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THE ANCESTRY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

THE ANCESTRY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

HENRY LEA AND J. R. HUTCHINSON
J.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK 1909

COPYRIGHT, 1909
BY
J.

HENRY LEA AND

J.

R.

HUTCHINSON

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY I909

ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL

TO ALL
LINCOLN LOVERS

THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH AND

BREADTH OF THE LAND

WHICH HE SAVED
THIS

VINDICATION

OF THE

MEMORY OF
IS

HIS

ANCESTORS

DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHORS

PREFACE
BY THE AMERICAN
the
f

AUTHOR
effervescing

half a century ago to-day {Friday^ 15 October^ ^^S^), JUST small boy writer a very much with
excited
patriotic enthusiasm^ accompanied his father

and kinsman,
his

Senator Tru?nbull,
elders

to

the Franklin

House in Alton^ Illinois, where

were calling

to

tender their congratulations to their oldfriend,

Abraham

Lincoln, after the triumphant close of the last of the seven

memorable debates with Senator Douglas.

The memory of that evening is as yesterday. Great events were foreshadowed, many future makers of history were present at the
debate

and subsequent

reception, yet the great

man couldfind timefor

to

afew kindly words, as well as a cordial grasp of the hand,

miring schoolboy for
Thirty years
suit

the ad-

whom

he became from that hour as a de?nigod.

later, being in

England engaged in

hisfavourite

pur-

ofgene a logy, the idea dawned upon hitn that, of all our representative Americans, Lincoln was almost the only one for the elucidation

ofwhose pedigree
been taken.

in the

Mother Country no steps had apparently ever

At

this time the

American Lineage had been

the

recently

cleared ofthe mists offable

and misrepresentation, and

Emigrant Ancestor back

path lay

open

to

follow the line

ofthe

to the earliest

forebears.

Thenceforward

this

became an

obsession,

and every

opportunity

was

taken, on all his frequent visits to England, to secure all Lincoln

references seen

and

to

pursue the quest in all possible

localities;

but

another twenty years went by before the realization of the dream.

For

loyal

and enthusiastic
must express

co-operation in the last years

of this

quest the writer

his most cordial recognition to his

Eng-

lish colleague for its

unremitting prosecution

and final success.

viii

PREFACE
the obscure and difficult task
to

In

of the

verification ofthe

American

Pedigree y the writer has

friends

thank

especially,

among

the

many kind

who have aided him, Mrs. Caroline Hanks Hitchcock of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who generously placed at his disposal her

large

MS.

collections on the

Hanks and Lincoln

families.

Major

George Chrisman of Chrisman Post Office, Rockingham County, whose aid alone made possible any progress in Virginia and to whom

we owe
tions

of the Herring connection [heretofore unsuspected) Gilbert Cope of West Chester, Pennsylvania, whose collecthe discovery
,

have been freely drawn upon for all the portion of the work touching Pennsylvania and the fakers. Miss Mary Josephine Roe
of Gilbert, Ohio [a Lincoln descendant), and lastly, Frances Trumbull Lea, who made a personaljourney
his daughter,
to the

Lincoln

Country in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, during the burning

heats of the past summer, in the endeavour to
elicit facts

which

cor-

respondence failed to reveal.

Such as it is, the writer submits the completed genealogy to the American people whom Lincoln loved so well, as a slight tribute to the memory of their best and wisest Statesman, Father and Friend.

For him no
pride that

defence, no vindication,

was

needed, but

it is

a tnatter of

it

has been possible

to place hisforefathers

once more in the

ranks of their equals, a position from which they should never have
been deposed.
J.

Henry Lea.

Elmlea, Thursday,

15 October, 1908.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY
PART
I.
I.

Page

xiii

THE ENGLISH ANCESTRY

his

The Emigrant,

Home and Parentage

and
its

II.

A Family Quarrel
The Social Status

Consequences

13

III.

Five Generations of a Norfolk House

of the Lincolns

25
33

IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

Carbrooke and the Remchings

39

The Ketts

of

Wymondham

45

The Norfolk Furies (with Genealogical

Table)
51

PART
VIII.

II.

THE AMERICAN ANCESTRY

63

The American Pedigree (with Genealogical Table)

IX.

Cognate Families

87
123

X.
XI.

Thomas Lincoln

the Man

Inherited Traits

135

APPENDIX
I.

Feet of Fines

143 145

II.

Chancery Proceedings

X
III.

CONTENTS
Wills (English)
15
,

IV.

Registers OF HiNGHAM, Norfolk. Registers of Swanton Morley, Norfolk.

157
i6o
163

V.
VI.

Carbrooke Parish Register

VII. Account of Baptismal Font from

Hingham
^"5 168
^7^

Church
VIII. Wills (American)

IX.

Pennsylvania Records

X.

Miscellaneous Records

^74
182

XI. Deeds XII. Survey Bills

XIII.

200 202

The Herring Family

in

XIV. Epitaphs

LiNviLL Creek. Cemetery, Virginia

204
205

INDEX

ILLUSTRATIONS
Font from
St.

Andrew's Church, Hingham,

Norfolk, Fourteenth Century, now at

CoHAssET, Mass.
By
permission of Rev.

