Legend has it that only one Bannister son will survive each generation. For two hundred years, that legend has held true.

The name Bannister is fairly common, but our family can only trace roots back to John, whose parents are unknown to us. John was born in New York when Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States.

After he married and had several children, he began the family’s move westward. First to Wisconsin and Missouri, then on to California.