Historical Collections Relating to Gwynedd

By Howard M. Jenkins

Second Edition

1897

Chapter 22. The Boones, Lincolns and Hanks

The Boones, Lincolns and Hanks all appear on the Gwynedd meeting records, though none of either name probably resided in the township in early times. George Boone, the elder, the first of his family known to us, was from Bradwinch, near Exeter, in Devonshire, and seems to have come over in 1717. At any rate, the Gwynedd meeting records show this minute, dated 31^st of 10^th month (December), in that year: "George Boone, senior, produced a certificate of his Good Life and Conversation from the Monthly [Meeting] att Callumpton, in Great Britain, wh was read & well rec'd."

This George, the elder, died in Berks county (the Oley or Exeter Friends' settlement), February 2, 1740, aged 78 years. He left, it is said, "eight children, fifty-two grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, --in all seventy, the number that Jacob took down to Egypt ." His wife was Mary, who was born in the same place as her husband, and died aged 72. They were both buried in the Friends' ground at Oley.

In 1721, John Rumford, who had been a member with Friends, at Haverford, and George Boone, who had been a member at Abington, being now settled at Oley, applied at the same time to Gwynedd meeting, for membership. This George was the son of the other; he had been several years at Abington (and I think, therefore, came over before his father), where he was clerk of the monthly meeting, and a prominent and useful man. He had married, in 1713, Deborah Howell (b. 8^th mo. 28, 1691, d. 1^st mo. 26, 1759, at Oley), daughter of William and Mary. Deborah was a preacher, and Exeter (Oley) monthly meeting left a memorial of her. She and George had ten children: George, Mary, Hannah, Deborah, Dinah, William, Josiah, Jeremiah, Abigail, and Hezekiah, their births ranging from 1714 to 1734. (the first five are recorded at Gwynedd, before the establishment of the Oley monthly meeting.) William married Sarah Lincoln, 1748.

Besides this son George, the elder George Boone had, as stated above, seven children: including Squire, who m. Sarah Morgan, Mary, who m. John Webb, James who m. Mary Foulke, Joseph, Benjamin, and two others. Squire and Sarah Boone had nine children (perhaps more), recorded at Oley from 1724 to 1740. Of these Daniel, the Kentucky pioneer, was the fourth son and sixth child, and the meeting records give his birth, 8^th mo. (October) 22, 1734. I have no doubt that Squire Boone was in Berks county with the other members of his family, in 1720, or thereabout; and as he bought 250 acres of land in what is now Exeter township, in 1730, it is beyond reasonable question that his son Daniel was born there in 1734. The various speculations as to the place of his birth, by which it is assigned to Bristol , Bucks county, and other places, seem to have no good foundation.

Squire Boone was one of the trustees of the property of Oley meeting, in 1736, showing both his substantial character and Quaker affiliations, at that date. But he is said to have been disowned in 1748 for countenancing the "disorderly" marriage of his son Israel, the previous year. A little later it was that he removed his family to North Carolina, settling at Holomant ford, on the river Yadkin. From there, after he grew to manhood, Daniel Boone went over into Kentucky , and entered upon his famous career as the explorer and pioneer settler of that state.

[Note 1: James Boone's Bible says: "They left Exeter on the 1^st day of May, 1750."]

[Note 2: Among the papers of my grandfather, Chas. F. Jenkins, I find this letter from Absolom Thomas, Washington Town, Mason Co., Kentucky: "Respected Friend: --I expect thee art ready to conclude that I have forgot thee being so far off, but thee may rest ashured that I have not. I often think of the many agreeable hours we spent in conversation and sociability, which distance now deprives us of. But no more Introduction --I proceed to give thee a little sketch of the times. After my being disappointed in getting my land from Col. Boon, as probably thee may have heard before now, which lay'd me under the necessity of following my trade. Since I came to this place and after three months paying for my board and washing, I made an acquaintance with a young woman which after a while I married, and now I live in as much harmony with her I flatter myself as ever man and wife did and find the matrimonial life far more agreeable than I ever expected to. I have told thee what I have done, I will inform you of what I am doing. I have taken a five acre lot to put corn in to the shares, my share will be two-thirds of the crop, which if the season proves favorable I expect an Hundred and Seventy Bushels of Corn. Here is great encouragement for farmers, much more than for mechancks. I must stop wrighting for I have no more room and paper is scarce in this town. May 10^th, 1790 , signed Absolom Thomas.

