Joshua Sanks (1777 - 1865)

Joshua Sanks was the patriarch of a large Midwestern branch of my Sanks family.  He is the link from the German immigrant grandparent ancestors described in another Sanks page on this website, to my modern Sanks and Laird family through his granddaughter Eliza Sanks (Laird).  His long life exemplified this bridge – being born during the Revolutionary War in 1777 in Maryland and dying in Indiana as the civil war ended in May 1865.

Joshua is listed as one of six likely children of John and Elizabeth Sanks, shown in a 1799 Baltimore, Maryland deed after his father’s death.  Listed in that record are Joshua, George, and John Sank (sic), Thomas Fenton, and Rebecca Gable.  The sixth, Zachariah, is not listed.

These six siblings, the women with the surnames of their spouses, are shown forty-three years later in the 1842 Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) will of Zachariah Sanks. He names James Sanks, son of his deceased brother John.  He mentions siblings Joshua Sanks, George Sanks, and Elizabeth Fenton.  And he mentions sister Rebecca Dilworth and an unnamed husband.  This matches those names in the 1799 probate, confirming Thomas and Elizabeth Sanks Fenton – and showing that Rebecca was married to a Gable in 1799 and a Dilworth in 1842.

The listing of the family surname in these early records also shows a transition.  Joshua’s father John and some of his siblings are shown in the 1763 Baltimore, Maryland probate of their step-father, John Algire – with the family name listed as Zenk.  Then in some records such as the one in 1799 above, they are listed as Sank.  Then by the time of the 1842 record just above their surname becomes Sanks – and that is the name that carries to the current day.

Joshua’s Family

Joshua’s tombstone in Lawrenceburg Township in Dearborn County, Indiana, states that he was born on October 24, 1777 [in Baltimore, Maryland] and died on May 13, 1865 [in Dearborn County, Indiana].  He was the son of John and Elizabeth Sank(s).  He was married three times, and had children by each of his three wives.

Joshua married first in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) on March 20, 1804 to Rebecca Dunlap, born July 21, 1787 and died on March 25, 1808.  Sarah was the daughter of Robert Dunlap, an Irish immigrant who married Rebecca Jones in 1787 in Frederick County, Virginia and died in 1834 in Ross County, Ohio.  Joshua and Sarah had one known child, Zachariah “Zach” Taylor Dunlap Sanks, born January 20, 1805 in Berkeley County, and died on May 24, 1887 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  Zachariah Sanks married twice, first to Juliana Gaw, by which he had three known children, and second to Mary Cowles, by whom he had ten known children, one of whom was my g-g-grandmother Eliza Sanks (Laird).

Joshua married second, also in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) on January 28, 1812 to Lavina Tamson Daniel, born February 2, 1788 and died November 1, 1824 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  They had five known children: 1) George Daniel Sanks, September 2, 1813 near Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia (now West Virginia) and died November 19, 1894 in Equality, Gallatin County, Illinois.  On March 5, 1850 in Dearborn County, Indiana, he married Mary Ann Evans, born November 21, 1817 and died in 1873.  They had four known children; 2) Nancy Jane Sanks, born January 10, 1816 and died June 30, 1862.  She married first Smith Thorn, on March 17, 1834 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  He died sometime before 1838 and there are no known children.  She married second in Dearborn County on June 10, 1838, Francis Worley, born December 25, 1810 in Highland County, Ohio and died on August 1, 1890.  They had eight known children and he was married four times – once before Nancy Jane and twice afterward; 3) Susannah Virginia Sanks, born April 20, 1818 in Indiana and died on July 24, 1897 in Lawrenceberg, Dearborn, Indiana; on May 28, 1856 in Dearborn County, Indiana, married William A. Daniel, born 1811 in Virginia and died on December 6, 1890 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  They had one known child; 4) Tamson Mariah Sanks, born April 13, 1821 and died on August 16, 1823, both likely in Dearborn County, Indiana; and 5) Elizabeth A. Sanks, born on April 2, 1824 and died on October 19, 1856, also both likely in Dearborn County, Indiana.

[NOTE: Among Joshua Sanks children by his second marriage to Lavina Tamson Daniel, Bob Sanks lists Joshua Sanks, Jr., who was shown in the 1850 census with John V. Sanks and shown in that census as born in 1815. I have concluded – based on limited evidence – that this Joshua “Jr.” was in fact a son of Joshua’s brother George Sanks. He does not obviously show in census records below for Joshua, admittedly entered in years before names other than the head of household were used. I find also significant that the younger Joshua never listed Indiana as his birth state in the two censuses in which he appeared, and is with someone – John V. Sanks – of the George line in the 1850 census. Information on the younger Joshua has been placed with the George Sanks line in my family records file.]

