THE M' THER ' ' LINC' LN.

' r o m time to time the superiority of r e co r d evidence over tradition , and of documentary proof over gossip and e legend , is strikingly presented . We have now an int rest ’ a a ing inst nce in the case of Abraham Lincoln s parent ge . t a There has been ex ant, ever since the c reer of Lincoln and every detail connected with him became the subject of m hi s m sy pathetic interest on the part of country en , a suppo iti n n o t s o . that his mother was of legitimate birth This ,

' indeed , has not been treated as a supposition it has been cir cumstantially and positively asserted in some of the most ’ ” In ' . i authoritative biographies W . H . Herndon s L fe of Lincoln he relates the story of illegitimacy as coming from Lincoln himself in an isolated and notable conversa M . . u n in tion , and J T orse has cited this with full ass ra ce ' ' hi s . ' Life , in the American Statesmen series ther

ni z biographers allude to and recog e the tale , and it has no doubt been generally received and credited . i Now, it is plain that there is no truth whatever in th s ' ” story . Nancy Hanks was not the daughter of Lucy t Hanks , as Herndon so posi ively says ' in fact, it is not clear w a s as that there ever such a person Lucy Hanks . Nor w a s an N cy the daughter of any unmarried woman . ' n the contrary , her family record is unimpeachable , her birth i is without a cloud , the ev l story concerning her is appar — r i ently a pure invention not a pu e invent on , either , but an v impure , a base slander , derived from some ulgar and If scandalous source . Lincoln ever told such a story to 3 Mo ther o Lincoln 4 The f . — — Herndon ' hi ch may be confidently disbelieved h e w as mistaken , and must have been misled by some evil whisper 1 that had been unhappily brought to his ears . ”

Mr s . s The little book, Nancy Hanks , by Caroline Hank M tt l 1899 Hitchcock, of Cambridge , assachuse s , pub ished in (New ' ork ' ' oubleday M c Clur e is the sour ce of i the knowledge which sets right this story of illeg timacy. It distinctly and conclusively shows who the mother of Lin It It . coln w as . identifies both her parents proves them

It i dr reputable people . places her in the list of their ch l en , u with f ll title to respect. ’ Mr s . There is other matter in Hitchcock s book, some of i a which is entitled to our consideration also , but th s in rel tion to the parentage of Abraham Lincoln’ s mother is by h Mr s . as far the most important. Hitchcock found (at Bards o t t wn , Kentucky , the introduc ion to her book states) a as to document, heretofore unprinted , which is conclusive this point . She gives complete , both in type and in photo i fa e s mile s . graphic , the will of Joseph Hank He was of i . 9 Nelson County, Kentucky His w ll is dated January , 1 93 t M a 14 7 , and was duly probated in that coun y, y , of the

In same year . his will Joseph Hanks names his eight d chil ren . There were five sons , Thomas , Joshua, William ,

E iz Charles , and Joseph , and three daughters , l abeth , Polly,

Na nc . and y The will provides for them all , and remembers It ’ equally the three girls . thus records the father s impar tial gi fts '

ITEM —I e an d a a E z a o n i . giv beq ue th unto my d ughter li beth e he fer ITE M —I d a a l a ' . an e a ye r ing c lled entle . give b que th unto my d ughte r P a a a ITEM —I an d olly one heifer ye rling c lled L dy . . give b equea th ” a a o n a a Pe id unto my d ughter N ncy e heifer ye rling c lled y .

k We have here in Nelson County, Kentuc y, in the year

1 93 . w as 7 , Nancy Hanks , daughter of Joseph That she 12 1806 w a s the same who thirteen years later , June , ,

1 The genesis of the idea of illegitima te birth was ma de eas ier by im ’ w o f a shi s a Ha n ks s a perfe ct kno ledge the rel tion p of N n cy f mily . The Mother o Lincoln f . 5 M . a married by the Rev Jesse Head , the ethodist pre cher,

. u to Thomas Lincoln , is not open to question She is f lly identified by abundant proof.

