Rev. Charles Blair Banks - Missionary to the Congo

 

Charles Blair Banks was born 14 May 1857 in Edinburgh Parish, Midlothian, Scotland, to George W. Banks and Janet Black. He was the second youngest of eight children born to George and Janet. His siblings included oldest brother John Alexander (1838), sister Margaret Lithgow (1841), William Black (1844), Agnes Lawson (1848), George Junior (1850), Janet “Jessie” (1853), Thomas Milner Hughes (1855), and Francis Johnstone (1859). His father, George, was the son of Margaret Weir and John Banks, a tailor from Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland.  Charles’ father, George had had a lucrative business in as a shoemaker, employing six men, according to the 1851 Scotland Census. But he apparently was not very good with money because between 1856 and 1860 he appeared before the Edinburgh Bankruptcy Court five times. Then, in 1861 the court issued a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear.  The 1861 Scotland Census shows Janet living alone with her children, with her eldest son, John Alexander, listed as the head of the household, his occupation being listed as “classical tutor.” George, however, was listed as living with his brother as a boarder and working as a journeyman bootmaker. Charles was living with his mother’s sister, Agnes Black.  

 On 27 Jan 1864, Charles’ mother passed away at the age of 46, followed six years later by his father on 28 Jun 1870. It was after this that Charles and his brothers and sisters were divided and bounced around between different local relatives. In 1871 he was living with his sisters, Margaret and Jessie, and his younger brother, Francis in Midlothian. But a year later, on 15 Jan 1872, he was in the custody of an aunt, Janet Laws, who signed Charles and his brother Thomas into Indentured Apprenticeship in the Merchant Navy. Charles’ indenture was for 4 years and Thomas’ for 3 aboard the Stornoway, a British tea clipper under Captain J. Waugh. (The Stornoway would eventually wreck at the mouth of the Thames on 7 Jun 1873 under Capt. G. Greener.) In 19th century United Kingdom boys between the ages of 14 and 16 years were indentured, or bound by contract, to be an apprentice on merchant vessels for a fixed period of time to be trained as seamen for the merchant navy. These “training ships” were partially funded by the government in order to maintain a strong Royal Naval Reserve. The Stornoway was one of these training vessels, making through the Mediterranean.

Charles ended his indenture on 25 Feb 1876 at the age of 18, having served on the Stornoway, Marion, Valparaiso, Henrietta, Southern Cross, Cumberland, Ella, and Buda. On 12 Jul 1880 he applied for the position of 2nd Mate, making him third in command on the Buda. He was approved for this position on 14 Jul 1880. On 22 Jan 1881 he applied for and received his certification as Only Mate, placing him in command should the Master Mate (2nd behind the Captain) be incapacitated. By this time he had served five years at sea and had become an accomplished seaman.

 Emily Tiptaft and Charles Blair Banks

It was during this time that Charles felt the calling of the mission field and became allied with the American Baptist Mission Union (ABMU) who sent him to the Belgian Congo where he saw the medical needs of the natives in that region. In 1883 he returned to England to study medicine at the University of London. In 1885 Charles attended a religious meeting at Dame Agnes Weston’s Royal Sailors Rest in London with a friend, Jack Murphy. While there Jack introduced him to a charming woman by the name of Fanny Tiptaft. At a later meeting he spotted Miss Tiptaft again and greeted her, but when she turned to him it was not Fanny but her twin sister Emily! “Sir,” she said, “I believe you have mistaken me for my sister!” His error was his good fortune, as their friendship turned into a courtship and they were married in Hackney, England on 30 Dec 1886.

Charles and Emily left England 30 Apr 1887 to return to Africa, arriving at Wangata, Etat Independent du Congo many weeks later, on 13 Sep 1887, again under the auspices of the ABMU where they would remain for the following 13 years. They first lived in Wangata in a native clay hut. The natives at first didn't believe she was real, saying that she couldn't be a woman as she was made entirely of cloth. They called her Ndoki (ghost) as she would wear a white dress and a white scarf over her helmet to protect her from the scorching sun. They had never seen a white woman before, let alone one dressed completely in white and they were suspicious and frightened of her. But Emily's tender ways toward them soon earned her the name "White Mama." They called Charles “Mondele”or ‘Banksisi” and believed him to be a great hunter due to his skill with his rifle when he would accompany the tribesmen hunting for game.

Charles and Emily welcomed their first child, Marguerite, 13 Sep 1888. The natives adored Marguerite, calling her Bona Owa Wangata—child of Wangata, and marveled at her whiteness and beauty. In Jun 1889, after a period of illness that would not seem to abate, Emily and Marguerite returned to England to her family while Charles remained behind on the Congo. It took her many months of care and treatment before she recovered enough to return to Charles and their work with the natives of the Congo. In 1890 she left Marguerite in the care of her parents and sisters and returned to Wangata. Upon meeting Charles she found that he had built them a home in the village of Bolenge, four miles down the river from Wangata. He had built it entirely by hand and surrounded it with acres of cleared ground, shrubbery, and gardens. He had even built her furniture!

After settling in Charles and Emily invited their tribes-people to come in and see the new “hut” that their Mondele had built for his wife. While the crowd milled about looking at this and that, a strange man entered the house and approached Emily, saying something to her that she did not understand. A young native woman was standing nearby and turned on the man saying, “How dare you talk to our White Woman in such words! Go away!” Later Emily found Charles at the top of the steps leading to the seven-foot veranda. The same stranger was coming up the steps and spoke to Charles. A hush came over the crowd and the tanned face of their White Man turned pale. His hand shot out and he took the intruder by the throat and shook him violently, then he kicked the man down the steps with his heavily booted foot. The man picked himself up and slunk away, and one of the natives asked Charles, “What would you do, White Man, if he had taken her?” Charles gave a look at his gun and made a gesture as if firing it, as his only reply. The crowd began murmuring, both inside and outside the house—it was just one word said over and over again: “Ekila, Ekila, Ekila.” It meant forbidden, sacred. It was used to describe only things to be feared; thus the White Woman was sacred and safe for all the years that followed. Emily never dared ask Charles what the man had said. The tribe was in awe of the love the White Man had for his White Woman.

In Mar 1891 Charles and Emily welcomed their second child, Charles Sidney James Banks, to their family and then in May 1892 a second son, Alan Herbert. Charles had a furlough due, little Charles had been sick, and Alan was not as strong as he should be, so it was decided they would all return to England. Upon their return to London, they found their little Marguerite, in the care of Emily’s family, had grown into a lovely little girl. They went to North Weald on the East Coast of England to rest, as Charles and Emily were both worn down from recurrent attacks of fever. While there, a daughter Emmaline Frances, was born in Aug 1894.

Charles returned to Bolenge when his furlough was over, and when Emmaline was 8 months old Emily followed. They continued their work until their last child, Kenneth Alexander, was born in Feb 1898. Emily made a final visit to the villages to say her farewells and then returned to England with Charles following several months later after he prepared the mission for its successor. When he left Africa he knew it was for the last time as the hard life, fevers, and climate had taken their toll. He arrived home in May and spent the summer and autumn reacquainting himself with his children. Despite their long separation from their father, they adored him fiercely. Then in December what began as an attack of rheumatic fever soon revealed a brain clot.

 

On 29 Dec 1900 Charles, knowing the end was near, told a friend, "I long to go, I am so weary; but it does seem selfish to go away and leave Mrs. Banks alone with five children. I must get well to help her." But it was too late. Following 24 hours of unconsciousness, Charles Blair Banks died at the age of 43.