Pankey Surname Origin

“Pankey” is an Americanized form of the German surname Pahnke.[i] Similar surnames include Bankey, Hankey, Panke, and Panky.

My Direct Pankey Ancestors

• • 2^nd Great-Grandmother: Caroline M. A. Pankey (c. 1811-c.1865) (VA-VA-NC)[ii]
  • 3^rd Great-Grandfather: Thomas Armstrong Pankey (c. 1765-1829) (VA-VA-VA)
  • 4th Great-Grandfather: Samuel Pankey (c. 1738- c. 1807) (?-?-?)

Geographical

Nearly 99% of all individuals with the Pankey surname live in the United States.[iii]  My Pankey’s were in Virginia when Thomas Armstrong Pankey married Martha Cannon about 1785.

Historical

My most recent Pankey ancestor, Caroline M.A. Pankey, was born and married in Virginia. She and her husband left Virginia for North Carolina sometime between 1840 and 1850. The other twenty-four Pankey individuals I have identified in my tree all have known events in Virginia.

Ancestry indicates that 5 of 36 (14%) of Pankey families[iv] lived in Virginia during the 1840 Census. None of these were my direct ancestors; Thomas died in 1829 and Caroline married Peter M. Howell that same year. A review of Pankey families in the Virginia Census records will immensely help my understanding of this family line.

Oral History

I have no known oral history for the Pankey surname.

Genealogy

I have 21 known descendants of Samuel Pankey. Besides Pankey, descendants of Samual include Binford, Calhoun, Cannon, Ellis, Howell, and Scott surnames.

DNA

DNA Painter indicates that 3^rd cousins should share between 0 and 234 cM of DNA with 73 cM being typical.

One individual shares about 52 cM and has a “Pankey” in their three. I’ve come to find that he is a second cousin once removed. There are another 12 individuals who share DNA with Mary-Alice and have “Pankey” in their tree. I should research them later.

Future Actions

1. 1. A review of Pankey families in the Virginia Census records will help my understanding this line.
   2. Ancestry DNA – Review matches that include “Pankey” in their trees and look for cousins.
   3. Research Samuel Pankey (c. 1738- c. 1807).

Sources:

• Ancestry Surname Page: https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts
• Forebears Surnames Page: https://forebear       s.io/surnames
• Genealogy Bank Page: https://www.genealogybank.com/last-name-meaning
• Ancestry – Don Taylor’s Howell-Darling tree on Ancestry, accessed 2 Jan 2020.

Endnotes

[i] “Pankey.” In Dictionary of American Family Names, edited by Hanks, Patrick. : Oxford University Press, 2003. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195081374.001.0001/acref-9780195081374-e-47236.

[ii] Abbreviations for the Birth, Marriage, and Death locations.

[iii] Forebears indicates there are 4,407 people in the US and 4,453 in the world.

[iv] https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Pankey