Joshua was married the third time to Susannah Daniel Rees – the widow of David Rees and the sister of his second wife Lavina Tamson – on November 23, 1826 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  She was born on March 8, 1785 in Chads Ford, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1856 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  Bob Sanks believed they had three sons: 1) William Franklin Sanks, born about 1828 and died in May 1897 in Roane, Tennessee – in Dearborn County, Indiana on June 15, 1855, married Margaret I. Fowler, born about 1836.  They had one known child; 2) Samuel B. Sanks, born about 1829 in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on June 3, 1898 in Lawrenceberg, Dearborn County, Indiana; married on September 29, 1859 in Dearborn County to Mary Graden, July 27, 1841 in Kentucky, and died on January 17, 1936 in Florida.  They had four known children; and 3) James J. Sanks, born June 24, 1830 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died March 2, 1885 in Cass County, Illinois; on May 13, 1850 in Harrison County, Indiana married Pauline Reed, born March 28, 1833 in Harrison County, Indiana, and died on September 18, 1905 in Illinois.  They had seven known children.  [NOTE: Bob Sanks lists James as a son of Joshua and viewed different ages for James in various census records, and assigned a birth year of 1827 in his book.  The Find-A-Grave database lists James birth year as 1831.  A Sanks researcher indicates a Bible record and burial record lists 1830 - which I have accepted above, along Bob’s month and date of birth. As well as Bob Sanks, Find-A-Grave lists Joshua and Susannah as James’ parents, but I am still looking for a firmer piece of evidence linking him to Joshua and Susannah. James as a son does not fit Joshua’s 1840 census entry or his will and I am skeptical that he is actually a son of Joshua.]

 Joshua Sanks in Public Records

The best description of his life, with a slight discrepancy on the fact of his age when he died, is contained in the book “Memoirs of the Lower Ohio Valley” in a biography of Joshua’s grandson Henry – a county treasurer, clerk, and sheriff in Gallatin County, Illinois at the beginning of the 1900’s, and the son of Joshua and Tamson’s son George D. Sanks: “his grandfather, Joshua Sanks, was in early life a farmer near Baltimore, Md.  From there he removed to Virginia and later to Indiana, locating near Lawrenceburg, where he lived to the age of eighty-nine years.  He was married three times and reared a large family of children.” I have posted the first part of that biography below, which tells Joshua’s story and that of his grandson Henry:

The first known record that included Joshua directly was when he signed up for the Baltimore militia on May 31, 1794.  I obtained this record at the Maryland Archives in Annapolis in the mid-1990’s, with the following notation: Baltimore Co Commissioners of the Tax (Militia Registration) 1794. Joshua was listed in a category for white and between eighteen and forty-five years old – even though later records on his date of birth show he was probably about sixteen and a half at the time he signed up.  I have posted the record below.

Joshua is shown to have married twice in Berkeley County: first, on March 20, 1804 to Sarah Dunlap.  Sarah’s father Robert Dunlap appears to have signed for her, and in the record is specifically listed as her father. That record is posted below.

A Dunlap family Bible shows that Sarah died on March 21, 1808.  I posted the Bible section about Sarah below. Roger Connelly wrote in his family chart about this Bible: “The above transcription was made by me from a scanned image sent to me by Sue Kleveno in 1999. The above names and dates were written in longhand using what appears to be pen and ink. They are on one page that was probably separated from someone's family Bible. A copy of the original page was sent to Sue Kleveno from the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library. No one at the Library knows where it came from, who brought it in, or when. The writing is easy to read near the top of the page but very hard to read near the bottom. Each ? represents a character or number that was impossible for me to read. For ease in reading, I have (1) inserted spacing4 between names, (2) removed the name and birth date for one person who was not in chronological order and placed it in an endnote, and (3) slightly rearranged the death information for Samuel. I believe these are all children of Robert & Rebecca Dunlap but that is based on rather circumstantial evidence and remains unproven.” [NOTE: I have a set of notes on the Dunlap line – which hasn’t really been updated in many years – even though I subsequently obtained Frederick County deed records and tax records in Ohio that I haven’t added.]

There is only one known child of Joshua and his wife Sarah Dunlap – Zachariah Taylor Dunlap Sanks, born on January 10, 1805, likely in Berkeley County, Virginia.  It is obvious why the name Dunlap was given to him, but not known (now) why the name Taylor was given to him.  It is likely that the surname Taylor was in Joshua or Sarah’s ancestry, and suggests an avenue of research, as both the mother and grandmother of Joshua did not have an evident surname listed with them in any record.  [NOTE: I have separate text notes on the Dunlap family, and would provide that to anyone interested.  I’m just not including all that into this section on Joshua.]

