Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The Bankhead legacy in Alabama

  Since we are in the midst of an election for a U.S. Senator, let me share the story of one of the most prestigious congressional families in Alabama history. The Bankheads of Jasper would likely be the most prominent political family in Alabama political lore. More than likely there has never been a father serve as one of Americas most powerful U.S. Senators while his son, William Bankhead, served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

  The founder of the famous family was John Hollis Bankhead. He was the patriarch of a family that spawned sons John H. Bankhead II;  and Speaker of the U.S. House, William B. Bankhead; and daughter, state archivist, Marie Bankhead Owen; and granddaughter Tallulah Bankhead, who became a star of stage and screen.