Joseph Hanks had been in Kentucky , prior to his death , only about four years . He had come , it is said , from Amelia ’ ' Mr . s . County , Virginia ollowing now Hitchcock s general ” i w as account, his w fe Nancy (she is called Nanny in the l i w as Sh i le w ll) , and she the daughter of Robert p y . The wi Mr o s . fe of R bert Shipley , Hitchcock says , was named

Sarah Rachael . They were in Lunenburg County , Virginia, 176 5 in , where Robert Shipley bought land , three hundred 1 6 a . and fourteen acres , September , of th t year Lunenburg 2 County is near to Amelia County , in which Joseph Hanks is said to have lived before his removal to Kentucky .

The Shipleys had five daughters . These and their mar r i e Mr a s s . g , as given by Hitchcock, were MAR' 1. . i She married Abraham Lincoln , of Rock ng ham County , Virginia (son of John Lincoln , who had come w as from Berks County, Pennsylvania) . She thus the mother of Thomas Lincoln . Abraham Lincoln removed w as to Kentucky with his family, and killed there by I 4 1 . ndians , 78 2 ' ' C . . L She married Richard Berry . They removed 1 8 9 to Kentucky , probably in 7 , with Joseph Hanks and

. t others Lucy Berry , af er the death of her sister Nancy , i a ft the w fe of Joseph Hanks , which occurred soon er the ' ” s . death of Joseph , brought up her niece , Nancy Hank Richard Berry was the bondsman for Thomas Lincoln in his marriage to Nancy Hanks . The marriage took place at Rich ’ s ard Berry s house , at Beechland , near Springfield , in Wa h It — — ington County, Kentucky . is this Lucy Berry who

1 is is s a e a s Mr a ac in his a Th the t t ment l o of . S muel Sh kford, p per on ’ l s a n castr New E n la n d His tor ica l a n d enea lo i a l Linco n y , in the g ' g c

Re ister A 1887 . es es R w as g , pril , He d crib obert Shipley, ho ever, of a a North C rolin . i' M ' ” rs . c sa s t xt . It is n v so o Hit hcock y he ne county not gy , Nott wa C t tw y oun y lying be een . 6 The M other of Lincoln . has been called in several of the biographies of Lincoln ' Lucy Hanks , it being supposed , through the mists of dim t da u h recollection , that Nancy Hanks was ac ually her g ter by blood, and not merely by adoption . ARAH M 3 . S . She married Robert itchell ' they removed to Kentucky .

ELIZABETII . . 4 . She married Thomas Sparrow This family also went to Kentucky , and in the accounts of those who remembered the Lincolns and the Ha n kses there are many allusions to the Sparrows .

5. ANC' . N She married Joseph Hanks , referred to i I i above . His will ident fies her . g ve and bequeath to my wife Nanny all and singular my whole estate during if f her l e , a terward to be equally divided between all my dr I t f chil en consti ute , ordain , and appoint my wi e Nanny and my son William as executrix and executor to this my last will and te sta men

' E E ' A ' A ' SC NT ' N NC H N S .

Rob er t Shi le h Ra chae l p y TSa ra

Ab a ham Lin co ln Richar d Ber r Ro b e t Mitchell Tho S a r w ' e h H n k r y r s . p r o o s p a s __ r Tho mas

' o shua

m z ' illi a m. Eli a th ll , b e Ha Cha rles

' o se h m. P ll ' un p , o y o g Eliz a b th m i ll e . Le Ha , v P ll i o y , m. ' esse ' r e n d TH' MAS LINC' LN NANC'

A BR AH A M LINC' LN

It will be observed that Thomas Lincoln and Nancy — h e of M Hanks were first cousins the son ary Shipley, and I she the daughter of Nancy Shipley. am not aware that di this fact has heretofore been stinctly brought out . ’ Mr s — . Hitchcock s book not only gives in fac simile the

' will of Joseph Hanks , but also , in fac simile , three docu ments which relate to the marriage of Thomas Lincoln and The Mo ther o Lincoln f . 7

fi x as Nancy Hanks , and which the time and the place , well 1 as the fact, beyond cavil . These are ( ) the marriage bond r 10 given by Thomas Lincoln and Richard Ber y , June , 1806 tw o 2 , days before the marriage ' ( ) the marriage cer tifi c a te s of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hank , signed by ' ” Rev. Jesse Head ' (3) the return list of marriages sent

