Genealogy of Hanks bellfounders

This page presents a selective genealogy of the six Hanks men who were bellfounders plus four Hanks women whose close relatives by marriage either were bellfounders or were involved in closely-related industries. Also included are eight Meneely bellfounders who were descendants of the Hanks-Meneely marriage. Altogether, eight different bellfoundries were thus connected to this Hanks family; of that number, five made at least one chime, and three of the five were among the most productive of early American chime makers.
For completeness and cross-reference to other sources, most siblings are named and dated.

DISCLAIMER: This page has been compiled from secondary and tertiary sources, and should not be relied upon as an authoritative source for genealogical data. If you have a question about the accuracy of any item of information found here, please contact the author of this page to learn the supporting evidence upon which it is based.

Uriah Hanks

Vitals:
b.1736 in Plymouth, MA; d.1809 in Mansfield, CT
m.1755 + Irene Case (1735-1807)
Occupation: farmer and general mechanic
Issue:
  1. (Col.) Benjamin Hanks
    Vitals:
    b.1755 in Mansfield, CT; d.1824 in West Troy, NY
    m.1775 + Alice Hovey (1754-?)
    Occupation: bellfounder, instrument maker, cannon maker
    Issue:
    1. Sophia (1776-?) m.? + Rev.Nathan Burrows
    2. Fanny (1778-?) m.? + Tertius Freeman
    3. Horace (1780-1850) m.? + Sophia Wright
    4. Truman Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1782 in ?, CT; d.1846 in ?, ?
      m.? + Rebecca Freeman
      Occupation: iron founder, bellfounder, investor in Niles industry in Cincinnati, OH
    5. Julius Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1784 in ?, CT; d.1846 in ?, ?
      m.1808 in Mansfield, CT + Olive McCall
      Occupation: bellfounder, instrument maker
      Issue:
      1. (dau)
      2. Oscar Hanks
        Vitals:
        b.1810 in Gibbonsville, NY; d.1883 in Cincinnati, OH
        Occupation: mathematical instrument maker, bellfounder
    6. Charlotte (1788-?) m.? + Dr.Richard Bouton
    7. Horatio (1790/twin-?) m.? + Jerusha Freeman
    8. Marcia Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1790/twin in ?, CT; d.1846 in ?
      m.? + Isaac C. Oothout of West Troy, NY
      Husband's connection: probable relative of Jonas Volkert Oothout, sometime partner of bellfounder Andrew Meneely (see below)
  2. Irene (1757/twin-?) m.? + Elisha Crane
  3. Zilpha (1757/twin-1762)
  4. Uriah (1760-?)
  5. Lurancy (1764-?) m.? + William Dexter
  6. Philena (1765-?) m.? + Elijah Lyon
  7. Marilla (17xx-?) m.1789 + Reuben Cross
  8. Libbeus (1771-75)
  9. Alpheus Hanks
    Vitals:
    b.1777 in Mansfield, CT; d.1831 in Hartford, CT
    m.1801 + Zerviah Freeman (1777-?), sister of Olive Freeman (below)
    Occupation: telescope maker, iron founder, bellfounder, investor in Niles industry in Cincinnati, OH
    Issue (all double cousins of Rodney's children, below):
    1. Maria Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1803 in Mansfield, CT; d.1859 in Cincinnati, OH
      m.1831 in Hartford, CT + Jonathan Sands Niles, of Cincinnati, OH
      Husband's occupation: industrialist?, partner in what became Niles Works (which later made one chime after taking over George L. Hanks' bellfoundry; no other single bells are yet known)
    2. Julia Hanks (1804-?) m.? + E.Whipple
    3. George Lucius Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1813 in ?, NY (NOT 1831 in CT); d.1859 in Cincinnati, OH
      m.1836 in Hartford, CT + Julia A. Bunce (1812-96)
      Occupation: bellfounder and maker of two chimes, brass founder
      Issue:
      1. Helen E. Hanks (1840-46)
      2. George (T.) L. Hanks (jr.), b.1843 in Cincinnati, OH, d.1913 in Brooklyn, NY
      3. Louis Alpheus Hanks, b.1850 in Cincinnati, OH, d.1910 in Brooklyn, NY
    4. Albert Sidney Hanks (b.1817 in Watervliet, d.1850 in Cincinnati) m. Anna S. B. Jungman
