Nancy Hanks Lincoln heritage

There is long standing controversy regarding Nancy Hanks Lincoln's heritage. Nancy was the wife of Thomas Lincoln and mother of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln. Her familial background according to historian Albert J. Beveridge is as "Dim as the dream of a shifting mirage... her face and figure waver through the mists of time and rumor."

Although no documentation has been found to identify Nancy Hanks' parents, there are two main theories about the identity of Nancy's mother:

In either case, Nancy's father may have been James Hanks.

Lucy Hanks Sparrow may have been the daughter of Joseph Hanks from Pennsylvania, but this is anecdotal and no documentation has been discovered to prove the relationship.

A recent mitochondrial DNA test of descendants of daughters of Joseph Hanks and his wife Annie Lee Hanks, daughters of Lucy Hanks Sparrow, and two Shipley sisters show a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) match between the Hanks and Sparrow families, but no match with the Shipleys. This rules out the possibility of a maternally-linked Hanks-Shipley relationship. While test results do establish a maternally-linked relationship between Annie Lee and Lucy Hanks, they cannot confirm their exact relationship, since all maternally-linked females share the same mtDNA. While there has been speculation that test results indicate that Lucy Hanks Sparrow was the daughter of Annie Lee Hanks, the two women could be maternal cousins or Annie Lee could be Lucy's maternal aunt. It is also possible that their relationship was generations in the past. The relationship between the two women could be established through written documentation, but unfortunately, none has been found.

This article explores the information about Nancy's heritage published in books and national, state or local historic site literature.

Nancy's assumed mother, Lucy, is related to the Hanks, either through birth or marriage. Nancy's grandparents are believed to be Ann ("Nannie") and Joseph Hanks of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. They are said to have raised her from infancy until about nine years of age when her grandfather died.

The question is whether Nancy is related to the Hanks on her paternal or maternal side.

… He [Thomas Lincoln] married Nancy Hanks – mother of the present subject [Abraham Lincoln] – in the year 1806. She was also born in Virginia; and relatives of hers of the name of Hanks, and other names, now reside in Coles, in Macon, and in Adams Counties, Illinois, and also in Iowa.

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Wikipedia