An 1804 will in Berkeley County Willbook Three for William Noland was witnessed by Joshua Sanks and Robert Dunlap.  The last page of that will showing the witnesses is posted below.

Joshua is shown in the book, Chronicles of Old Berkeley, authored by Mabel Henshaw Gardiner and published in 1938.  An unclaimed letter is listed for him at the post office at Shepherd’s Town, Virginia on January 1, 1806 – and that is not claimed by April 1 of that year it would be declared a dead letter.  James Brown placed this listing, postmaster.

There are tax records in Berkeley County during this period - both land and personal property. Robert Dunlap was in the personal property records most of the 1800-1810 decade. I have only found one reference to Joshua Sanks in this decade - in the 1805 personal property tax records. I have posted that record, with the headings shown also, below.

There is no surviving 1810 census for Virginia. The next record for Joshua shows that he was married a second time on January 28, 1812 to Lavina Tamson Daniel, known as Tamson in their marriage record, which is posted below.

[NOTE: All the records above for Berkeley County list it being in the state of Virginia. It, and the surrounding areas, were in West Virginia when it became a state in 1863. The biography of Joshua’s grandson above - which lists Joshua moving to Virginia - was written that way even though the area was in West Virginia by the time of that biography.]

As mentioned above, Joshua emigrated from Virginia to Indiana. Weakley’s 1885 history of Dearborn and Ohio Counties indicates that sometime before 1812 Joshua settled on the hill in sight of Lawrenceburg. The date is questionable, as the Ohio Valley book indicates that his son George D. Sanks was born near Winchester, Virginia on September 2, 1813, and that Joshua had remarried in Berkeley County in early 1812.

Bob Sanks’ book describes the migration of Joshua, and David Rees - the husband of his third wife Susannah - who Joshua married after David’s death - and the person who started the “Rees Family Cemetery” where Joshua was buried. I have posted those pages of the immigration to Indiana from Virginia below, which tell the story well.

Joshua Sanks is shown below in the 1820 census in Dearborn County Indiana, in an entry taken in August 1820, with seven people in the entry – with two males age forty-five and older (Joshua is one); one female between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five (Tamson); one male between the ages of ten and sixteen (Zachariah); and two girls (Nancy Jane and Susannah Virginia) and one boy (George Daniel) under the age of ten. If a young Joshua were a child of Joshua Sr., he’d be here as well.  He isn’t.

Lavina (Tamson) Sanks, Joshua’s second wife as mentioned above, died on November 1, 1824. Her tombstone in the former David Rees farm cemetery, is shown below. The face of the tombstone is nearly illegible. The cemetery’s written record shows her as Tamson, born January 2, 1788, and died November 1, 1824.  On the tombstone are the years and months of her age. The months - ten months - is readable, but the listing for years is not, but from the dates of birth and death is likely thirty-six years. The oldest child of Joshua and Tamson, George D. Sanks, born to them in September 1813 – named a daughter Tamson.  George was named George Daniel Sanks, being given Lavina’s surname as his middle name.

The Indiana Palladium, a Dearborn County-based newspaper published from 1825 to 1836, is online through the Indiana Historical Society.  There are a numerous of references to family members, and I will post them on this page.  The marriage of Zachariah Sanks to Julian Gaw is the first Sanks reference, in the June 10, 1825 edition - and is posted below left.  In the October 7 and October 14 editions, there is a list of letters at the Lawrenceburg post office on September 30, 1825.  One of the letters is for Joshua Sanks - and there are also letters for William Daniels, about to become Joshua’s brother-in-law, and Obediah Priest - who’s grandson Joseph Laird married Joshua’s granddaughter Eliza Sanks.

Dearborn County marriage records show Joshua Sanks married Susannah Rees on November 23, 1826.  As mentioned in the Virginia section, she was the widow of David Rees – on whose former farm Joshua Sanks is buried - and she was also the sister of his second wife, Lavina Tamson. The Dearborn County marriage record for Joshua and Susannah is shown below.

In the January 13, 1827 edition of the Indiana Palladium, there is a list of letters remaining in the Lawrenceburg post office on January 1, 1827 – one of them was for Joshua Sanks. That article is shown below.