Frontispiece

H. K.

Bartow., Rector

Old Map

of Norfolk, Sixteenth

Century

Page

From a cotemporary engraving

View of City of Norwich, Seventeenth Century

From a cotemporary engraving

First Glimpse of

Hingham

Lincoln Mural Tablet, Church of St.

CosLANY, Norwich
Facsimile of Chancery Proceeding
St.

Mary
10
14
18

Andrew's Church, Hingham, Norfolk

First Sheet of Richard Lincoln's

Will

22

All Saints Church, Swanton Morley, Norfolk

26

Hingham Parish Register laid open at the

Year 1622-23
By
permission of Rev. A.

W.

Upcher^ Rector

View

of

Norwich Castle, Sixteenth Century

cotemporary engraving

52

From a

xii

ILLUSTRATIONS
64

TheOldShip Meeting-House, Hingham,Mass.

Enoch Lincoln, Governor of Maine
Levi Lincoln, Governor of Massachusetts
From a
portrait in possession of Lincoln

74
84

N.

Kinnicutt

Hughes Station, Kentucky, Home of Abra-

ham

Lincoln,

Grandfather
in possession

of

the
124

President, 1782
From a cotemporary drawing
Durrett
of
Col.

T.

Monument to Nancy Hanks, Spencer County,

Indiana, dedicated October, 1902
From a photograph
in possession

130

of Mrs. C.

H.

Hitchcock

Fountain Square, Hingham, Mass., Lincoln

Homestead on the Right

From a rare photograph
L. Crosby
in possession

138
of Miss Elizabeth

Signatures of Seven Generations of Ameri-

can Lincolns,
Note

649-1 865

140

The

tail-piece for Part

is

the seal used by Richard Lincoln in

attesting his will.

The

back of the

half-title

of the Appendix

is

the arms of

Bird of Witchingham.

INTRODUCTORY
has been the general belief, a belief which was shared even

IT
born

by the
coln's

illustrious President himself, that

Abraham Linso

remote ancestry,
;

as well as his

immediate parent-

age, was of the humblest

as to

that the Lincoln

Family were

low

make

it

a futile task to endeavour to penetrate the

obscurity from which they sprung, and that the

commanding

figure of Abraham Lincoln was a mere fortuitous circumstance,

a "sport" of nature, rather than the result of centuries of in-

bred and inherited qualities derived from worthy forefathers.

In view of the indisputable facts of the poverty of his parents

and

his

own consequent

early struggle against every dis-

advantage, this was a not unnatural conclusion to be reached by

many of the ephemeral and

superficial writers

who

first

dealt

with his biography. Their hasty summaries were buttressed

and built upon by the perfervid imaginations of penny-a-liners, whose sole object seems to have been to magnify the great-

man by decrying his origin, until their fables were impressed as facts upon the minds of the majority of even the more intelligent people of the country. With the natural tendency of popular biographers, writing
ness of the
to please the proletariat, all stress has been laid

on the poverty

and ignorance of Lincoln's parents, and out of this has grown the vulgar and scandalous conception that Thomas Lincoln could not have been the father of so great a son and this
;

was carried so far,

with his illogical
'

bitter political

enemies having joined forces

have denied even to the

partisans,' as to

"

condemn
Speed to

the

of

J. F.

for what he has said about her " (Letter 8 February, 1895). " If Lincoln ever Hitchcock, H. Mrs. C.

man [Herndon]

xiv

INTRODUCTORY
mother who bore him, and of
she was known.^

gentle and lovable

whom

he

always spoke with such deep reverence and affection,' the very
right to the

name by which

In spite of this general acceptance of pauper progenitors,

some suspifrom the sturdy stock of the Lincolns of Hingham, Mass., was suggested and its possibility recognised with pleasure by Lincoln himself.^
there were, even during the President's lifetime,
cions of the truth, and a derivation

As
final

matter of

fact,

the exact reverse of this lowly origin

case,

of the Lincoln Family was the

and

this will receive

its

and convincing proof in the following pages, in which

of Abraham Lincoln were easily the peers of their

will be demonstrated the fact that for four centuries the ancestors

associates in

England

as

well as in America

as

prosperous yeo-

men

or minor gentry in the

Old World, and, from the time of

fair

their arrival in the Colony, foremost in the ranks of those who

developed the wilderness into the

land

we

love to-day, and

savior.

of which their descendant was destined to be the

Of

the eleven generations of clearly proven ancestry, one

generation only, the President's unfortunate father, has

been

unable to maintain the claim of primus inter pares, and this

through no

fault

of his own, but by a chain of calamities

fatal to

even more tragic and

told such a story to

him than

those which deprived

Herndon

which may be

confidently disbelieved
evil

he

was mistaken, and must have been misled by some

brought to his ears." ("
Hist.
'

whisper unhappily

The Mother

of Lincoln," by H.

M.

Jenkins, Penn.

Mag.,

vol. xxiv, p. 130,)

Holland's Life of Lincoln, p. 23.

'

This myth,

at first

not admitted to print, existed orally and seems to have

crawled into the

light

of day in the maliciously mendacious statement of Hern-

don

that Lincoln himself had so informed

him

{l^ifeof Lincoln, vol.

i,

p. 3);

the

fabrication of an embittered office-seeker

whose ambition outran

his ability,

and

whose falsehood has now been made

have swept away

plain by recently discovered proofs

which

all

possible doubts in either case.

xlviii, p.

