Fifth Generation (Continued)
Family of Lewis BANNER (55) & Vianna WHITSON

133. Martha C. BANNER. Born in 1849 in Washington Co., Tenn.

On 25 Jan 1876 when Martha C. was 27, she married James Robert LOVE, in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Born in May 1825 in Macon Co., NC.

Served in Confederate Army.

They had the following children:
227 i. Dillard Franklin (1877-)
228 ii. Sarah Ann

134. Madison Love "Matt" BANNER.406 Born on 24 Sep 1853 in Washington Co., Tenn. Madison Love "Matt" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 15 Oct 1935, he was 82. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Madison grew up in what is now the community of Lilly Dale in Martin's Creek and at Indian Grave Gap. Madison was a farmer and helped his father in blacksmithing, wagon making and gunsmithing, but he spend his adult years in the lumber business.

More from the Unicoi County book:
"A Deposit of Lead in Cliff at the Lower Ephriam Place- Just a few months before his death in 1935, Matt was talking one evening with Harley Allen and Orville Banner as they sat on the skidway at Orville's mill just below Matt's house. He told them of a find he made one night while coon hunting at the Lower Ephriam Place.
'Now if you boys ever go back there to the Ephriam Place - the lower place - you be sure to look at every cliff you come to along that ridge, I was going along there one night coon hunting, carrying my axe and lantern, trying to keep on top of the ridge so I could hear the dogs. I hooked my toe under a briar and fell. My axe and lantern went several feet ahead of me as I hit the ground. I jumped up and found my lantern and saw that it was still burning. I got to looking for my axe and found it sticking in the cliff. I knew I had ruined it, I looked at it good, and it wasn't hurt a bit. I looked to see what it had hit, and there was a streak of pure lead in that cliff'.
Matt said tht he tried to orient himself so he could come back to the cliff in daylight.
'But I have looked for that cliff many a time', he continued, 'and have never been able to find it yet. So if you boys are ever out there, search on those cliffs along the ridge at the Lower Ephriam Place, because nobody has ever found it, or I would believe we would have heard about it. There is some pure there somewhere, and it didn't hurt my axe a bit.'
Apparently, no one has found that lead to this day."227, 227

abt 1874 when Madison Love "Matt" was 20, he married Mary Edna "Molly" CROSSWHITE, in Unicoi Co., Tenn. (?). Born on 27 May 1859 in Washington Co., Tenn. Mary Edna "Molly" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 19 Nov 1927, she was 68.

They had the following children:
229 i. Isaac "Ike" William (1874-1930)
230 ii. Phoebe E. (1887-1950)
iii. Rhoda. Born on 17 May 1879 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Rhoda died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 12 Jan 1895, she was 15. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

135. Serena Elizabeth BANNER. Born on 3 Jan 1856 in Washington Co., Tenn. Serena Elizabeth died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 10 Jan 1926, she was 70. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

On 28 Nov 1883 when Serena Elizabeth was 27, she married Robert William Henry GILBERT, in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Born on 24 Jun 1863 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Robert William Henry died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 28 Dec 1939, he was 76. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