In the December 1827 Dearborn Court Term, that is a record for the David Rees Estate, Samuel Bond and Samuel Rees Executors - an abstract of which is shown below.  Joshua Sanks and Susannah Sanks, formerly Susannah Rees, are shown as guardians of six children: Jacob Rees, age 20 on December 11, 1827; John Rees age 17 on October 13, 1827; Martha Rees, age 15 on November 1, 1827; Amos Rees, age 13 on March 13, 1828; David Rees, age 10 on August 24, 1827; and Rezin Rees, age 8 on November 20, 1827. [Susannah Daniel Rees Sanks children by David Rees were: Jacob, John, Amos, Martha, David, Rezin, and one who died in infancy.  Rezin, David, and Amos are all shown in the 1860 census in their forties, farming, and living with their families in Dearborn County.  Tamzin (sic) Rees is shown in the David Rees Cemetery, born on May 19, 1809 and died on May 25, 1811 – this is likely the child who died in infancy, and was named after Susannah’s sister – who by then was Joshua Sanks second wife.  [To summarize based on this, the birth order and birth years of the living Rees children in 1827 were: Jacob, born 1807; John, born 1810; Martha, born 1812; Amos, born 1815; David, born 1817; and Rezin, born 1819.]

In Dearborn County Commissioners records, an online transcription for the record beginning with the May 1829 session in Book 1, indicates that on page 104 money was allowed to Joshua Sanks for [money or services] furnished to a pauper, Richard Moran.  I have various records that I have listed here from these commission records, but I do not seem to have matching images. This item was also listed in the November 14, 1829 Indiana Palladium, shown below, that shows in the accounts of receipts and expenditures for the County of Dearborn – in the category of pauperism there is $1 for flour for R. Moran.

Dearborn Co DB D p. 97-98.  William Daniels and Rebecca his wife of Dearborn County Indiana to Joshua Sanks of the same place.  July 10, 1829.  Six hundred dollars.  Land in the county and state aforesaid in Section Seventeen of Township Five and Range One of the great Miami River sold at Cincinnati except for twelve acres sold to H. and C. Fitch off the sound end.  Signed by William Daniels and Rebeca (sic) Daniels.  In the presence of John Spencer and George Dunn.  Both William and Rebecca appeared in front of James W. Hunter, Justice of the Peace. The deed is posted below. [Rebecca Daniels was the former Rebecca Cowles, who married William Daniels in 1828, and was the mother of Mary Cowles – Zachariah Sanks’ second wife - who he married six years after the date of this deed.]

Joshua is shown below in the 1830 census in Lawrenceburg Township in Dearborn County, Indiana on the same page as Warner Sanks, son of Joshua’s brother George, and Zachariah Sanks, Joshua’s oldest child.  There were ten people in Joshua’s entry (which likely reflects a blended Sanks and Rees family with Rees children from his wife Susannah’s first marriage to David Rees): a man between fifty and sixty (Joshua); a woman between the ages of forty and fifty (Susannah); one male and one woman between the ages of fifteen and twenty (either Jacob Rees, John Rees, or George D. Sanks, and Martha Rees); two boys and two girls between the ages of ten and fifteen (Amos Rees and David Rees and Nancy Jane Sanks and Susannah Virginia Sanks); and two boys under five (Samuel B. and William F.).  The fact that there isn’t a third boy under five seems to confirm that Joshua and Susannah’s third son was born after this census was taken in 1830. As stated above Bob Sanks thought he was born ca 1827, and his Find-A-Grave record gives his death year as 1831, and I have accepted that.

I have been unable to find any separate entries in Dearborn County in 1830 for anyone with the surname Rees – likely confirming that many of those in Joshua’s 1830 entry were Rees.  This is the first census entry for Zachariah Sanks, and his three young boys shown fit the three known sons born in this period - James Monroe Sanks, William H. Sanks, and John Sanks.

In the July 17, 1830 edition of the Indiana Palladium, shown below, there is a list of letters remaining in the Lawrenceburg post office on July 1, 1830.  One is for Joshua Sanks.

In the Washington Globe newspaper of November 2, 1831, there is a section headed with the sentence: “We give below various extracts from Resolutions passed in different quarters of the Union, evincing the public spirit in favor of the administration.”  [In this period of history – Andrew Jackson had been elected president in 1828, was the head of the national administration, and was reading a run for re-election in 1832.]  Among the excerpts was one from the Indiana Palladium of October 22 (a Dearborn County, Indiana newspaper) that began: “A large and respectable meeting of Lawrenceburg township, friendly to Andrew Jackson, convened at the house of Mr. Jesse Hunt, on the 19th inst.  James W. Hunter was called to the chair, and Edwin G. Pratt appointed secretary.  A resolution was adopted, that called for a county convention for the purpose of selecting delegates to the state convention on December 2 in Indianapolis.  One of the five people appointed delegates from Lawrenceburg Township to the County convention was Joshua Sanks.  There is a reference to this process in the November 19, 1831 issue of the Indiana Palladium, shown below. I didn’t post all of the second half but have Joshua Sanks’ mention and some of the resolution. 

