Historian.  Authored 39 volumes of the history of the West, 11 volumes on California (containing 8,800 pages).  Banned from the Society of California Pioneers for reporting the truth about John Sutter, John C. Freemont and other paragons of the past.  Family links:  Parents:  Azariah Ashley Bancroft (1798 – 1885)  Lucy Damaris Howe Bancroft (1799 – 1882)  Spouse:  Matilda Griffing Bancroft (1848 – 1910)*  Children:  Kate Bancroft Richards (1860 – 1945)*  Sibling:  Cecilia Bancroft (1826 – 1910)*  Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832 – 1918) *Calculated relationship