From the Unicoi Co. Book -
"R. W. H. Gilbert and Serena Elizabeth Banner were married on November 28, 1883 at the home of Dr. Harry C. Banner. Those attending the wedding were the doctor's wife, Phoebe White Banner. Dithema Banner(Serena's sister) and Juda Banner(the doctor's twin sister). They lived for a while at Lilly Dale until a two story house was built near Fairview where Evans Elementary School now stands. After the death of his father-in-law, Lewis Banner, the couple acquired his property in Lilly Dale and proceeded to build a two story, 12-room, brick veneered house. This would be their dwelling after selling the Fairview property to Holston Land Company.
Thanksgiving week of 1906 saw the Gilberts moving into their new home, and their many friends attending the joyous occasion of open house. Thier joy was short lived, however, for barely more than one month later - on January 7, 1907 - the new home went up in flames. Very usable items were saved items were saved from the fire, but the family escaped unharmed. Weather conditions hampered the efforts of firefighters, because the temperature hovered around 15 degrees and a 10 inch snow covered the ground. The family spent the rest of that night at home of Ben Banner, Serena's brother.
The very next day, Mr. Gilbert began making plans to rebuild and moved the family into a rental house nearby. They continued to live there until the Kegleys and Mr. Gilbert's sons, Earl and Glenn, built a 21 room all brick mansion - no brick veneer this time. All walls, including partitions were 12 inches of solid brick, and the use of lumber thoughout the structure was held to a mininum. It stood the test of time. After more that fifty years of being buffeted by the elements and deterioration by neglect in later years, the old house was torn down to make room for R. C. Gilbert - a grandson - to build his house.
R. W. H. Gilbert served for many years in the dual role of educator and attorney at law, giving up teaching while serving as Superintendant of Schools. Among the schools in which he taught were Martin's Creek School, which stood at the present cemetery; Rock Creek and Limestone Cove.
In 1975, Mrs. Katy O'Brien Davis, who was in the Extended Care Center of Unicoi County Memorial Hospital, recalled her school days under Mr. Gilbert's teaching. He was teaching in Limestone Cove and was staying most of the time during the week in quarters provided by Mr. Henry Davis (Katy's future father-in-law). Mr. Davis had a good smokehouse, which he converted to living quarters for Mr. Gilbert; and the Davis family, as well as neighbors, shared their food stuff to meet his needs. Katy paused to comment on Mr. Gilbert's son, Earl. She remembered that he was small and "spinly" for his age.
A new school was built at Red Fork, which was closer to Katy's home than Mr. Gilbert's school, so she and three of her closest friends decided to attend there. Their teacher was a Mr.Head, and he called all four girls up to the front and , as she put it, 'He blessed us out'.
'Girls', he began - right in front of the class - 'I'm ashamed of all of you. You as big as you are, and you don't even know you multiplication tables! If it takes a week, or a month, or the whole school term - you are going to learn the multiplication tables!'.
And she said did too. He put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Mr. Gilbert for not teaching the girls, but Katy said they did not dare tell Mr. Head the real reason they didn't know. 'We girs had cheated so well that Mr. Gilbert hadn't caught us, because we would each write a problem down and had them marked so well that Mr. Gilbert never caught us. He would have after awhile, and then it would have been just too bad. So it wasn't his fault that we hadn't learned'.
'Mr. Gilbert was good to let us out of school to go to the funeral of anyone who died in the community. 'Katy continued, 'and he would go with us. One time I got too close to the edge of a grave and would have fallen in, but he caught me in time'.
Katy later married Frank Davis, son of Henry Davis.
Mr. Gilbert's law practice and school teaching required a lot of traveling. When he live at Fairview while teaching at Rock Creek, it was not unusual for him and his school-age children to walk all the way. His daughter, Margie, recalled these trips and spoke of what a relief it was when they would ride the buggy or hack.
As proficient as Mr. Gilbert was in handling horse-drawn conveyances, he never attempted to drive when he switched over to the motorcar. He really didn't have to; there was enough local young men eager for the job, and although he paid them, they would have driven just for the fun of it - after all, think of all the excitement of wheeling about in a gas-burner instead of an oat-burner! In order to have a driver anytime he needed one, he contracted with several as sort of a pool of help from which to draw. One of the first chauffeurs was Linzey Hensley, who had the pleasure of breaking in the fine Model-T sedan. The additional stand-by help included Jesse Gilbert and Alvin (Abb) Lewis (Mr. Gilbert's grandsons) and William S. Lewis, Jr. (a nephew).
The boys found the Model-T Ford so simple to drive, that in the vernacular today, one would call it a piece of cake. But then, Mr. Gilbert had the Ford parked in the barn - along with the old Dobbin, who had been retired from service in the shafts of the buggy and hack-and bought a 1922 Dodge. This big stage-coach-looking vehicle had a stick shift, and that presented a different story. Jesse and Abb mastered it, and Jesse took on the role of instructor to 'break-in' Bill Lewis for his turns as chaffeur. Believe it or not, Bill learned the gears before even getting into the new car. Since his father owned a shop, Bill had driven about every make of car of that day, but he had not been in that model.
Jesse picked up a broomstick, and handing it to Bill, he said. 'Here, Bill, put this in the ground - and I'll show you how it works; it's backward to what you are used to.'
Jesse pushed the top of the stick from 'neutral' postition forward and to the left. 'Now, this is low, and down here, 'he said as he pulled it back and to the right, 'is second; and up here to the right is high; and down here to the left is reverse'.
Bill took the stick and went through all the gears without a bit of trouble, and Jesse told him that he was ready. But his student had one more question: ' Now, how do stop the thing?'
That was a good question, because, unlike most cars, these mechanical brakes had to be adjusted frequently - even after a short trip to town and back to Lilly Dale. The adjustments were made by reaching through the wooden spokes of the wheels and turning a screw to increase tension on the brakes. Utmost care was required to pervent over adjustment.
Mr. Gilbert made many business trips to Johnson City, Elizabethton, Greeneville and Jonesborough - as well as occasional trips to North Carolina. Bill was driving him to Johnson City one morning, when they came upon a road crew near the Carter County line (at present Wiseman's), where road repairs were in progress. Suddenly, the car dropped into a shallow excavation with a bonejarring thud, tossing Mr. Gilbert up from his seat into a wooden rib across the top.
'WILLIAM!' he yelled from the back seat, 'did you know that was there?'.
'No sir', he replied, 'if I had, I wouldn't have hit it'.
Mr. Gilbert continued to dress him down a bit. 'Now you must remember this: if it will do that going one way, it might be even worse going the other'.
Bill promised by all that was holy that he would be especially careful. He had not noticed - and there were no warning signs - that there was quite a sharp drop where the men were working. Besides that, the old Dodge not only was devoid of shock absorbers such as we have today, but the springs - such as they were - were little better than none at all; so crossing any rough place, even at low speed, was cause for a jolt. He was more cautious the rest of the journey and relieved that, outside of a lump on the head and a flattened derby, Mr. Gilbert was all right.
Two years after the death of Serena, Mr. Gilbert married Caroline Street of Unicoi. In 1984, a niece of hers, Mrs. Claude Piercy (the former Evelyn Street) wrote to Sam Lewis(formerly of Erwin) and asked if he was a grandson of Lawyer Gilbert. They are no relation, but Mrs Piercy recalled the times that one of the chauffeurs brought Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert in the big Dodge, for a visit, and she had confused Sam with Bill and Abb Lewis.
'Iused to go home with my aunt and spent the night, ' she wrote, remembering the spacious Gilbert home."227