A memorandum on the letter say A.T. was the first cousin of Margaret Foulke (dau. of Theophilus, afterward wife of Cadwallader, the surveyor), to whom the letter was addressed. "He was one of the pioneers of Kentucky, and left Richland to seek his future under the celebrated Col. Daniel Boone."]

The Lincolns were an Oley family, some of them Friends. They intermarried repeatedly with the Boones, and were connected also with the Foulkes. But they had only a slight, if any, connection with Gwynedd, as the monthly meeting at Oley was established soon after Mordecai Lincoln, the first of the name in that neighborhood, arrived there. He, it is said, was born in Massachusetts, removed to New Jersey, bought lands there in 1720, and again removed, before 1735, to the Oley establishment. (His home was in Amity township.) He was probably twice married. He died between February 23, 1735, and June 7, 1736 (these being the dates of making and proving his will), leaving lands in New Jersey to his son John, and to his daughters Hannah, Mary, Ann, and Sarah; and the homestead lands in Amity to his sons Mordecai and Thomas. He also made provision for an expected child, and this, without doubt, was Abraham Lincoln (who d. 1806, aged 70), who married Ann Boone (daughter of Mary Foulke). John, the eldest son, --a half brother only of Abraham, who was by the second wife, --was the direct ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States. He, John, sold his Jersey land in 1748, and about 1750 removed southward, going ultimately to Rockingham county, Virginia, where he settled. His son Abraham went over into Kentucky in 1782, but was killed there two years later, by the Indians. He and Daniel Boone were no doubt well acquainted. Daniel at least twice (October, 1781, and February 1788) returned to visit his relatives in Berks county, and he would naturally enough have passed through Virginia , and tarried with his neighbors and kinsfolk, the Lincolns of Rockingham county.

Abraham Lincoln, who was killed in 1784, in an Indian fight (in which his son Mordecai, a boy of 14, killed one of the Indians), had three sons: Mordecai, Josiah, and Thomas. The President was the son of the last named.

It will be observed that the removal of Squire Boone and his family to North Carolina, and of the Lincolns to Virginia was at about the same period --1750. There was, at that time, an extensive migration to the Southern States from the settlements in Eastern Pennsylvania . It was a very interesting movement, and the history of it would be well worth following in detail. With it, besides the Boones and Lincolns, went another family, the Hanks, and these were more closely connected with Gwynedd than either of the others. The precise name of the head of the Hank family who thus removed, is uncertain, but Mr. David J. Lincoln, of Birdsboro, Berks county, in a letter to me, September 1883, thinks it was John, and says: "He lived on the Perkomen turnpike, six miles east of Reading, in Exeter township, and within half a mile of Mordecai Lincoln, great-great-grandfather of the President. This John Hank, with John and Benjamin Lincoln, moved to Fayette county, and from there Mr. Hank moved southward."

As to a removal, first, to Fayette county, I do not know; but as has already been noted, John Hank was in Rockingham county, Virginia, at least as early as 1787, when his daughter Hannah married Asa Lupton. That this John was the one described by Mr. Lincoln is probable, or he may have been a son of the Berks county man, for the latter was in all probability the same John Hank who was born 1712, the son of the Whitemarsh yeoman and Sarah Evans, of Gwynedd.

[H.M. Jenkins note, 1897: John Hanke, of Whitemarsh, m. Sarah Evans, of Gwynedd, dau. of Cadwallader, the immigrant. She, after his death, m. Thomas Williams. It was the daughter of John and Sarah, Jane Hank, who was the wife of John Roberts, of Whitpain, and the mother of Squire Job Roberts]

Thomas Lincoln of Kentucky married, for his first wife, Nancy Hank. The tradition was that her family were from Virginia. She was a tall woman, above middle height, with black hair, little educated, but of marked character, and a mind naturally intelligent and vigorous. Her experience in the rude frontier life was hard. The glimpses we get of her in the biography of her great son are somber, and probably to her the President owed that underlying element of sad thoughtfulness in his nature, always so apparent, and so in contrast with the humorous surface traits that perhaps came from his father. Nancy Hank, I have little doubt, was a descendant of that John who was in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1787. Her family name was English, but her black hair we may believe she had from the Welsh blood of her ancestress Sarah Evans, of Gwynedd.