A^.

E. Hist. Gen. Reg., July, 1894, vol.

328.

INTRODUCTORY
Edward Lincoln, the
father of

xv

Samuel Lincoln, the English

emigrant, of his birthright.'

Many attempts

have been made to clear away the mystery

1

surrounding the genealogy of the family, beginning in

848,

when Hon. Solomon

Hingham,
then a

Lincoln, the well-known

historian of

Mass., in correspondence with

member of

Congress, elicited

Abraham Lincoln, from him his scanty

a year

knowledge of
later,

his forefathers.

This material was not printed

and was followed,
histories

until after the President's death,*

by the best of the early

the
first

of Lincoln,^ in which

was

set forth for

time an outline of what has since

proved to be substantially the correct pedigree of the American lineage. Gradually other contributions to the truth
notably those of Mr.
filtered to light,
].,^

W.

J. Potts of

Camden, N.
latter

and of

Mr. Samuel Shackford of Chicago,' the

terly

being a mas-

resume of the

facts

proving the direct descent of the

at

President's family

from the parent stock

all

Hingham, Mass.

The American
basis
details

Pedigree had now been placed upon a sound

intelligent writers, although certain
still

and accepted by

of no small importance to the truth of history

first

remained hidden and will be

made

public here, adding

important names and lineages to the pedigree, and, in some

cases, disproving statements honestly

put forward

as facts,

but

which

will not bear the lime-light of criticism, and

whose

elimination but leaves the proven pedigree stronger by so much

in the test

which has been applied

to

it.

The
'

English Ancestry had remained until recently an un-

See English Ancestry, infra.

A^.

*
^

E. Hist. Gen. Reg.y October, 1865,

vol. xix, p.

360.

Life of

Abraham
and

Lincoln.,

by

J.

G. Holland, 1866.
1872,
vol.
iii,

* A^.
5

T. Gen.

Biog. Record^ April,

p.

69.

A^.

E. Hist. Gen. Reg., April, 1887, vol.

xli, p.

153.

portion of this

article

had already appeared

in the Chicago Tribune.

xvi

INTRODUCTORY
and one with which
last

solved, and apparently insoluble, problem,

the American author had battled for a score of years, the

three of which were in conjunction with his English colleague, to whose keen eye it was given at last to detect the one document which could ever have given the key to the hidden mystery. This happy discovery brought order out of

the chaos of documents, abstracts, and references so painfully

accumulated, which

now

fell

together like the pattern in a

kaleidescope or the blocks of a Chinese puzzle.

The
far

long quest, ended

at last,

and crowned by a reward

exceeding the most sanguine anticipations,

now

enables

us to give to history, in one of the clearest

and most perfectly

proven pedigrees that

struct, the full lineage

it

has ever been our fortune to con-

of the Greatest American.

Finis coronal opus.

PART

THE ENGLISH ANCESTRY

THE ANCESTRY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

CHAPTER
I

THE EMIGRANT, HIS HOME AND PARENTAGE

LEAVING the train at Kimberley station on the Norwich
and Dereham
line,

and taking the road to Watton,

^
Wood,"

the reputed scene of the murder of the " Babes in the

you

find yourself, after a couple of miles of almost

imperceptible ascent between typical English hedgerows, on

the crest of a billow of hills of no great height, extending,

roughly speaking, from northwest to southeast of the horizon. You are here in the very heart of a region of churches. From
the spot where you stand half a score or more of towers and

marking each its thickly planted God's-acre, may be picked out on a clear day from amidst the surrounding landspires,

scape.

The

nearest rises directly before

tower in

a setting
site

of green
is

you

a square gray

at

the distance of a short mile. It

marks the
have our

of what

destined to become, in the eyes of

;

every patriotic American citizen, a national Mecca

first

for in

it

glimpse of Hingham, the birthplace of the

who

gave to America one of her greatest sons

Abraham

we man

Lincoln.

Of all

the towns and villages in England which, close upon

its

three centuries ago, contributed each

quota of hardy pio-

4
{^ave

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

American
colonies,

neers towards the settlement of the

none

more generously of her best and dearest than did this old-

time market-town dozing beneath her gray church-tower. Her sons were " weary of forcing their beards into the ortho-

dox bent," of "barking at the bishops," of tilling a soil they could never call their own. Other conditions, they had heard, prevailed beyond the seas, in a newer, broader land where the
breath of
life

was not yet grown

effete.

Undeterred by the

reputed hardships of existence there, they flocked westward,

eager to be free.

Amongst
tion,

those

who

in the later thirties

of the seventeenth

century were overtaken by the swiftly rising tide of emigra-

Norfolk youth named Samuel Lincoln. Born in Hingham, he had been early apprenticed to one Francis Lawes of Norwich, and it was in his capacity of indentured

was

servant to this
for

man

weaver by trade
his master

that he

embarked

America, together with

and

his master's family,

either at the port of Ipswich in the adjoining county of Suffolk,

or at

Yarmouth, in

his native county,'

on

the eighth

day of April, 1637.