They had the following children:
i. Grace Eva "Gracie". Born on 19 Nov 1884 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Grace Eva "Gracie" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 17 Apr 1886, she was 1. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.
ii. Franklin L. "Frank". Born on 18 Sep 1886 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Franklin L. "Frank" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 9 Sep 1962, he was 75.

Franklin L. "Frank" married Ruby BEARD, in No Known Issue.
iii. Margery "Margie". Born on 24 Mar 1889 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Margery "Margie" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 6 Jun 1972, she was 83. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Margery "Margie" married David Houston LEWIS. Born on 1 Feb 1886 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. David Houston died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 20 Jun 1960, he was 74. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.
iv. Glenn. Born on 29 Jun 1891 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Glenn died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. in 1984, he was 92.

Glenn married Ruby PHILLIPS.
v. Earl. Born on 8 Feb 1893 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Earl died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 25 Dec 1970, he was 77. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Earl first married Ida LEWIS. Born on 26 Apr 1894 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Ida died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 4 Sep 1980, she was 86. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Earl second married Ethel HONEYCUTT, in Did not have any issue.

Earl third married Wife unk GILBERT.
vi. S. Dora R.. Born in Jul 1895 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. S. Dora R. died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 23 Aug 1896, she was 1.
vii. Carl R.. Born on 4 Jun 1898 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Carl R. died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 27 Mar 1982, he was 83. Buried in Martin's Creek Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Carl R. married Melda TINKER. Born on 19 Dec 1898 in Unicoi Co., Tenn.
viii. Clyde. Born on 14 Apr 1900 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Clyde died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 23 Aug 1952, he was 52.

Clyde married Etta AYERS.

136. Benjamin "Ben" Franklin BANNER. Born in 1855 in Washington Co., Tenn. Benjamin "Ben" Franklin died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 21 Jan 1946, he was 91. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

From the Unicoi County Book:
"Benjamin "Ben" Banner's parents, Lewis and Vianna Whitson Banner, had lived on the Indian Grave Gap farm for several years, and they decided to move back to Lilly Dale, into a log house which stood near the present Glenn Lewis home. Son, Ben, had married Sarah Howell, and the two moved to the Gap - not only for the purpose of making a living - but to maintain the property as a homestead. Their first child,Lola, was born there, and at the age of 18 months, she became sick and died.
Soon after the death of thier child, Ben and Sarah decided to move back to Martin's Creek. In a land swap, Ben acquired several acres around the present Ed McCurry home, where the old log house stood, and extended up the creek beyond the present home of Cecil and Anna Kegley Jackson. It then followed a line along the Aldrich property, back to the main road to Herman Tipton's.
It was the old house and plot of land near the Jacksons' present home that Mr. Hiram Hoyle wanted to buy - or rather trade for. His daughter, Allie, married William Aldridge, and their lower property line ran along the present Banner Cemetery to the creek. Allie's sister, Martha, never married and made her home with Allie.
Mr. Hoyle told Ben that he didn't have much to trade, but among other things, he had a red heifer that he broken to work. Ben said, 'That's all all right, Brother Hoyle, you just move right in'. This property would later become the home of Mr. Hoyle's son, Jerry.
So Hiram Hoyle moved from under the Bald Mountain to Lilly Dale. Bob Banner recalled that for a long time after his father made the deal with Mr. Hoyle, when his parents got into a argument in which his wife Sarah's judgement was questioned, she would usually end the argument by turning the question of poor judgement to him: 'Yes', she would say, 'don't forget that you gave that place away for a red calf'."227

