His son, Rev. David William Shanks (1830-1894), would receive a degree from Washington College, become a minister in Rockbridge County and later in Danville, survive the American Civil War and likewise marry twice. Thomas Shanks' two daughters who survived him were: Grace Ellen Shanks Glasgow (1826-1897) (second wife of William A. Glasgow and both of whose sons would graduate from Washington and Lee University and become lawyers) and Eliza Cassandra Shanks McPheeters (1827-1872). D.W. Shanks neither owned slaves nor enlisted in the military, and in addition to his sons Lewis and David Shanks, had three long-lived but unmarried daughters: Margaret Cabell Shanks (1867–1935), Eliza McPheeters Shanks (1868–1938) and Juliet Irvine Shanks (1869–1958).