The

passage was no Mauretanian one. For

two months and twelve days the vessel breasted the Atlantic, and it was not until the 20th of June that Lawes and his party, disembarking at Boston, first set foot on the soil of their adoption.

Our boy-pioneer was then

this point there
is

how

old?
It

On

much

conflict of evidence.

was on

Sunday, the 24th of August, 1622, that he was publicly baptised at the font

of the parish church of Hingham, and in the

ordinary course of things he would then be only a few days,

or at the most only a few weeks, old.

This would make

his

age about
lists

fifteen at the

time of his emigration.

to us,

The

shipping
his

which have come down

on the other hand, give

For the cause of

p.

this uncertainty see entry in the

Shipping List in Appendix,

164.

THE EMIGRANT
age
at that

time

as

eighteen

and

this agrees

with

his

age

as

recorded

at death,

which occurred
If,

have been seventy-one.

to be correct,

in 1 690, when he is said to however, we assume these figures

we

are at once landed in a difficulty, since he

must

in that case have been

born in 16 19, or about a year

is

before his brother Daniel, whereas Daniel

well

known

to

have been

his senior.

We are consequently forced to the conlist

clusion that the figures given in the shipping

and the

record of Samuel's death cannot be relied upon, and that, at

the time of his leaving England, he was nearer fifteen than

eighteen years of age. If

early age at

it

be objected that fifteen was a very

which to emigrate, especially in those remote and perilous times, it must be borne in mind that young Samuel did not pass beyond seas on his own initiative, but as an indentured apprentice

who had no
Added

option save to follow the

fortunes of his master.

to this, there

was

in his case a

strong incentive to emigration. His eldest brother

Thomas,
England.

and

his elder brother Daniel,

were already

in

New

Thomas, who was also by occupation a weaver, went out as company with his "cousin" Nicholas Jacob probably a mercer of Norwich, where he was admitted freeman June 21,11 James I, after serving his apprenticeship
early as 1633, in
city.

with William Peters of that

certain
is

Of Jacob's

family nothing

known, although there is some reason for believing him to have been a brother of Simon Jacob of Harleston, county Norfolk, gent., whose will is to be found in the Pre-

One circumstance, however, him unquestionably with Hingham. Two of his children were baptised there John in February, 1630; Mary in May, 1632, The nature of the cousinship subsisting between him and Thomas Lincoln has not been developed and
rogative Court of Canterbury.'

connects

is

consequently altogether indeterminate; but the reasonable

'

Register Dycer^ folio 113.

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

assumption
coln's wife

was

is

that

Thomas

Lincoln's mother

Edward Linregister

a sister to

Nicholas Jacob's father.

the

Of

the baptism of

contains no record

Thomas Lincoln

Hingham

for the all-sufficient reason, there can be

no doubt, that he,

as his father's eldest son,

was born and bapits

tised before the year

1600,

when

that register has

present

beginning. Neither his marriage, moreover, nor the baptisms

of such children
left

as

may have been born

to

him

before he
to the

England, are to be found there. As an apprentice

as his

weaving he probably removed from Hingham,

brother Samuel
is

younger

known

to

have done, and married in the

place where he acquired and for a time plied his trade.

The

minister

who

officiated

on the occasion of Samuel Lin-

coln's baptism

is

no stranger

to us.

He

is,

in fact,

none other

than the Rev. Robert Peck, that fearless leader of the ultrapuritan

movement who, but a few

his

years later, defied the prelacy

and called down upon

the entire

devoted head the wrath of Laud and

Bench of Bishops.
it is,

The

story of that stirring episode will bear repetition

and the more so since

of our boy-pioneer.
It

in a very intimate sense, the story

centred, ironically enough, in that

love, the

blem of Christian unity and brotherly

table,

emcommunion
all

which, since the time of the Reformation, had stood

without restrictions other than those im-

unassumingly in the body or nave of the church, where

might approach

it

posed by conscience.

To

the

ritualists, desirous

of closer con-

formity to the ancient Catholic usage, this was utter sacrilege.

The Holy
restored to

Table, according to their contention, should be

its

original position against the eastern wall of the

its

chancel, where, elevated upon a dais symbolical of

character,
it

sacred

should be railed off from contact with the lay

herd.

Of this

view the most ardent and bigoted exponent was

perhaps Laud, the whilom Reading clothier's son,

now Arch-

THE EMIGRANT
bishop of Canterbury.

7
1634 he enas

By

his historic

edict of

joined that in every parish church within his jurisdiction the

Holy Table should be

it

so placed

and segregated. Actuated

notoriously was by religious intolerance of the most viru-

lent type, the

mandate

fell

upon the

startled country like a

spark on powder.'

Foremost amongst the more strenuous opponents of the

measure was Robert Peck, the obscure rector of Hingham.

For

thirty years
as

he had followed the

ritualistic

tendencies of

the few,

opposed to the puritan sentiments of the many,

to the spiritual needs of his flock in all scrip-

with watchful eye and growing alarm. For thirty years he

had ministered

tural simplicity,

combating those tendencies with many

trenchant argument embellished, after the manner of the

time, with pulpit Latin.

Now the

time for action had come.

The

episcopal

fiat

had gone forth

the proctors had done

their work.

centre of
rified,

The plain old communion table, the many a homely love-feast, had become a

scene and

thing glo-

bedizened, hateful.

