Bankston is a surname, an Anglicized variant spelling of the Swedish patronym, Bengtsson. Anders Bengtsson (1640-1705), also known as Andrew Bankson, emigrated to Colonial America in 1656 aboard the ship Mercurius to live in the Swedish colony of New Sweden, located along the lower Delaware River Valley. However, the Dutch captured Fort Christina and took control of New Sweden just prior to his arrival. After Dutch authorities refused to allow the Mercurius to make port, members of the Lenape tribe of Native Americans boarded the ship, ensuring their Swedish friends bringing trade goods would land. In 1668, Anders married Gertrude Rambo, eldest daughter of Peter Gunnarson Rambo. By that time, the British had claimed the entire region and founded Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and New Jersey. Swedish and Finnish immigrants who stayed became naturalized British citizens. Anders and Gertrude adopted Bengtsson as their surname under English custom and law, which is why their nine children were named Bengtsson instead of Andersson/Andersdotter. The surname appears in British records with over a dozen spelling variants, but Bankson/Bankston emerged as the dominant spelling. Anders Bengtsson was elected to serve in the inaugural Pennsylvania Assembly in 1683 and witnessed adoption of William Penn's Frame of Government. He served two additional terms in the Pennsylvania Assembly. He was also a prominent member and lay reader of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) church in Philadelphia, where his remains are buried. Several of Anders Bengtsson's descendants fought in the American Revolutionary War. The Bankson/Bankston descendants of Anders Bengtsson constitute one of the oldest Swedish-American families in history. Notable people with the surname include:
Wes Bankston (born 1983), American baseball player
Surname list
This page lists people with the surnameBankston. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
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