In the January 28, 1832 edition of the Indiana Palladium, shown below, there is a list of letters remaining in the Lawrenceburg post office on January 1, 1832.  One is for Joshua Sanks.

In the May 19, 1832 issue of the Indiana Palladium there’s an article about a meeting of “friends of the administration” [Andrew Jackson Administration] and one of the delegates is Joshua Sanks.

In the April 6, 1833 issue of the Indiana Palladium there is a list of Letters remaining in the Lawrenceburg post office on April 1, 1833 included one for John Gaw and Joshua Sanks.  John Gaw was the father of Joshua’s daughter-in-law, Juliana Gaw Sanks. The letter for Joshua was still on the list of letters in the April 13, 1833 edition of the Palladium.

In the November 1833 Dearborn County Commission record, shown in Book 1, on page 349 Joshua Sanks was one of fifteen grand jurors that received an allowance for that purpose.

Joshua Sanks is shown to run for Township Trustee in the Western Statesman Newspaper issue of March 1 1834, shown below on the left. An article in the Indiana Palladium of March 15 1834 - shown below on the right - shows that he was elected.

In the March 22, 1834 edition of the Indiana Palladium was the following: “Hymeneal.  MARRIED – On Thursday last, by J. W. Hunter, Esq., Mr. Smith Thorn to Miss Nancy J. Sanks, daughter of Mr. Joshua Sanks, all of this county.”

In the May 1835 Dearborn County Commission record, shown in Book 2, on page 26 Joshua Sanks was one of twenty-four petit jurors listed for the first week of the March 1836 term.  In the records of the May 1836 term, also in book 2, p. 107, Joshua was given an allowance for his service as a petit juror in the March Term.  In the same book, p. 108, Joshua was shown as a grand juror for the March 1837 term.  On p. 193, Joshua was allowed an allowance for serving as a Grand Juror in the April 1837 (sic) Term.  On p. 225 of the same book, in reference to the November 1837 Term, Joshua Sanks was allowed money for services as poor overseer for Lawrenceburg Township.  On page 346 of the same book, Joshua Sanks received an allowance for service as a Petit Juror in the October 1838 Term.  In the June 1830 term, on page 428 of the same book, Joshua Sanks received an allowance for service as a Traverse Juror in the April 1839 Term.  In the records of the January 1840 term, in Book 3, page 10, Joshua Sanks received an allowance for service as a petit juror in the October 1839 term.

Joshua Sanks Sen. (sic) was shown in Dearborn County in the 1840 census with eight persons in the entry.  On the same census page a few lines below was David Nevitt, known to be nearby in Lawrenceburg Township.  The previous page includes Jesse and other Lairds, Abraham Rowland, Zachariah Sanks, John Daniel, James McLeester and others.  This indicates that this portion of the census was likely of the Wilson Creek area of Lawrenceburg Township.

Shown in Joshua’s entry was a man between sixty and seventy (Joshua); a woman between fifty and sixty (Susannah); one man and one woman each between the ages of twenty and thirty (George D., and Susannah); one boy and one girl between the ages of fifteen and twenty (Elizabeth Sanks is likely the girl and an unclear young man); and two boys between the ages of ten and fifteen (William F. and Samuel B.). Joshua and Susannah’s third son James does not obviously fit into one of these categories. There is a slight chance that the three sons are here - but that they are just not in the right age categories.

In the Dearborn County Commissioner Records for the September 1845 Session, on page 538 is is noted: No. 2091 – Allowed to Joshua Sanks for boarding and nursing a transient pauper

Dearborn Co DB W p. 179. George W. Lane and Sally Maria his wife of the County of Dearborn State of Indiana to Joshua Sanks and George D. Sanks of the same place.  July 1, 1845.  Two hundred dollars.  Lot thirteen in Lanes addition in the Town of Aurora.  The lot was fifty-five feet by eighty-five feet on Bridge Street.  Signed by George W. Lane and Sally Maria Lane.  Witnessed by John D. Vittle (?) and Jacob Morrison.  Wife does this of her own free will, July 23, 1845 by Jacob Morrison, Justice of the Peace. That deed is posted below.