Benjamin "Ben" Franklin married Sarah HOWELL.

They had the following children:
i. Lola.
ii. Mary "Etta". Born in 1890 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Mary "Etta" died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. in 1961, she was 71. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Mary "Etta" married Robert ALLEN. Born in 1877 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Robert died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. in 1944, he was 67.
iii. Geneva.

Geneva married Frank FANNING.
iv. Lillian.

Lillian married Ray KEGLEY.
v. Martin.

Martin married Allie O'BRIEN.
231 vi. Robert W. "Bob" (1900-1986)
vii. Gertha.

Gertha first married Nelson KEEVER.

Gertha second married Herman TIPTON.
viii. Celestial.

Celestial married Clarence EDWARDS.
ix. Arthur "Buck".

Arthur "Buck" married Carrie TAPP.
x. Victor.

Victor married Locky TIPTON.
xi. Junior.

Junior married Lola EDWARDS.

137. Wilburn "W. B." BANNER. Born in 1860 in Washington Co., Tenn.

On 17 Sep 1892 when Wilburn "W. B." was 32, he married Molly MOLLIE THOMAS, in Unicoi Co., Tenn.

They had one child:
232 i. Clara

138. William Henry BANNER. Born on 16 Dec 1865 in Washington Co., Tenn. William Henry died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 10 Jan 1944, he was 78. Buried in Fishery Union Ch. Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

William Henry first married Linda HOOKS. Born abt 1870 in Tenn.

They had one child:
i. Hubert. Born on 23 Feb 1890 in Washington Co., Tenn. Hubert died in Mountain Home, Washington Co., Tenn. on 24 Sep 1935, he was 45. Buried on 25 Sep 1935 in Fishery Church Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

Hubert Banner served in the military in the Spanish American War. He drew disability due to tuberculosis. He served in the hospital corps, Troop C, Second Cavalary in the military and listed his ocupation as a "Teamster" prior to his military service. Hubert enlisted on 16 Feb 1910 in Columbus Banks, Ohio and he was discharged first on 25 Feb 1913 and the second time on 27 Feb 1916. He is described as 6', 150 pounds, blue eyes, Dk, Brown hair with a fair complexion. Hubert was a cafe operation at the time of his death. Hubert's pension # is XC-24-54-137.341

On 19 Jan 1916 when Hubert was 25, he first married Helen M. WOODBURY, in Winooski, Vermont. Born in 1890 in Portland, Maine. They were divorced on 2 May 1916.

Hubert second married Pearl CAMPBELL. Born in Jonesborough, Tenn.

Kingsport, Tenn. Letter dated 28 Sept 1935 -
"Widows and Children's Bureau.
Pension Department
I have been advised to
write you for information as
my Husband Hubert Banner
died September 24th. Would be
glad if you will advise me on
what steps to take. And of all
the information you can give
me. In the matter of Pension.
Truly yours.
Mrs. Pearl Banner
Box 931
Kingsport, Tenn."

On 3 Sep 1893 when William Henry was 27, he second married Dora Bell TAPP, in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Born on 19 Jan 1875 in Unicoi Co., Tenn. Dora Bell died in Unicoi Co., Tenn. on 17 Aug 1929, she was 54. Buried in Fishery Union Ch. Cemetery, Unicoi Co., Tenn.

They had the following children:
233 i. Guard Eustus (1899-)
234 ii. James Robert (1904-1964)
235 iii. Dell Cenia (1894-1974)
236 iv. Thomas Lewis (1906-1966)
237 v. Earl Franklin (-1986)
238 vi. Nellie Margaret (1908-1952)
239 vii. Virginia (1914-1997)
240 viii. Ada Louise (1917-)

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