In the eyes of the simple-minded

country parson the change spelt popery.

He would

have none

of

it.

Summoning

ioners,

to his aid a like-minded

band of parishall

the Gilmans, the Hubberds, the Lincolns,

men and true, he led what they were about to

or required.

good them to the desecrated church. For do no Episcopal Faculty was sought
**

A higher authority than that of

Stripping the altar of
its its tinsel

papish " bishops

was

theirs.
it

decorations, they

carried

back to

old familiar place, and then,

armed with
as a

axes, picks,

and spades, they not only hacked the obnoxious

" rayle of joyner's worke " into matchwood, but,

more

emphatic protest against the Pope and

'

all his

devices,

dug up

It will,

of course, be understood that the authors are here expressing no

personal convictions or beliefs.

They

are merely telling the story of this epi-

sode in terms necessary to

its

narration.

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

floor

and lowered the

of the chancel to a depth of several

inches below the level of the nave.

For

this

high-handed proceeding Peck was immediately-

cited by his Bishop,

Matthew Wren of Norwich. Ignoring

his living.

the citation,

he speedily found himself deprived of

Excommunication followed, and Peck, well-nigh beggared

and wholly disgraced,
fell

into place in the forefront of that

a crisis a

numerous army of martyrs, the Plundered Ministers. In such man of less sterling courage and integrity would
have cried, Peccavi
his people together,
!

and made

his

peace with the church

Instead,

militant at any price.

Peck did

neither.

he called
Ordithe hope's

and in the words of Slicer in

"The

nary," a play then

fulness of despair
:

much

in vogue, said,
is

with

all

" There

no longer tarrying here. Let

swear fidelity to one another, and so resolve for

land."

New

Engin

More than

half his parish joined hands with

him

that epoch-making resolve. An amazing exodus was thus begun,

a class

begun, moreover, by
But

who

the old

men found it hardest to grub up and destroy life-roots, men born and bred on the land, as their
of
all

ancestors had been for untold generations before them.

a time of crisis

had come. For them there was no longer

or surrender the ancestral acres were hurto the highest bidder.

tarrying.
riedly

By sale "put off"

Farm implements
effects, all w^ent

and stock, household stuff and personal

the

way of the hammer

or the

Dutch

candle. All except a feather

bed or two, the old spruce or oak or cypress-w^ood family chest, the cob-irons, the pewter " garnish," and the silver
spoons

priceless heirlooms,

descended from father to son

from time immemorial.

These, together with such other

necessary household utensils and personal gear as could be

transported in safety and with ease, alone were retained.

Thus

variously laden, in groups of twos and threes, in families

^N

THE EMIGRANT
science' sake

9
seaport and

or long-drawn procession, these daring adventurers for con-

made

their

way
left

to

some convenient

there, their passes secured, took shipping for the land of

promise.

Hingham was

semi-depopulated. In the Boda petition, signed

leian Library at

Oxford may be seen

by the

few

substantial inhabitants

who remained,

setting forth in

pathetic terms the sore straits to

which the community was

reduced by the recent exodus.

It

man

was in an atmosphere inspired by such a man as this at that time at least possessing in an eminent degree

all

the courage of his simple but devout convictions

that

young

Samuel Lincoln passed the twelve or thirteen years of his life before he entered upon his apprenticeship to the Norwich
weaver.

The effect upon

his character of Peck's teachings

and
it

example must have been marked and

indelible,

and in

we may
which,

perhaps trace the inception of those greater qualities

six generations
later,

were

to rivet the

gaze of an

astonished and admiring world

upon

his lineal descendant,

Abraham Lincoln.
Although the Lincolns had been resident in Norfolk for very many generations before Samuel of Hingham first saw
the light of day, the records they have
left

upon the annals

year of

of their times are singularly few. In the

last

Queen

Mary's reign Norwich saw three brothers Lincoln, foolishly

emulous of the
rection.
a certain

earlier

example of the

ill-starred brothers Kett,

stir

hanged, drawn, and quartered for endeavouring to

up insur-

Caistor-next-the-Sea had for rector in the year 1537 Nicholas Lincoln who, notwithstanding the fact that

parsons were notorious poachers in those days, must not be

confounded with that Nicholas Lincoln of the adjoining parish

of Rollesby, who at a Court Leet holden for the Manor of Padham Hall in Ormesby on Thursday after the Annunciation, in the year of grace 507, was amerced in the sum of threei

lo

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

pence on the score of his being " a comon fysher with pykhoks" in the preserved waters of that Manor. Another cleri" John Lincoln, cal representative of the family, one " Sir
for parsons

were commonly styled "

into the

Sir " in those days,

in

1387 came

handsome legacy of one hundred

as

shillings

under the will of Sir John Howard,

rector of Weeting. In 1298

an incentive to pray for

the repose of the donor's soul. This "Sir"

John Lincoln was

high

altar

Thomas deLingcole' gave to the of the church of St. Mary Coslanyin Norwich, "a

taper of wax, a lamp, and the rent of Colegate," of which he

was doubtless farmer.

duced.

