(c) 1999 TFDG

The following are  from posts to the Taulbee List in May of 1999.  They are in the Public
Archives

First Post:

There are a number of cases in which a Taulbee just cannot be fit into any of our lines, yet comes from the area and time belonging to the Taulbees.

There seems to have been some cases where a Taulbee is not actually a Taulbee by birth, but a Banks who was raised by a Taulbee, or took the Taulbee name.

I have been told by more than one of an expression that if a number of  new Taulbees moved into a area, such as Wolfe County, it was said that "here comes a bunch of Banks changing their names to Taulbee."

I don't know what this does to our research except make it impossible for some to trace the actual roots. Many of the Banks, and I am sure others, did not always use midwives, records were not always kept, so it will be almost impossible to prove unless someone still alive remembers it happening.  If you were taken in by a Taulbee, use of the Taulbee surname would be natural.

My belief is that if you are raised by a Taulbee, you are a Taulbee by heritage and culture, but tracing the actual biological ancestors becomes more difficult.  This is just something to consider when you can't connect with anything.  Back as late as W.W.II, if you went into the service, your name was what you said it was, no questions asked.  Early Social Security only required an affidavit, not a birth certificate.  So just another mystery that may never be solvable.  But something to think about.

There is much truth to this.  Lula Taulbee, my great grandmother, her second marriage was to Matthew Banks.  They had one daughter, Hannah Banks.  However, they raised another child.  This child was raised as Marie Banks.  Everyone in the family always said Aunt Marie was not a child of Matthew and Lula's but never knew who her real parents were.  I always heard that Marie was an orphan and was taken in by Matthew.

I realize this would be turning things around but after reading what Bob wrote I am wondering if by chance she could have been a Taulbee raised by Banks and took the Banks name.

Lula's child by her first marriage, Abel Wages/Wagers, shows up on the census as Abel Banks.  I know as a fact he was never adopted by Matthew but when census were taken and Abel was listed he was recorded as Abel Banks.  In cases like this it makes it very difficult to trace the family.  I'm sure this has happened many many times .

Here is another case scenario for you in relation to the Banks - Taulbee dilemma and this is what has occurred in our Taulbee family.

For many years my Grandfather (Bennie) who was born as a Banks but later was told he was a Taulbee and was raised as a Taulbee, could not place the connection of the two names.  He remembers his older family members arguing over whether they were Taulbees or Banks.   His mother, Peggy Taulbee (AKA Maggie) who was the daughter of John CB Taulbee and the granddaughter of Preacher William Lee Taulbee, died when Bennie  was just 2 years old.  He wondered if maybe they had changed to Maggies last name instead of the Banks  name.

On a trip back to KY last year, I contacted several of the elderly Taulbees and a man named Jose Banks (some 90+ years old).  They knew the answer to our long unanswered question of whether we were actually Banks or Taulbee!

They told me that Preacher William Lee Taulbee met a woman named Bessie (possible Elizabeth) Banks.  I believe Preacher Lee was married at the time to his first wife and the mother of John CB Taulbee, although I have nothing  to document which marriage he was in other than the ages of the children.  Bessie Banks became pregnant by Preacher Lee Taulbee and had his illegitimate child and named that child James Madison Banks.  I don't know why she gave the child her last name instead of the fathers name of Taulbee unless it was because the child was illegitimate!

Now this makes John CB Taulbee and the illegitimate child, James Madison Banks, half brothers.  Both the sons of Preacher William Lee Taulbee.  It is  apparent that Preacher Lee played some role in James Madison Banks life because I have the marriage certificate that has Preacher Lees name on it.

John CB Taulbee has a daughter named Maggie Taulbee and James Madison Banks has a son named Andrew Jackson Banks.  They are 1st cousins who are later married by Preacher William Lee Taulbee.  They keep the last name of Banks for a short period of time until Andrew Jackson Banks knowing he is the grandson of Preacher Lee Taulbee, changes his last name to Taulbee and we once again become Taulbees instead of Banks.   Realistically, I guess we are actually Taulbees twice over because of Preacher William Lee who is my ggggrandfather twice!

I guess there could have been hard feelings back then from those that resented the children who were not legitimate and thus the saying "here comes a bunch of Banks changing their name to Taulbee."

This is another case of Taulbee and Banks confusion and had made it difficult  to trace the tree until I was able to talk to the elders who knew!