Research Notes for Judy Banes Sankot
As far as research goes, I am not actively doing any at this time.
However, the name I usually try to find is Rudolph Banes and I find very little on him. I have been told he came to Tama County via the Orphan Train at the age of 8, or 11, or 14, and spoke the Czech language. It is believed he may have been an orphan in the Old Country as, it is said, his mother died at childbirth and his father was in prison for killing a Russian or Prussian soldier who had raped Rudolph's mother.
Rudolph is my paternal grandfather and his history is a mystery.