. 22 in to the court clerk by Rev Jesse Head , dated April , 1807 , and containing with fifteen others the marriage of

Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks , on the date already

given .

s The second of these document , as numbered above , is I new, so far as am aware . The marriage bond and the

' ” return list were both printed in fac' simile in Nicolay and ’ ” ' Mr s . Hay s Life of Lincoln , but not the certificate . Hitchcock does not state where or when it was brought to light ' sh e mentions tha t ' gradually the documents [r e lating to the marriage' were unearthed , owing largely to ff Mr s . Mr . the e orts of Vauter Vawter' and Thompson , of ” t Louisville , Kentucky. The cer ificate is , of course , cumu wi lative testimony ' the return list , taken th the bond , was already conclusive on the fact of the mar riage .

The relationship of Nancy Hanks to Joseph Hanks , the

E z as carpenter , of li abethtown , with whom Thom Lincoln ' ” learned his trade , is made clear by the list of children in the will of the Joseph Hanks of 1793 . The Joseph of 1806 w as evidently his son , the youngest of the five in the

i . w as e ' f w ll He the broth r Nancy, and , like her , first 1 cousin to Thomas Lincoln .

' d Ha sa ' l I a a n o . . . a s ma r Nicol y y y ( , p he [Thom Lincoln' ” an a s a h is dd t a t ' M . a rs ried N cy H nk , niece of employer They h . ’ s t w a s a a s s s s w B Lincoln mo her n med Lucy H nk ' her i ter ere etty, P an d a w a as a w ' s s ' a nd olly , N ncy, ho m rried Thom Sp rro , e e riend, ” H a ll i tt f t t t t t t . s s s s a s Levi There no li le con u ion in he e e men , bu i ma y be rea dily corrected by a reference to the dia gra m given a bove w ith th xt s t e e . e a a s was i B t The fo t r mo her of N ncy H nk Lucy (Sh pley) erry, B a her a unt . etty Sp rrow was her a unt as s ta ted Polly ' riend was her s s e an s s e B w as h er w t t t wi i t r ' N cy, i t r of Lucy erry, o n mo her, no he fe 8 The Mo ther of Lincoln .

Mr s . Hitchcock gives a page or two to a defence of the character of Thomas Lincoln . Probably this will be unavail

n o . a ing , but it is doubt just The figure of Thom s Lincoln ,

in as presented most of the biographies of his son , is a

In as caricature . the earlier ones he appears a good humored , indolent, and incapable person , but later ones , as enlarging and dilating upon this , represent him coarse ,

. ' ut w uncouth , and altogether worthless of this there gre a vulgar and scandalous idea that Thomas Lincoln could not 1 have been the father of so great a son . A very moderate application of common sense to the sub j e ct will show that the ordinary notion adverse to Thomas

Lincoln is unreasonable . The known facts concerning him show him to have been a man of his class , a hardy and diffi cul energetic pioneer , meeting resolutely the trials and di w wi i ties that faced him , and conten ng ith them th fa r

fl . 1 success . Let us consider brie y some of these ( ) He r 2 learned a t ade, that of a carpenter . ( ) He took up a ’ No lin s t quarter section of land (on Creek) , which it is tes i fi e d was ' a fair representative section of the land in the ” f . 1890 w as immediate region Co fin, who saw it in , says it i 3 then under cultivation , and y elding an average crop . ( ) His second purchase of land (Knob ’ s Creek) had ' many

’ a ' s a s a s w was t E z a t of Levi H ll, but of o eph H nk Levi H ll ife he li be h ’

a a s s s . of the younger gener tion , N ncy i ter The confusion in Nicol a y a n d H a y a t this point is pres ented a ls o in

w a s a w e . Herndon, ho pretended to h ve uch compet nt kno ledge He sa s a ' ' s a n d a s a a wa s s st a y in foot note , enni ' ohn H nk h ve l y in i ed th t ’ s t was a t a w B t w Lincoln mo her not Ha nks bu Spa rro . o h of them rote

a s s h s is a a to me th t such was the fa ct . Their object in in i ting on t i pp r ent when it is shown tha t Na ncy Ha nks was the da ughter of Lucy

a s w a t wa s a a w It w s H nk , ho f er rd m rried Henry Sp rro . ill be ob erved ” w a Mr t . a a h is as a a s [ho ever' th t Lincoln cl imed th t mo her w H nk . 1 s t a t t t x s ts a a n d an Thi my h, not much dmit ed in o prin , e i or lly in m u s A a in a n n t . t a d w s w w crip l dy prominent liter ure, other i e ell k o n,

ar s t a t t w t t s s a s a o t s t a t e ne ly c u ioned he ri er of hi , ome ye r g , no to inve ig e

a a ' t a s t s . e w see s a was the p rent ge of Lincoln , e , inve ig tion preci ely the thing needed . h i ln The M o t er of L nco . 9

