{"id":78961,"date":"2023-09-13T10:59:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T15:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/?p=78961"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T21:37:04","slug":"uncovering-surname-origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/es\/uncovering-surname-origins\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering Surname Origins: Mark’s Journey with FamilyTreeDNA"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”184329″]By: Mark Allan Bankston<\/p>\n

Discover how I uncovered the origin of my surname and my Swedish ancestral heritage through FamilyTreeDNA’s Y-DNA testing.<\/h2>\n

Motivated by curiosity, I embarked on a profound journey into the world of genetic genealogy. With the help of FamilyTreeDNA, I uncovered connections that go beyond the confines of conventional research, unveiling my surprising lineage. I was able to trace the Bankston name from New Sweden’s historical realm to the heart of Texas. At the apex of my search, Y-DNA testing emerged as a strong tool, offering a look into my deep ancestral roots and clarity on my identity.<\/p>\n

Curiosity About My Surname Sparked an Interest in Genealogy<\/h2>\n

My journey with FamilyTreeDNA began with a simple question: What is the origin of my surname? <\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78963″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”45″ uncode_shortcode_id=”205533″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”182045″]My parents told me our ethnicity was Scotch-Irish and German. But \u201cBankston\u201d did not sound like it was Scottish, Irish, or German. An online search revealed that Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig (1928-2009), genealogist and historian for the Swedish Colonial Society, already knew the answer<\/a>. Bankston is an anglicized variant of the Swedish patronym \u201cBengtsson.\u201d<\/p>\n

A man named Anders Bengtsson was born in Sweden in 1640<\/strong> and came to America during colonial times, where he lived in what was once the Swedish colony called New Sweden (1638-1655), which was located in what is today Pennsylvania, Delaware, and western New Jersey. [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78964″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”53″ uncode_shortcode_id=”144920″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”851621″]He was known to the English as Andrew Bankson, and some of his descendants spelled the name Bankston. To say I was surprised by this answer is an understatement. The answer, however, only raised more questions. Who was Anders? What was New Sweden? Am I descended from this person? Swedish?!?<\/p>\n

I Was Advised To Test With FamilyTreeDNA<\/h2>\n

The Swedish Colonial Society\u2019s website recommended FamilyTreeDNA for Y-DNA Projects<\/a>, including a Bankston surname project<\/a>. I knew nothing about Y-DNA<\/a>, but I was intrigued.<\/p>\n

As FamilyTreeDNA explains, the Y chromosome is handed down from father to son unchanged except for small mutations that can be traced. Several men with the Bankston surname tested their Y-DNA on 111 markers. From those tests, researchers were able to identify Anders\u2019 Y-DNA signature. I ordered a Y-DNA kit from FamilyTreeDNA and anxiously awaited the results.<\/p>\n

Within a few short weeks, the results came back as a match, confirming that I am a direct descendant of Anders Bengtsson<\/strong>. Having grown up without a specific ethnic identity, I was so excited about the results that I started to learn everything I could about Sweden, its people, culture, history, language, food, and traditions.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78965″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”68″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”103370″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”615726″]I felt compelled to connect with a country I knew nothing about apart from IKEA, Volvo, meatballs, and Yngwie Malmsteen. I started reading everything I could find about Sweden and joined the Swedish Club of Houston, where I started making new friends.<\/p>\n

Traditional Research Revealed How the Bankston Name Arrived in the States<\/h2>\n

From Dr. Craig\u2019s work, I learned that Anders was born on a farm near Lilla Edet, Sweden, a small town north of Gothenburg. It is located along the ancient G\u00f6ta \u00e4lv, the river that connects Lake V\u00e4nern to the sea of Kattegat. In 1655, Anders boarded a ship called the Mercurius<\/em> as a teenager to make the dangerous Atlantic crossing.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78966″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”56″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”477975″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”203654″]He was not listed as a passenger and had no family with him. He arrived in March 1656 only to find that the Dutch had conquered New Sweden and annexed it into New Netherland, which was the neighboring colony based on Manhattan. The Dutch would not allow the Mercurius<\/em> to land until the Lenape Tribe<\/a>, with whom the Swedish settlers enjoyed a close friendship, intervened. The Lenape boarded the ship and escorted it up the Delaware River.<\/p>\n

Anders Bengtsson Played a Significant Role in New Sweden<\/h3>\n

In 1668, Anders married a woman named Gertrude Rambo, the oldest daughter of Peter Gunnarson Rambo<\/a>, one of the original Swedish colonial settlers. They had nine children, seven boys and two girls. The Duke of York\u2019s laws governed at the time and required every inhabitant to register their name and surname. Bengtsson\/Bankson became the family surname instead of the children being named Andersson or Andersdotter in Swedish patronymic tradition.<\/p>\n

