and in the front are his grandchildren, the daughters of Marvin and Nina, Marian and Patty in front.  

    On August 14th, 1951, Theodore James Banta age 72, died of natural causes in Hayward California.  Although he died a few years before I was born, I know he was dearly loved by his family, the family that raised me. Everyone loved TJ and described him as a kind and gentle man.  

    The photo below was taken by Barbara of me while we were at the Willard/Banta family plot in Bucklin, KS.  TJ and Verona are buried in the back, Samuel and Lenora are in the middle, and the three in front are young Clarence Banta, Mabel Willard Hershberger (Verona's sister), and infant Edith Lenora Willard (Verona's brother's child). 

 

Jerry Grandon at the Willard/Banta family plot, Bucklin Cemetery, Bucklin, Kansas

    In closing, TJ's first marriage and tragic loss were a surprise to me, and as I think about his life experience, it deepens my appreciation of the strength and perseverance that runs through my family's history.