4 acres tha t are very fertile . ( ) He resolved to move to a

Sta te with free labor . (5) He sold out his Kentucky land

in . 6 w a s without loss ( ) Though his boat overset the river , h e recovered his property . (7) He sought out good land in

Indiana . (8) He travelled seventy miles to Vincennes to i h enter his new claim . (9) Through the w nter he ewed the

timber for his new cabin . i As to his acuteness and his percept on of character , cer ta in ly the selections he made when seeking both his first and

second wives stand to his credi t . Both Nancy Hanks and Sally Bush are described by all as women ' f exceptional

i . qualit es There were , it may be added , a Bible and other I r books in the ndiana cabin , and Thomas apparently w ote

o w n n a m e ' his , without a mark, to the marriage bond of

1806 .

Th e ' ff temptation to heighten the e ect, to paint with vivid colors , in popular biographies , is very strong , and it results in most unjustified and misleading— often very unfair

— In a I work . the c se of Thomas Lincoln have not a par tiele of doubt that the received picture of him is thoroughly wrong .

Mr s . Hitchcock announces that a full genealogy of the

In Hanks family is in preparation . her present volume she sketches what she believes to be the ancestry of Joseph ’ n th e I Ha ks , father of Lincoln s mother , and in this am It obliged to confess a particular interest . was suggested in

wn ' Pe n n s lva my book relating to the to ship of wynedd , y nia, that it might very probably be that Nancy Hanks was descended from a family of Hanke , or Hank , in the region d h near Philadelphia , one of whom , John , ied in W itemarsh , 1 30—31 w a s 7 , another of whom in Berks County , in the 1 54 neighborhood of the Lincolns , about 7 , and one of

n whom , perhaps Joseph , is said to have gone to Virgi ia with h John Lincoln , grandfather of the President . T is theory

1 m — a s It l s t a his s t C . C w w s C . o m ho dd ou d eem h t elec ion of la nd ca nn ot with justice be cite d as evidence of ineffi ciency or wan t o fj udg t ” men . 1 The Mo ther o L n 0 f i coln .

was supported by a number of facts , and seemed to me very I reas onable . had hoped that in time the finding of further M documentary evidence might establish its correctness . ean

ha z while , Nicolay and Hay ve recogni ed its probability in ffi h as their work, and Co n adopted it more completely than t I any hing had said on the subject would quite justify . h diff Mr s . as Hitchcock , however , an entirely erent line of

n descent . She does not come back to Pennsylva ia at all ' she has a Massachusetts immigrant ancestor for the Ken

H n e ff tucky a ks s . Here is the line she o ers E MIN HA x E I. N' A N s Ma lmes B , from ngland (probably in in Mas bury, Wilts) , who , with others , landed Plymouth , sa ch usetts 1699 , , and settled in Pembroke , Plymouth County . ” ' ' i Mr Among the parish records of Rev . aniel Lew s , s .

h as ' r Hitchcock found the list of his child en , eleven by a first wife and one by a second . The third one was II ILLIAM . ' eb W , born in Pembroke , Plymouth County, f r ua r 11 1704 . ' fur y , him , beyond his birth , there is no

Mr s . dit ther record . Hitchcock accepts family tra ion that

l ' he went on a sai ing vessel to Virginia, and settled near Ra ah a n n o ck the mouth of the pp River , where his sons , ” Abraham , Richard , James , John , and Joseph , were born . ’

