Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Bancroft, George 1814 - 1884 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com July 23, 2005, 6:00 pm Author: B. F. Bowen GEORGE BANCROFT. George Bancroft, deceased, for many years one of the well-known and highly respected citizens of Marshall county, was born in Springfield, Vermont, in 1814, and was the son of James and Fannie Bancroft, who were also natives of Vermont and came of old New England families. John and Jane Bancroft, early representatives of the family in America, came to this country on the ship "James," in 1632. They were the parents of two sons, from whom many of the Bancroft family have sprung. The family settled at Lynn, Massachusetts, where John Bancroft died in 1637. George Bancroft, the great American historian, was a member of the family. James Bancroft, the father of George Bancroft, the subject of this sketch, settled at Rockingham, Vermont, where he lived for a number of years. The son, George, received his education in the state of his nativity, and there he grew to manhood and married Merril Brown, also a member of an old New England family. They established their home in their native state, where they lived for a time, after which they moved to the state of New York, and settled on a farm near the city of Buffalo, where Mrs. Merril Bancroft died in 1850. Here he remained until 1857, when he moved to Wisconsin, where he lived for some years. In 1871 he left Wisconsin and came to Marshall county, and here Mr. Bancroft engaged in the mercantile business at Waterville, the building in which he conducted his store being still standing. Associated with him in the business was his son-in-law, Spencer Hurlbut. now deceased. For twelve years Mr. Bancroft was successfully engaged in the business, when he sold to Hurlbut & Clark, and purchased a large farm north of Waterville, which he managed with much success until the time of his death in 1884. Mr. Bancroft was a prominent member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He took much interest in the work of both orders, and had much to do with their success in the district. Politically, he was identified with the Republican party, and always took a keen interest in the affairs of his home township as well as the county. Though he was not an office seeker, he felt it his duty to see that the best men were elected to public office. He was a most energetic business man, possessed of much business acumen, and he was for many years recognied as one of the foremost and successful residents of the county. His wife, Merril Bancroft, was born in 1817 and was a woman of unusual attainments. To George and Merril Bancroft were born the following children: Forrest Henry, Frances S. and Harriet Ellen. Forrest Henry received his education in the local schools and as a lad learned the miller's trade, and later went to Trinidad, Colorado, where he died; Harriet Ellen is the widow of Spencer Hurlbut and is now living with her son-in-law, George Delaney, at Axtell, Kansas. Frances S. Bancroft received her education in the schools of Wisconsin and came with her parents to Waterville, as a girl. She is a great reader and has added to her store of learning by reading the best literature. She is a member of the Lutheran church and is one of the active religious workers of her home city. She is also a member of the Woman's Relief Corps and was the acting secretary for a period of thirteen years. She takes great interest in missionary work and is a member of the Missionary Society and the Ladies' Aid Society of the Lutheran church. She is a woman who is admired by all who know her, and her life has been filled with noble deeds and work well done. Some years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Bancroft was united in marriage to Adelia C. Eggleson, an excellent woman, who died in 1885. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/bancroft91bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 4.5 Kb