Colonel John Banister (1734-1788)

John Banister was born December 26th, 1734 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Trained in law, he was a Virginian Founding Father with connections to the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Banister was a member of the second continental congress, signer of the Articles of Confederation, and first mayor of Petersburg. He was a major at Valley Forge and served as a colonel of cavalryman, defending against Benedict Arnold's raid of Richmond and Petersburg in 1781. Battersea was built for Banister in 1768. At 53 years of age, he died September 30th, 1788 in Virginia.

Col. John Banister was the grandson of Reverend John Banister (1650-1692), an Oxford-educated botanist who brought his fascination with American flora to Dinwiddie County. Rev. Banister was the first known owner of the property along the Appomattox which Battersea now sits upon and is widely regarded as Virginia’s first “resident naturalist.” In 1687, he married Martha Batte (1670-some time after 1720).

Rev. Banister and Martha Batte had one child, Captain John Banister (1689-1755). It is believed that Cap. John Banister was married about 1730 to Wilmuth Banister (c.1700-1740), whose maiden name was unknown.

Cap. Banister and Wilmuth had two children, Martha Banister (1732-c.1754) and Colonel John Banister (1734-1788). In c.1765, Banister was married to his first wife, Elizabeth “Patsy” Bland (1739-1777) with whom he had five children:

John (1767-1788), Robert (c.1771-1794), Theodrick (c.1773-1781), Maria (c.1774-1792), and Elizabeth (birth date and death dates unknown).

After Elizabeth Bland’s death in 1777, Col. Banister remarried the same year to Ann Blair (1776-1813). Banister and Ann Blair had two children:

Theodrick Blair Banister (1781-1829) and John Monro Banister (1784-1832).