BANCKER, Miss Mary E. C., author, known by her pen-name, "Betsey Bancker," born
MARY E. C BANCKER.
in New York City. 1st September, 1860. She is a lineal descendant of that old and historical Knickerbocker family whose name she bears, which came from Holland in 1658. The Bancker family intermarried with the De Puysters, Rutgers, Ogdens and Livingstons. The maternal grandfather of Miss Bancker was Michael Henry, one of the leading merchants of New York, as well as patron of art, and founder and owner of the once famous picture gallery at Number 100 Broadway. Mr. Henry was of Huguenot extraction. His ancestors, driven out of France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, during the reign of Louis XIV, established themselves at Henry's Grove, Armaugh, Ireland. Mr. Henry's father, John Sinclair Henry, came to America with the idea of founding a colony in South Carolina. Homeward bound, he stopped in New York, where he met Leah, of the old Brevoort family, of that city, and, wooing and wedding her, he remained and established a shipping business between this country and Newry, Ireland. Miss Mary, daughter of F. J. Bancker, began to write early. Her maiden efforts were a series of sketches descriptive of outdoor life, appearing in the "Turf, Field and Farm." These articles were well received and extensively copied. Miss Bancker corresponded for the Cincinnati "Enquirer" during several years, and now represents the Montreal "Herald" in New York, her present home, as staff correspondent for that Canadian journal. She is known from Quebec to British Columbia. Miss Bancker produced the Indian Opera "Dovetta" in April, 1889, in the Standard Theater in New York, in conjunction with Mrs. E. Marcy Raymond. Miss Bancker was librettist with Charles Raynaud. She is constantly writing upon a variety of topics, that find their way to American as well as Canadian periodicals. Miss Bancker began her education in New York, and at a very impressionable age traveled extensively in Europe and in the tropics of America. She has a knowledge of the French and Spanish languages.