III EPH Mr . ' S . s . J Hitchcock says all of William s chil ' t dren , named above , with the excep ion of John , moved to ni a Amelia County, Virgi a, where they bought large plant ” ' tions near each other , and adds that Joseph must have S h e moved to Amelia County , with the rest, about proceeds then to identify him as the same Joseph Hanks 1 93 who was in Nelson County, Kentucky, in 7 , and who made his will and died there that year . Mr We must see more of the evidence which s . Hitchcock may be presumed to have , and which we suppose she will print in her larger book, before a definite judgment can be ’ passed on this Massachusetts derivation of Lincoln s mother . ff But we may fairly examine a moment what is now o ered . s There is record evidence , it seems , that a Joseph Hank l was in Amelia County, Virginia, much ear ier than the time he Mo th o Lin oln T er f c . 11

of the removal to Kentucky . A person of that name sold

1 47 1 54 . land there in 7 , and bought other land in 7 The

Mr records of these transactions s . Hitchcock found in 1 4 2 4 Richmond . The sale in 7 7 was 8 acres on the lower ” side of Seller Creek , to Abraham Hanks , presumed to be ’ 1 54 w a s Joseph s brother . The purchase in 7 a Crown grant of 246 acres ' on the upper side of Sweathouse ” a n d r s ' Creek , adjoining land of Abraham Hanks othe

Th In . ere are some weak places , certainly , this chain The ” family traditions concerning William need support . His migration from Plymouth to tidewater Virginia , and his ” ' Ra ah a n n o ck location near the mouth of the p p River , seem vague and uncertain . But , accepting them as correct, ’ was William s son , Joseph , the same person as he whose ’ will showed him to be Nancy Ha n ks s father ? It is a long gap in time— and a long distance as well— between an authenticated date in Massachusetts in 17 04 and another in

Kentucky in 179 3 .

' n e thing seems tolerably plain . The Joseph Hanks who sold land in Amelia County in 1747 cannot have been the 1 04 . . son of William , born in 7 There is not enough time

' ' uf orty three years is not s ficient for William to grow up ,

ft k , marry , and have a fi h child of competent age for ma ing f If ' title to land . we suppose illiam to marry at the early w 1 24 f age of t enty , in 7 , and suppose his fi th child to be born — — ’ h in six years , most unlikely , that would make Joseph s 1 30 1 4 birth in 7 , and in 7 7 he would legally only be an

' infant ,

Mr s . Hitchcock very difi i c ult to

' I 1 04 . the son William Hanks , born in 7 And , if this be i 1 54 conceded , the quest on follows , Was the Joseph of 7 William ’ s son ? The two Josephs who sold and bought 1 4 1 54 land in the one county , 7 7 and 7 , were probably the ’ the same person , so if one was not William s son the other was not . If ffi i u , however , these di cult es are disposed of, the q The M t 12 o her of Lincoln .

1 54 next arises , Can the Joseph Hanks of 7 be the same 1 84 ? In s whose daughter , Nancy, was born in 7 such a ca e

Mr s . thirty years is a good while . Hitchcock says that it ' II 17 54 ' ' he [Joseph' then settled , If ui and all his children were born . he acq red it for a li home , being then married , or about to marry, it is un kely, i though possible , that even his youngest ch ld would be born — t t o f i . thir y years af er one w fe Again , Robert Shipley is stated to have bought his land in Lunenbur g County in — ’ 176 5 eleven years after Joseph H a nks s purchase of 17 54 li A r e nf m me a County . we to i er that Joseph di not marry Mary Shipley until her father bough t thi s land ? in 1765 if 1 54 Joseph would be , of age in 7 , a bachelor of — at least thirty' one years quite a contras t to the early mar r ia ge of h im h ich we are obliged to assume in order

to make Joseph of age in 1754 . i e n i I have no des M a y question with Mr s . H tch r di a ll cock, nor to th ow scredit on her work, in which who

' r care for the Lincoln family t ee are interested . The con tr ibutio n she makes concerning Joseph Hanks of 1793 is' as — It has been said highly important, is to be hoped that her full account of the Hanks family in Am erica will make I all the now obscure points perfectly plain . cannot entir ely

give up , as yet , the idea of the connection of the Hanke

people in Pennsylvani a w ith the Lincolns . That appears to if rest on a good foundation at some points , it should prove to be unfounded as to the vital one— the parentage of Nancy

Hanks .