Dearborn Co DB W p. 513-14.  John Shepherd and Louisa Shepherd his wife of the County of Dearborn and State of Indiana to Joshua Sanks of the same place.  February 11, 1846. One hundred and fifteen dollars.  Lot Number Twenty in Lane’s (?) Addition on Bridge Street in the Town of Aurora.  Thirty-five feet and three inches across and one hundred and ten feet [deep].  Signed by John Shepherd and Louisa Shepherd.  Witness, Jacob Morrison.  Louisa examined separate and apart from John by Jacob Morrison, Justice of the Peace.  Recorded March 23, 1846 by S. Palmer, Recorder. That deed is posted below.

There is a section in the Sanks in America book on Joshua’s account at the Rees/Howe store.  I have included those pages below..

In the 1850 census, Joshua is shown in Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, in an entry taken on August 8, 1850.  George and Mary Sanks, George being Joshua’s son are listed in an entry earlier on the same census page.  George and Mary were married in March, 1850 and did not have their first child until 1851. Various Reese children – Reason, Mary, David, and Martha, are shown later in the same census page. 

Shown in Joshua’s entry is Joshua Sanks, 72, farmer, property valued at $2800, born in Maryland; Susannah Sanks, 64, born in Pennsylvania; Susan V. Sanks, 31, born in Indiana; Elizabeth Sanks, 24, born in Indiana; Samuel B. Sanks, 22, farmer, born in Indiana, attended school in the past year; William F. Sanks, 20, farmer born in Indiana, attended school in the past year; Zoira E. Sanks, 1, born in Indiana; John Pettit, 25, (unclear if an occupation is listed – a tape covered part of his entry) born in New York; and Sarah A. Evans, 22, born in Indiana. It is unclear how Zoira Sanks fits in - I have found her in no other record. James Sanks, the third son of Joshua and Susannah, was shown to have married in 1850 on a date before the date of this census - and that could explain why he is not listed here. I have not yet found a record for him and his new wife in the 1850 census. The 1850 census entry is posted below.

In the Dearborn County Commission Records for the September 1850 session, in Book 5, page 95, Harrison Dawson, Frederick Sowden (sic), and D. H. Hopping, viewers, make report on road through lands of Amos Rees, David Nevitt, and Joshua Sanks.

In researching the Sanks name in early Indiana newspapers, I came across the interesting clipping below.  Joshua’s son Zachariah, had three sons with his first wife Juliana Gaw (their marriage notice is earlier on this page).  The youngest of them, John Sanks, was shown with his father in the 1850 census at age 20.  I could never find a record of him after 1850.  Then I came across the clipping below from the New Albany Daily Ledger of September 1, 1851, showing that “John G. Sanks, son of ‘Zachary’ Sanks and formerly of Dearborn County, was one of fifty-two patriots executed in Havana” – which had been reported in a Lawrenceburg newspaper and then picked up by the New Albany Daily Ledger.  [NOTE: Zachariah Sanks’ first wife, Juliana Gaw, was the daughter of John Gaw. It is quite possible that John G. Sanks was John Gaw Sanks, but I have not found a record that lists his middle name.]

This caused me to look for incidents that happened in Cuba in this period, and I found a 1905 publication of “Lopez’s Expeditions to Cuba” in 1850 and 1851.  There was an expedition of over four hundred mercenaries who were attempting to liberate Cuba from Spain.  One group of this force was separated and captured.  John Sanks was one in that group. That segment, headed by Colonel William Logan Crittenden, was captured and executed on August 16, 1851 at the Castillo de Atares at Havana Harbor. There is reportedly a monument to the men that is located there near the castle.

There is a larger story here, and I will research it and over time might have more to post.  I thought it was an interesting link to Joshua and I would post it here.

In the Aurora Weekly Standard of October 6, 1853 there was an article about prizes (premiums) awarded by the Dearborn County Agricultural Society on September 30, 1853.  There are Sanks and it is unclear, because initials are used, how it fits in.  Mrs. J. Sanks once first prize in cotton stockings – a $1 prize.  Mrs. Jas. (Jos?), did a rag carpet, first prize, two dollars.  Mrs. F. Worley won a second prize of $1.50 in quilt. 

An article in the Aurora Weekly Standard of August 24, 1854, shown below, shows that Miss Susannah V. Sanks was on a committee for agricultural prizes.