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2004, 2009, Editor's note: Since the documentation from Nancy Hanks' cousins and stepmother was not found in an internet search we have put some letters and statements from them to William H. Herndon on the Gwynedd web site. The ancestry of Nancy Hanks Lincoln remains a controversial subject to this day that can only be solved through DNA analysis, particularly maternal lines via mitochondrial DNA. So far, DNA testing of the y chromosome of descendants of John "the Rail splitter" Hanks' line shows it to be the same as the Maryland William "the Quaker" Hanks (m. Ruth Shipley) of West River MM and perhaps also the same as some, but not all, Richmond Co., Virginia Hanks lines. No one from the Gwynedd MM line has yet been tested. From the statements of the cousins the only thing that can be said with any conviction is that Nancy's mother was probably named Lucy Hanks, and is the same one that married Henry Sparrow in Mercer Co., KY on April 03, 1791 (Dennis Hanks names her Nancy's mother and John Hanks says Henry Sparrow was his uncle. There seems to be confirmation of the name Lucy from the Sophia Hanks line [see Barton below]). This marriage to Henry Sparrow occurred 7 years after Nancy was born according to a Bible record in Lincoln's handwriting that says his mother Nancy was born on February 05, 1784. On 24 Nov 1789, a Mercer Co., KY jury presented a charge of fornication against Lucy Hanks. She was called a spinster, not a widow by this court. This case was not brought to trial. It is suspected that daughter Mary Sparrow was born in 1790, before the marriage to Henry Sparrow.

Lucy had the following siblings: (1) Nancy m. October 18, 1802, Green Co., KY, to Levi Hall (mother of Dennis, who had been born 1799, out of wedlock). (2) William m. September 12, 1793, Nelson Co., KY, Elizabeth Hall (mother of John the railsplitter). Because this wedding occurred in Neson County, it is commonly supposed that William is the son of Joseph Hanks and Nannie who left a will in Nelson County (will book A, p. 102 dated 8 Jan 1793, and probated 14 May 1793) naming children Thomas, Joshua, William, Charles, Joseph, Elizabeth, Polly, and Nancy. However, this Joseph names no daughter Lucy and there is no evidence he was ever in Mercer County. There is a tradition that Thomas Lincoln apprenticed as a carpenter with Joseph Hanks, the son of Joseph in Elizabethtown. (3) Elizabeth Hanks m. October 17, 1796, Mercer Co., Thomas Sparrow also in Spencer Co., IN. with Lincolns. This couple died of milk sickness 28 Sep 1818 with Lincoln's mother. Elizabeth and Thomas Sparrow had adopted Dennis Hanks, and after they died Dennis moved in with the Thomas Lincoln family.

The documentation leads one to speculate that this is the family of orphaned Hanks children, left to fend for themselves in Mercer County, Kentucky about 1783. However, the links to Joseph Hanks (will in Nelson county 1793) are almost convincing (see theories b and d below).

There are numerous other theories about the ancestry of Nancy Hanks. If interested, here is a list: (a) the Shipley hypothesis; (b) the results of the investigations of the Historian, W. E. Barton (c) Aden Baber's Hypothesis (now contradicted by y DNA evidence); (d) the Joseph of Richmond Co., VA and Nelson Co., KY hypothesis (e) the John of Richmond Co., VA and Mercer Co., KY hypothesis; (f) Sturgill's New River hypothesis (contradicted by y DNA evidence); (g) the New England hypothesis; (h) the North Carolina hypothesis; (i) the central Pennsylvania hypothesis from the Maryland line; (j) other Virginia hypotheses; (k) in addition there is the hypothesis of Howard Jenkins above. At last count there were a couple dozen families claiming Nancy Hanks as one of their own. A list of various Nancy Hanks of the period is HERE. DNA results are HERE.

