FROM KENNETH GENE CARPENTER
All of the branches of the Hanks Family in England and America seem to have come from the beautiful town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire. It was not far from Malmesbury, in Edington, that in 878 A.D. Alfred the Great defeated the Danes who had over run the whole kingdom of the West Saxons. All the Malmesbury men that fought under Alfred the Great in this battle, were rewarded with certain tracts of land which are still held by descendants of these old families. Among these so called "commoners", each of whom had 500 acres, were two brothers by the name of John and George Hanks, whose descendants still hold the commoners rights in Malmesbury. King Athelstan the Grandson of Alfred the Great having given them a charter, King John another later, etc. The ancient town of Malmesbury is 96 miles from London. The celebrated Foss road, on the great four military roads which the Romans constructed, runs near Malmesbury, through Gloucester shire, Stow and other cities up to London and York, and into the far north, to Scotland. Malmesbury is also neat and the marvelous ruins of Stone hedge, were built it is believed, ages ago by the ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids. As the word ank in H "ank" S itself is and Egyptian word meaning soul, it is believed that this family had lived in Malmesbury for ages. They were a clannish race and for four centuries it is said, many of them never left their native home. It is recorded that one of Hanks family was at one time shot by other members of the family when he ventured to leave the native home and they feared he would "mix the breed". That was nearly a thousand years ago when it was a crime to leave the town to sleep in King Athelstan time. It was along the old Foss road, that the descendants of the Hanks family traveled when they first left their native heath.
|
George Hanks
Birth