Bob Sanks shows that Susannah Daniel Rees Sanks died in 1856.  Sanks in America shows her birth date as March 8, 1785 in Chads Ford, Chester County Pennsylvania – she being the daughter of William Daniel and Rebecca Ellis.  Her father William remarried Rebecca Cowles, widow of Joseph Cowles and mother of Mary Cowles – who married Zachariah Sanks, Joshua’s son by his first marriage to Sarah Dunlap.  The Daniels, Rees, Lairds, Sanks, and Cowles of Lawrenceburg Township were connected in a number of different ways.

She is quite likely in an unmarked grave at the Rees Family Cemetery where Joshua is buried. The Find-A-Grave description of the cemetery: “On the north side of Hwy. 50 between Aurora and Lawrenceburg. On the top of the hill overlooking Hwy. 50 Heavily overgrown and neglected in a woods. stones are mostly missing, sunken in the ground or broken. At least 15 fieldstones used as markers and 6 or 7 illegible, worn stones. Unmarked sunken spots seem to be unmarked graves. Probably many more burials than are recorded. In summer nearly impossible to find. Some burials were removed to Greendale Cemetery, others were left. Large Memorial stone at Greendale commemorating this burial ground.”

In the June 4, 1856 issue of the Lawfenceburg Standard and Press is shown the marriage announcement for Susannah V. Sanks and William A. Daniel. The wedding happened at the residence of Joshua Sanks.

In the Lawrenceburg Standard of November 5, 1856 there was the following article: “The election yesterday passed off with comparative quiet in this city.  We only heard of one fracas.  A fellow named Jack Truelock struck a boy named Sanks in the face, from which sprung an altercation between quite a number of persons, but ended without much injury to any one.  Truelock was taken before Mayor Swope and fined”.  It’s unclear which branch the Sanks boy fit into, but I’m putting the article here.

Joshua is mentioned in “Cotton’s Keepsake”, a folksy history of Dearborn County Indiana written in 1858: “my venerable friends Joshua Sanks and Jesse Laird and others reside here, loved by all that know them.  Mr. Cheek’s narration precludes a farther notice here, except simply to state that good old Father Sanks is 80 years old, and never had the toothache – never was confined to his room a single day by sickness, and never had a ‘law suit’ in all his life.  There’s a ‘life of health and peace’ for you, the result of temperate habits, and a correct moral and religious deportment, worth more than the ‘gold of Ophir’, or the glitter of a crown – worthy of thy man, a good citizen.”

I have posted the cover pages for this book below, as well as the section I just quoted above. This is in a section on the Wilson Creek area of Lawrenceburg Township. It is interesting that Joshua and Jesse Laird are joined in this reference - they were neighbors in this period. As stated elsewhere, this book was published a few years before Jesse’s son Joseph married Joshua’s granddaughter Eliza - my g-g-grandparents.

Joshua Sanks is shown in the 1860 census in Lawrenceburg post office and township, Dearborn County, Indiana, in an entry taken on July 3 (?), 1860,  Jesse and other Lairds, and Hunters and Fowlers are shown on the same census page, indicating once again that this census page likely represented the Wilson Creek area of Lawrenceburg Township. Jesse’s son Joseph married Joshua’s granddaughter Eliza Sanks later in this decade when Joseph returned from his civil war service in the Indiana Cavalry.

Shown is Joshua Sanks, 82, farmer, property valued at $4500/$1000, born in Maryland; with Saml. B. Sanks, 32, property valued at $750, born in Indiana, married within the past year; Mary L. Sanks, 17, married in the last year, born in Kentucky; and Harry L. Sanks, one month, born in Indiana; and Cris Holdendick, 19, born in Germany. Harry was the son of Samuel and Mary, but does not show up in any record after this census.

The map below is from Lawrenceburg Township in 1860 - and a larger version of this map is shown in the Sanks Introductory page. Joshua is shown and nearby are the Cheeks, Worleys, and Rees - and just out of the frame is Jesse Laird.

In the few years before Joshua’s death, he was listed on the list of delinquent taxpayers. The Aurora Commercial of February 21, 1861 listed delinquent taxes, and Joshua and George Sanks were on the list.  Joshua Sanks was on a similar list carried by the same newspaper on February 4, 1864. In the Aurora Commercial of January 9, 1862, there is a notice of a sale of land.  It is shown as Joshua Sanks vs. Page Creek – and Cornelius O’Brien vs. four others.  There’s a public auction by the Sheriff, it appears to be a judgment against Page Creek.  The auction was set for Saturday, February 1, 1862.

In the Aurora Commercial of February 9, 1865, shown below, there is a delinquent tax list published that includes two properties for Joshua Sanks and two properties for George Sanks.  It is unclear which George Sanks this is.  It could fit with two, or a third who had died in the civil war. This article matches those mentioned just above in the same period.