Anders prospered as a farmer and landowner. After William Penn arrived, Anders owned large tracts of land in what is today the South Philadelphia neighborhoods of Moyamensing and Passyunk. He was elected to and served in the inaugural Pennsylvania Assembly and served two additional terms, where he witnessed the Charter of Pennsylvania.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78967″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”53″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”112135″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”184268″]He drowned in the Delaware River in 1705, leaving behind a large family. He is buried at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church in Philadelphia<\/a>, the oldest church still operating in Pennsylvania today.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78968″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”100″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”113175″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”743184″]<\/p>\n

Connecting My Family Line to Anders<\/h2>\n

But how did that family lineage connect to me? It is a question without a definitive answer. Testing with FamilyTreeDNA once again is helping break through barriers that traditional genealogy research cannot breach.<\/strong> The evidence to date suggests I am descended from Anders and Gertrude\u2019s second son, Anders Bengtsson II, and his son, Lawrence Bankston.<\/p>\n

Lawrence was born in Pennsylvania, but he became involved in Cresap\u2019s War, which was the border dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland that led to the creation of the Mason-Dixon Line. Lawrence sided with the Marylanders and was apparently not welcome in Pennsylvania anymore. He moved to North Carolina and spelled his name \u201cBankston.\u201d<\/p>\n

I Started With My Paternal Grandfather<\/h3>\n

When I started this journey, my earliest known ancestor was my great grandfather, Arvil Wade Bankston<\/strong> (1859-1901), after whom my father was named. All I knew about him was that he died from knife wounds he suffered in a fight in Milam County, Texas. My grandfather, L.L. Bankston, and his brother, Malcom, witnessed it happen.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78969″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”39″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”838805″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”182093″]In the 1860 census, the only Bankston boy I found born in 1859 was to a couple named Micajah W. Bankston and his wife, Sarah Jackson. The handwritten census record for the boy looked like \u201cWade,\u201d but other researchers read it as \u201cMose.\u201d [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78970″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”62″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”125129″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”870066″]Micajah also died young as a POW during the Civil War in 1863. Micajah and Sarah had four other children, two boys and two girls. The 1870 census was not helpful. Sarah was living as a widow with her children, including an 11-year-old boy identified only as \u201cH.\u201d<\/p>\n

DNA Testing Linked New Sweden to Texas<\/h2>\n

Back to the Bankston Surname project, the results showed that another participant was a third cousin from Texas. He traced his ancestry back to Micajah and Sarah through their son, Sam Houston Bankston.<\/p>\n

I was thrilled at this find. I decided to test my autosomal DNA<\/strong> with FamilyTreeDNA and found other third cousins who were descended from Micajah and Sarah. The DNA evidence was conclusive proof that Micajah and Sarah Bankston were my 2x great-grandparents.<\/p>\n

Later, I discovered in the 1880 census records that Wade Bankston, 21, was living with his sister, Louisa Bankston McCall, who was Micajah and Sarah\u2019s daughter.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78971″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”63″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”377919″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”161440″]<\/p>\n

Connecting to Cousins Through Micajah<\/h3>\n

Genealogical records and DNA testing confirm that my 3x great-grandparents were James and Lavisa Bankston, both born in Georgia, who were Micajah\u2019s parents. Most researchers believe that James Bankston (1800-1870) was the son of Elijah Bankston, who reportedly served in the American Revolution and War of 1812 (1765-1849).<\/p>\n

Note: This James Bankston is often confused by researchers with James E. Bankston (1788-1844). They were of the same generation, but they were not the same person.<\/em><\/p>\n

Big Y-700 Testing Unveils 11 Bankston Lineages<\/h2>\n

Once again, FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s Y-DNA tests provided insight. Several participants in the Bankston Surname project, including myself, upgraded to the Big Y-700<\/a> test. As a result, the Y-haplogroup associated with Anders\u2019 descendants, R-FTA3495<\/a>, split into at least 11 descendant lineages, 8 of which are yet to be named.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”78972″ caption=”yes” media_lightbox=”yes” media_width_percent=”43″ lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”370918″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”378125″]The Big Y results of participants prove that my third great-grandfather James, was likely not Elijah\u2019s son. The mystery continues, but there is reason to hope that a definitive answer will emerge with more participants testing with FamilyTreeDNA.<\/p>\n

FamilyTreeDNA Tools Uncover Ancestral Tapestry<\/h2>\n

FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s tools also present a big picture of my ancestry.<\/p>\n

For example, the Big Y-700<\/a> results suggest my paternal line can be traced back to Scandinavia<\/strong> during the Nordic Bronze Age since earlier haplogroup branches show their highest frequencies in Sweden and Norway as far back as 1550 BCE.<\/p>\n

FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s emerging ancient DNA<\/a> research is uncovering all kinds of cool facts<\/strong>, showing I share common ancestors with several ancient remains, including Vikings. I also tested my mtDNA<\/a> to confirm my maternal haplogroup, H13a1a1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s myOrigins (version 3)<\/a> is the most accurate autosomal ethnicity estimate<\/strong> based on what I know about my family history compared to their competitor\u2019s tests. myOrigins shows an admixture of:<\/p>\n