An Article of Interest

Where Did The Village Of Banbury Get It's Name

by Karen Rowland

I am descended from Thomas Banbury and his wife Elizabeth PAYNTER of Cornwall, England. The family included 6 children, Thomas II b Sept. 30, 1819, Charles b Mar.6, 1825, Henry b June 3, 1831, Joseph & Mary b May 3, 1834 and Theresa b Oct. 22, 1839. The eldest son, Thomas II, made a trip to Canada in 1838 and was so impressed with the opportunities available there that he went back to England and persuaded the entire family to emigrate.

The family left England via Liverpool March 14, 1842 and arrived in Toronto 4 weeks later on April 16, 1842. They first settled in Darlington Township in Durham County where they were joined a few weeks later by Thomas’s brother Samuel and his family.

Samuel moved up to Cannington and Thomas travelled down to settle in Oxford County, Dereham Township. Later the two sons, Joseph and Henry left for Tuscola County, Michigan leaving Thomas II and his wife Sarah SWEETING to found a dynasty of Banburys in Oxford County. They had 9 children 5 boys and 4 girls and many grandchildren. They were so plentiful they decided to name a town Banbury and were disappointed to discover that there was already a place by that name in the Parry Sound District. They settled for Zenda, after a popular novel of that day “Prisoner of Zenda”.

I have contacted and researched many Banburys in Canada U.S. and England. None of our known Banbury cousins lived in Parry Sound. Were there others? Why was the name used in that area?

The earliest Banbury I have found was a general in the Crusades. The town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England was named after the local Banbury family and Banbury Cross was where the public road crossed the Banbury farm. An actual cross was erected on the spot in the 13th century but has long since deteriorated.

Anyone interested in Banburys or with information on them please contact me:
Karen Rowland, 17376 Buchanan, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417.

This article first appeared in the November 1988 newsletter, Volume 4 - Number 2