Charles Edward Banks (1854-1931) was a military surgeon, best known for his 126 genealogy publications. In the preface to "The History of Martha's Vineyard, Banks summed up his influential genealogy research, "I have been diligent in gleaning materials, but the last fact will never be found for many years to come."

Contains complete genealogies of every family resident of Martha's Vineyard from 1641 through the beginning of the 19th century. This adaptation of Charles Bank's 1925 three-volume history of that historic Massachusetts island settlement commences with a learned Introduction that discusses the author's methodology, the venerable families of the Vineyard and migration patterns to the mainland, and it concludes with an every-name index exceeding 12,000 persons.