    5. Zerviah Hanks (1821-?) m.? + Dr.Henry Crane
      Upon her father's death, when Zerviah was just 11, she was adopted by her brother-in-law and sister, Jonathan Sands Niles and Maria Hanks Niles of Cincinnati (see above).
    6. (eight other children died in infancy)
  10. Rodney Hanks
    Vitals:
    b.1782 in Mansfield, CT; d.1846 in Mansfield, CT
    m.1803 + Olive Freeman (1780-1871), sister of Zerviah Freeman (above)
    Occupation: manufacturer of silk machinery, woolen goods, cannon swabs, and other machinery
    Issue (all double cousins of Alpheus's children, above):
    1. Philena Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1804 in Mansfield, CT; d.? in ?, ?
      m.1826 in Mansfield, CT + Andrew Meneely, of (West?) Troy, NY (1802-1851)
      Husband's occupation: instrument maker, bellfounder
      Husband's older sister: Nancy Meneely Hitchcock, mother of James Harvey Hitchcock (see below).
      Issue:
      1. Eleanor S. Meneely (1827-53)
      2. Edwin Andrew Meneely
        Vitals:
        b.1828 in West Troy, NY; d.1887 in ?, ?
        m.1851 + Caroline Kimberly, sister of George H. Kimberly, future bellfounder and partner of Clinton Hanks Meneely (see below)
        Occupation: bellfounder (see list of chimes)
        Issue:
        1. Andrew H. Meneely (1856-1924), bellfounder with his father and brother;
          m. 18?? + Grace Bilmeyer Young (1865-1930) at Harpers Ferry, VA
          Issue: 9 children
        2. George K. Meneely (1858-19??), bellfounder with his father and brother
        3. Edwin Clinton Meneely [1st] (1861-62)
        4. Edwin Clinton Meneely [2nd] (1863-68)
      3. Olive Eugenia Meneely [1st] (1829-30)
      4. George Rodney Meneely
        Vitals:
        b.1831 in West Troy, NY; d.1915 in Albany, NY
        m.1856 + Achsah B. Dickinson
        Occupation: bellfounder with his brother
        Issue:
        1. Eleanor Meneely (1857-?)
        2. Charles Dickens Meneely (1860-?)
      5. Olive Eugenia Meneely [2nd] (1833-37)
      6. Henry Clinton Meneely [1st] (1834-35)
      7. Henry Clinton Meneely [2nd] (1836-37)
      8. Eugenia Philena Meneely (1838-60), m.1859 + Charles Rouseau of West Troy [no issue]
      9. Clinton Hanks Meneely
        Vitals:
        b.1839 in West Troy, NY; d.1923 in ?, ?
        m.1862 + Josephine E. Roof
        Occupation: officer in the Civil War, bellfounder (see list of chimes)
        Issue:
        1. Wadsworth Meneely (1864-?), bellfounder with his father and brothers
        2. Eugenia Philena Meneely (1866-?), m. + Samuel Snelling
        3. William Roof Meneely (1869-?), bellfounder with his father and brothers,
          operating New York office (at least 1900-40)          ; m. + Josephine A. Dater; no issue
        4. Chester R. Meneely (1876-?), bellfounder with his father and brothers;
          m. + Elizabeth Tucker;
          Issue: 5 children
        5. (2 sons and 4 daughters died in infancy)
      10. Julietta Augusta Meneely (1842-49)
    2. Frederick Freeman Hanks (1805-75), m. 1827 + Abigail Page (1808-90); 4 sons
    3. Edmond/Edmund Hanks (1806-61), m.? 1829; six children; descendants survive to the present.
    4. George Rodney Hanks (1808-?)
    5. Olive (1810-82), m.1829 + Jonathan Geer Page (1806-82);
      Issue: 3 children, born between 1830 and 1837; descendants survive to the present.
    6. Julia (1813-?)
    7. Samuel Hanks (1814-18)
    8. Abigail Irena Hanks
      Vitals:
      b.1816 in Mansfield, CT; d.? in ?
      m.1836 in Mansfield, CT + Alexander Hitchcock of West Troy, NY
      Husband's connection: probable relative of James Harvey Hitchcock, bellfounder in partnership with Eber Jones (see list of chimes)
      Issue: 3 daughters, born between 1841 and 1848

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This page was created 2003/12/12 and last revised 2005/07/25.

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