Edward Bancroft (1811-1855), of Fairbanks, Bancroft and Co., machinists, of Providence, RI, USA, until 1849, when he moved to Philadelphia and entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, William Sellers, trading as Bancroft and Sellers.
1811 Born
1855 Died
Edward was the son of John and Elizabeth Bancroft, who went to the USA from England in 1824. However, see note below.
He married Mary (Sellers), and they had two daughters, Anna P. Bancroft and Elizabeth Bancroft, and a son, John Sellers Bancroft, who was for a time a machinist with William Sellers and Co.
The above information is from 'Colonial Families of Philadelphia'[1]
Another source gives the birthdates of his parents as 1774 (John) and 1777 (Elizabeth), both born in Lancashire. Their oldest son, Joseph (1803-1874) was born in Greater Manchester.[2]. However, the same site gives Edward's birthplace as Philadelphia, which is inconsistent with his parents having moved to the USA in 1824. The family were Quakers.
One source[3] credits Edward Bancroft with building America's first iron planing machine, in 1830.