The mural

tablet

commemorating
is

this

benefaction has only recently been unearthed and

It
is

here repro-

believed to be the most ancient in that ancient

it

cathedral city. Eight years before

was

first set

up,

Adam,

son

of William de Lincoln of Great Yarmouth, accompanied by

Johan his wife, made a journey to London, and there, in the Court of the Lord King at Westminster, on the morrow of the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Mary, received of Walter de Wyndsor a grant by Fine of the Manor of Codesmore
in Rutlandshire,

and of certain messuages, lands, and other tenelikelihood was

ments in East

Ham and West Ham, county Essex. He was the

all

progenitor of the Essex Lincolns, as he in

of the Norfolk Lincolns with

whom we are
us.

here concerned.

Beyond

this point the records

do not carry

The pioneer of
name;
in the

the Norfolk Lincolns, whether

Adam
his

of Great Yarmouth or
the Fenlands

another, doubtless hailed from the city or shire of that

but the exact time

when he made
**a

way across

and the Wash, and acquired

sturdier county
tiquity.

local habitation"

by the northern

sea, is lost in

the mists of an-

Owing
'

to a fortunate circumstance presently to

Lincoln
is

be related,

The name

not infrequently so spelled, with slight variations, as

late as the reign

of Elizabeth.

>i

S'S

A-f'^.

'^.

f.,":;^

--i-'

My

THE EMIGRANT
in impenetrable obscurity the

n
Concern-

those mists no longer, as formerly, drift down the ages and wrap

immediate ancestry of Samuel

is still

Lincoln, emigrant ancestor of our great President.

ing his mother, it

is

true, there

uncertainty.

Around her

personality and her

light

name

the mists close in again, denying us

where we most
is

desire to see clearly.

For

that traced the record of Samuel's baptism, the

this the hand hand of Robert

Peck,

mainly responsible. In that record,

it

as in all others

of

a like nature relating to the family,

has uniformly consigned

the mother to oblivion. Yet the omission of her the yellow pages of the parish register
at first sight appears.
is

name from

less

remarkable than
days maternity
sort, in

for

With the parsons of those

chanced
to be

unless, indeed,

it

of the baser

which

case the

whole sad

story of man's perfidy

and woman's wrongs

was

set

out with great minuteness and dubious taste

Paternity was everything; and hence
it

counted

little.

comes about

that the one fact clearly recorded of our boy-emigrant, in the

pages of the

Hingham

register,

is

that he was the son of

Edward Lincoln.
shows him
So
to

comparison of entries and dates further

have been his father's seventh child and sixth

plainly written in the

and youngest son.

much
this

is

book

for all to read.

But

beyond
is

it

does not go, for the fatal reason that the book

defective.
all

A well-preserved register would have introduced

who
so

us in

probability to the year 1558 and the emigrant's grand-

father; or, bridging another generation of those

long

since joined the majority, have ushered us into the year 1538'

and the presence of

his great-grandfather.

This book unhap-

pily does neither the

'

one thing nor the other. Through that

first

The

year in which Parish Registers were

ordered to be kept in Engeight registers are

i

land by Cromwell, Vicar-General of

Henry VIII. Only

known
served.

to exist before that time,

and only about eight hundred of

538

are preto the

In 1558, under an order from the young Queen, then just

come

throne, the practice

became general and most of

the old registers date thence.

12

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

marked the deits

criminal carelessness which, in England, has

struction of so
earlier portion

many
is

priceless records of this description,

missing

wantonly
lost
its
;

torn

away from the body

of marriage, chris-

of the book and irrevocably

while the portion that hap-

pily survives begins to unfold

triple tale

tening, and death, in the most exasperatingly inconsequent

manner, with the year of grace 1600

least as this

thus leaving us, so far at

source of information

is

concerned, in bewildered
lived

uncertainty as to

how many

or

what Hingham Lincolns

date.

and died before that comparatively modern

It tells us

the

name

of Samuel's father; but

when

the eager interrogator of

it

the past asks

who were
state

his forebears,

remains

as silent as

the

grave in which they

lie.

Such was the

Lincoln, until

of the case,

as regards

the immediate an-

cestry of Samuel,

and the entire English ancestry of Abraham

the year 1906. Previous to that
this descent,

as recently as

time many attempts had been made to trace

in every instance the searcher,

and

on reaching

a certain well-deto face

scale.

fined point in his investigations,

found himself face

with

blank wall which he could neither pierce nor

utterly inconsequent beginning.

Of

that wall the foundation was the register of

its

Hingham,
this

with

Upon

were

piled, in successive

formidable courses, the ancient wills for

the county of Norfolk, stored at Norwich, the vast accumulation

of testamentary records garnered into the strong-rooms

Scan these

of Somerset House, and the inexhaustible muniments of the

Public Record Office.
searcher could find in
as

he would, the keenest

difficulty created

them no
to

substitute for the lost portion

of the

Hingham
loss,

register,

no solution of the
narrow
the issue
father

by that
point

no father

for

Edward Lincoln,

down to its finest of the boy who crossed

the Atlantic in 1637.

CHAPTER

II

A FAMILY QUARREL AND CONSEQUENCES

ITS

THE

successes achieved

by the genealogist, the

anti-

quary, and the archaeologist, are not infrequently

won

from the flotsam and jetsam of the ages by accident rather than by reasoned design or patient endeavour, and often, when he is on the verge of despair, the turn of a leaf, the involuntary glance of an eye, or some equally trivial circumstance
will put him, in one swift
full possession

moment

replete with triumph, in

of that which he has vainly sought through weary

years.

