Hi Howard. Thanks for your comment. Yes, I agree that this is the most likely scenario. The birth date I use for Joseph, half brother of Bankes, (c1665) is an estimate only, based on the information we have about the Rand half siblings. It could easily be out by a few years. Apprenticeships usually started at age 14, but not necessarily. If we assume that Bankes’s apprentice was aged 14-20 in 1685 that would place his date of birth at 1665-1671, which would fit pretty well.

Of course, if Joseph’s father was Bankes’s step-father it seems possible that Bankes may have originated from the Chichester area. We know that he went to London after the fire of 1666. In this case, possibly there may be a reference to Mrs Bankes’s second marriage in the West Sussex archives. Of course, we also want to know who Samuel Rand was. He definitely fitted in somewhere. Possibly John’s brother.

All very interesting, and tantalising! Maybe we will get the answer one day.

Thanks again.