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In addition here are the Quaker records from Gwynedd, Exeter, Hopewell (VA), Crooked Run (VA) and elsewhere for the Hanks family as found in William Wade Hinshaw's card catalog at the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and his Encyclopedia of Amercian Quaker Genealogy Volumes 2 and 6.

p. 140-1, 1754-5-30 Joseph Hank, received on certificate from Gwynedd MM

p. 145-1, 1754-9-26 Joseph Hank, disowned for marriage out of unity

Gwynedd Monthly Meeting, Pennsylvania

P 37-1, John Hank, and wife Sarah [Evans] ch: John b. 9-20-1712; Jane b. 8-12-1714 d. 10-7-1762, Eliz. b. 11-28-1716; Wm b. 1719; Wm b. 9-12-1720; Samuel b. 1-15-1723; Joseph b. 1725; Sarah b. 8-8-1728

P 38-1, John Hank and wife Margaret; children: Jane d: 6-9-1745; Joshua d. 5-31-1758

P 39-2 , 1750-5-31 John Hank and wife got certificate to Richland MM

P 381-2, 1763-12-27 John Hank, disowned for disunity

P 24-2, 1768-1-26 John Hank, disowned for disunity

P 42-3, 1768-8-30, Caleb Hank, offered an account for Marriage contrary to discipline

p. 170-3, 1774-2-22 Margaret Hank, and daughters, Susanna, Eleanor, Margaret and Hannah: got a certificate to Hopewell (Va) MM

Philadelphia Monthly Meeting

John Hank received on certificate from Darby MM dated 1734, 5, 3.

1737, 6, 26. John Hank got certificate to Burlington MM to marry.

NEW JERSEY

Evesham Monthly Meeting, New Jersey

p. 6-1, John Hank, son of John & Rebekah, b. 6-17-1747

p. 153-1, 1767-7-9 John Hank, got certificate to Burlington MM

Haddonfield MM, New Jersey

p. 153-1, 1730-6-10 John Hank, received on certificate from Breach MM Derby Co., Great Britain

p. 170-1, 1731-10-13 John Hank, got certificate to Derby(Pa) MM

p. 373-2, 1757-10-10 John Hank and wife Hannah [should read Rebecca?] & daughter Hannah; received on certificate from Burlington (NJ) MM dated 8-1-1757

p. 428-2, 1760-3-10 John Hank got certificate to Burlington (NJ) MM

VIRGINIA (from Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy)

Hopewell MM

1777,6,2, Margrat & daughter Susannah, Elenor, Hannah & Margret, received on certificate from Gwynedd MM, dated 1774,2,22

1777,12,1. Susannah Bryan (form Hank) reported married out of unity; disowned

1778,2,2. Elleanor disowned

1779,4,5. Margaret, daughter Margaret, reported married out of unity

1781,5,31. Margaret widow, disowned for disunity (when first comdemned 5-1779, her daughters Margaret & Hannah, are also comdemned for non-attendance; Margaret disowned marriage oout of unity; no further mention of Hannah)

1784,3,1. Hannah Hank recieved on certificate from Crooked Run MM, dtd 1784,2,28

Crooked Run MM

1783,11,29 John Hank, received in membership on request

1784,2,28 Hannah Hank, got certificate to Hopewell MM

1792,5,5 John Hank, got certificate to Westland MM

Will Abstracts, Philadelphia County:

1. John HANK, Whitemarsh township, Co. of Philadelphia. Yeoman. December 12, 1730/1 (wonder if Feb 1730/1). Proved May 31, 1731. Philadelphia Co. Book E.158.
Wife: Sarah. Children: John, William, Samuel, Joseph, Jane, Elizabeth, Sarah. Cousin: John Hank.
Exec: Sarah Hank.
Trustees: John Evans, Thomas Evans, Jonathan Robeson.
Wit: Isaac Williams, William Trotter, David Davies.

note: mention of cousin John Hank is interesting. This could be the John Hank of Breach, Haddonfield, Darby, Philadelphia, Burlington and Evesham MM. If so, John Hank of Whitemarsh is of the Derbyshire, England Hank family.

2. A John Hank witnessed the will of Robert Parry of Philadelphia in 1738.

3. Joseph Hanks (yes there was an s at the end) witnessed the will of John Edwards of Montgomery township, Philadelphia County in 1748.

4. Anne Hanks witnessed the will of Oliver Williams of Philadelphia on March 13, 1749/50.

Source: Philadelphia PAGenWeb Archives

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