He

enjoys manorial rights over the foreshore of time,

but

it is

the casual wave, as often as deliberate incursions into

feet.

the deep, that lays the treasure at his

It was such an accident as this that

marked

as a red-letter

day in Lincoln family history a certain date

late in the year

1906.

On

that day the writers of this narrative, after a prolonged

period of unremitting efibrt in the course of which no genealogical stone, to the best of their

knowledge and

belief,

had

been
as it

left

unturned, arrived at a point in their researches where,

all

hope of solving the apparently inscrutable problem of Samuel Lincoln's ancestry must be forever abandoned. Then, in the space of a moment, the unexpected hapseemed,
pened.
in

The

reference or press-mark to a certain ancient suit

Chancery-

a suit then under re-investigation in this seem-

ingly hopeless connection

was found

to

have been wrongly

noted by the searcher

to whom

the listing had been entrusted.

In order to correct the inaccuracy a volume of the Calendar of the Proceedings in Chancery was taken down from one of

14

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

there,

when

the shelves of the Public Record Office and casually opened

under the searcher's very eye, lay the laconic

suit,

record of another

by some malign mischance previously

overlooked, which supplied the long-sought key to the riddle.

The Chancery
stitutes

suit' so

unexpectedly brought to light con-

one of those rare "finds" which persistently haunt the

genealogist's dreams, but

seldom

bless his

waking hours. Takit tells

ing up the thread of Samuel Lincoln's descent as abruptly as

the defective
his father,

Hingham

register lays

it

down,

us that

Edward, was eldest son and heir of Richard, who in turn was eldest son and heir of Robert Lincoln. Within the compass of a few square inches of discoloured parchment
it

gives us,

when

taken in conjunction with the baptism of

pedigree of four generations, thus:

Samuel,

a skeleton

Robert Lincoln,
eldest son

and heir

Richard Lincoln,
eldest son

and heir

Edward
eldest son

Lincoln,

and heir

Samuel Lincoln

Nor

is

this all.

The suit

is

a peculiar one,

and from the very

nature of the case a variety of other facts are brought to light

in the course of the pleadings, to
'

each of which,

when we come
Thus the
v.

examine

it

closely,

is

replete with special interest.

:

Chancery Proceedings^ Series II, 317

45

Anne and Elizabeth Lincoln

Edward Lincoln.

>.-j^(?/-t>m^ ^^>-i.>s- oga-

^ji^^-i ^nrfvu^^^j^^Ss^" '"*' ""^

%- d.g'^'^i

^^-^1 l^^,rft-,i.<^/^>jl^i

A FAMILY QUARREL
point in dispute
land, lying in
is

15

the possession of a certain parcel of copyhold

several pieces

two

with

a litle cottage

one of them " builded vppon of theyerely valewe of

fortie shillings"

Swanton Morley and Great Witchingham, and containing together a matter of six acres. This land is claimed by Anne and Elizabeth Lincoln, "beinge infants within the age of one and twentie yeres," through their
in the parishes of

guardian,

John

Bird, gent.

It

had belonged

to their father,
in

Richard Lincoln, who, having acquired it by purchase his lifetime, had by his last will and testament devised it
them. They claim
the action,
it as against

to

Edward Lincoln, defendant

in

who

not only "doth thretten ymediately to enter

into the premisses and cleerly to ouste and dispossesse

them

thereof," but,
said will,

still

worse, "hath suppressed and deteyned the

to prove the
1 1

and refuseth

same." Their
1

Bill
it

of Com-

plaint

is

sworn on the

th of

May,

62

and in

they pray,

in the quaint phraseology usual in such petitions, that "his

majesties gratious writt of subpoena be yssued against the said

Edward, comanding him

cery, then

at a

certeyne day and vnder a cer-

teyne payne personally to appeare before the Cort of Chaun-

and there

to

answere" for the wrong he

is

alleged

to have put

upon them. In accordance with

this prayer a writ

directed, singularly enough, to

other local Justices of the Peace the same month. In these circumstances
to set

was

Robert Peck, clerk, amongst

issued

on the 14th of

Edward Lincoln had no option but

loss at

up

his defence.

This he proceeded to do without

of time. His answer to the charges levelled

him

is

dated the

2d of June, and in it he unfolds a tale which at once lifts the case into the realm of the romantic. His late father, Richard Lincoln, was in his lifetime possessed of a

goodly

estate in

Hingham, comprising,

apart

from

copyhold possessions,

house and thirty-five acres of freehold

i6

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

pasture

meadow and
or, as the

worth some ;^20

assert, '},o.

a year

"to be letten";

daughters

To

this estate his father

had

succeeded on the death of

birthritj;ht
it

his father,

Robert Lincoln, whose

after

had

also been.

ing into the property,

comquickly discovered other and more

But Richard Lincoln,
In the adjoining parish of Car-

absorbing interests in
brooke, at the old

life.

beautiful girl, Elizabeth

Manor House there, lived a young and Remching by name, eldest daughter

of Richard Remching, gentleman, and Elizabeth his wife.