The Lawrenceburg Democratic Registers from March to August of 1865 are missing, and thus the absence of an obituary for Joshua.   However, the May 18, 1865 Union Press (of Dearborn County) ran the following obituary of Joshua: “At his residence, near this city, on the 18th insti., Mr. Joshua Sanks, aged 80 years.  Mr. Sanks was an old resident of Dearborn County.  A few months ago we stated that Dr. Abram Brower, Samuel Kinkead, sr., and Joshua Sanks were the three oldest inhabitants of the county.  Mr. Kinkead is the only one of them now left.  He is about 90 (?) years of age.” The New Albany Daily Ledger ran an obituary of Joshua on September 25, 1865, and it is possible that it picked it up from the Register, a few months late: “Joshua Sanks, a resident of Lawrenceburg since 1818, died near that town last week, in the 88th year of his age.  Thus one after another the early pioneers of Indiana are passing away.  Soon all will be gone.  They cleared the forests and laid the foundation of empire in these western wilds.  As they pass away, may their descendants cherish the heritage they have left behind.” Both the obituaries are posted below.

Joshua Sanks is buried at an old cemetery on the former David Rees (David Rees being the first husband of Joshua’s third wife) Farm in Lawrenceburg Township, his headstone indicating he was born October 24, 1777 and died May 13, 1865. The photo of his tombstone from the Bob Sanks “Sanks in America” book is posted below. 

Joshua Sanks will is shown on p. 203 of Will book 4, and is transcribed following and then posted below: “Joshua Sanks Will.  Know all men by these presents that I Joshua Sanks of the Township of Lawrenceburg County of Dearborn and State of Indiana Farmer considering the uncertainty of life and being of sound mind and memory do make and declare and publish this my last will and testament.  First, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son Samuel B. Sanks Seventy one acres of land it being the north west half of the south east quarter of section no (17) seventeen Town 5 Range 1 West situated in the Township County and State aforesaid together with all the implements and appurtenances thereunto belonging together with all my personal property that I shall possess at my decease to have and to hold the same to his and his executors and administrators and assigns forever.

Second I give and bequeath to my beloved son William Franklin Sanks seventy one acres of land it being the south east half of the south west quarter of Section no. (17) seventeen Town 5 Range 1 West to have and to hold the same to his own proper use … (?) and administrators and assigns forever.  In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and seal and publish and decree this to be my last will and testament in presence of the witnesses named below this 29th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty two.  /s/Joshua Sanks – Seal.

Signed & sealed & published by the said Joshua Sanks as & for his last will and testament in presence of us who at his request and in his presence & in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witness here to.  /s/ Geo. B. Fitch and Jeremiah Crosby.

State of Indiana Dearborn County Set (?).  Be it remembers that on the 23rd day of June 1865 personally came into the Clerks Office of the Court of Common Please of Dearborn County Indiana before the Clerk thereof George B. Fitch one of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing last will and testament of Joshua Sanks deceased and being duly sworn on his oath says that he was present at the execution of said will that the same was duly executed and that he signed his name as witness thereto in the presence of said testator at his request and in the presence of the other subscribing witness that at the time of the execution of said will the said testator was of sound disposing mind, memory and understanding and not under any coercion or restraint and that he was of full age to dispose of his property and did then and there declare the said writing to be his last will and testament . . .”  The will only leaves items to the two living children of Joshua’s third marriage, and makes no provision for any of the living children from the first two.

Dearborn County probate records show the administrator of Joshua's estate was discharged and the estate closed on March 27, 1879.  In the Aurora Dearborn Independent of April 10, 1879, in the article titled “Court Report”, there is an item: “Estate of Joshua Sanks, deceased, W. H. Matthews, administrator de bonus non, files his final report and is discharged”. That article is posted below.

In the Lawrenceburg Register of January 12, 1882 there is an article: “The valley of Wilson Creek has familiarly known the names of Henry, Sanks, and Cheek for almost sixty years.  The last one bearing these names, Mr. Sanks, moved to Aurora last week, and left the old families without a representative on the creek.”  This was likely Alfred Sanks, the son of Zachariah.

That is the story of Joshua Sanks’ remarkable life.  I assume there are still some references to him in records I have not found.  There are also a few places where facts about his family are still not completely determined, such as some of the facts surrounding the connection with his likely son James by his third wife Susannah.  With so much information presented, there are bound to be corrections, additions, or feedback on this research.  I welcome them. In the meantime, enjoy what is here.  

John Laird – originally finalized and posted in August 2021