This

girl

and Richard Lincoln were of about the same age,

strict equality.

while in social position they were on a

Her
first

Richard Lincoln wooed, and in due course wedded.' But

he proceeded

to

deal with the ancestral lands

as

or, rather,

with such portion of them

was of the nature of freehold

aid,

with an eye to the future. Calling in the necessary legal

tied

he

up those lands

to the use of himself

lives

and

his wife that

life

was

to be, for the

liver

term of their

and of the

of the longer

of them, with remainder after their decease to the heir

of their bodies. Defendant, only surviving child of the marriage,"" is

that heir,

and

as

the marriage settlement

such he claims the property under

a settlement

which no

act of his

father could ever set aside or annul without his, the next heir's,

express consent.

So

much

for his rights in general.

first,

There

still

remain

to

be

dealt with,

the six acres specially claimed by the two

infants-at-law,

Anne and

Elizabeth Lincoln, which, having

of

Strictly speaking, Edward Lincoln's answer makes his mother the daughter Edward Remching, thus perpetrating a chronological absurdity that is fully disproved by the Remching pedigree appended to this work. The substitution of Edward for Richard was certainly a mistake on the part of the clerk who drew the pleadings, since it can hardly be credited that a man so well posted in his own lineage as Edward Lincoln shows himself to be, could have been ignorant of the name of his maternal grandfather.
*

Another

child, a son baptised

Henry, was born

in

1574.

He was

probably

Edward's senior, but died

in infancy.

A FAMILY QUARREL
come within
the scope of the marriage settlement
;

17

been purchased by Richard Lincoln in his lifetime, do not

and, sec-

ond, the scandalous aspersion cast upon him, of having suppressed his father's will.
self,

To

this task

he next addresses himis

and in order to show how groundless

their claim to

the land,

how

utterly

mendacious and devoid of truth their

allegation concerning the will,

he takes the Court into

his

confidence and proceeds to disclose some highly interesting

particulars of family history.

The

settlement in question was

made

as

long ago

as

the

sixteenth year of the sovereign lady Elizabeth, 1574, while

the action he

is

rebutting

falls in

the year 1621.

first

Much

had

happened

in the interval. In the

place Elizabeth

(Rem-

ching) Lincoln, his mother, had died, leaving him, an infant

of tender years, too young to mourn her

loss.

Then

his father

married again, and a second son, Richard, came on the scene,

manhood, and espoused a daughter of the Fulshams on which occasion his father, with Edward's consent, settled upon him a considerable portion of his estate. Meantime another affliction had fallen. The second wife young Richalso died. She was quickly succeeded by a ard's mother third, a widow, Margery Dunham by name, who by some
grew
to

strange fatality speedily followed her predecessors. It was of

her that her husband purchased part of the land afterwards

in question.

Her

place did not long remain vacant, for Rich-

ard Lincoln, senior, had

now

acquired the marrying habit.

Casting about

him

for a fresh

companion

in his solitude,

he fixed
for

his affections,

unhappily for the family peace and

prospects,

young Edward Lincoln's future

a

upon another

widow, one Anne Small or Smale,

years his junior.
delicate, speedily

woman

apparently several

With

this

marriage the situation, already

became complicated.
maiden name was Bird, daughter of

Anne

Small's

i8

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Of her family we know little, gentry.' Of her first husband we
nothing, except that he considerately died in time to

Bird of Great Witchingham.

save that they ranked as

know

provide her with an eminently eligible second and a fresh

field for

the exercise of talents with

which nature had

liberally,

although perhaps somewhat unwisely, endowed her. She had

not long been established in her

new home
circle.

ere trouble began.

had its These not long were origin in additions to the family in coming. Anne, the first child of the fourth marriage, was

As

so often

happens in such

cases, the dissension

baptised in

May, 1599;

Elizabeth, the second child, in

No-

vember, 1602; and Henry, the third and last, in June, i 605.' In thirty-two years Richard Lincoln led four brides to the
altar,

followed three wives to the grave, and welcomed

six, if

not more, children to his heart and home. Five of those chil-

dren to our certain knowledge survived, and

it

was the unen-

viable mission of Anne Small, the fourth and last wife, to

sow

amongst them and to alienate the father's affections and property from Edward, his eldest son and heir. The estrangement had its inception, to all appearances, in
dissension

the father's fourth marriage

it

spread itself over a considits

erable period of time, reaching

culmination in his

tes-

tamentary dispositions,

its

logical sequence in the litigation

which followed

his decease.

The beginning
By
this

of the year

6 1 6,

new

born,
more
'

style,

saw

it

at its height.

time Richard Lincoln

in all likelihood, prior to the outbreak of Kett's reI

bellion in

549
it

conscious of
his last wife.

or less

weight of years. Whether more under the influence of For a matter of nearly two decades he had been under her thumb, and her machinations were
to feel the
fell far

began

or not, he

Bird of

Witchingham bore
;

Argent^ a
:

cross

patonce between four martlets

gules^

a canton azure

and

for crest

Out of a

coronet

a demi-greyhound

salient

proper.
'

Registers of Swanton Morley.

See Appendix.

A FAMILY QUARREL
now
to

19

produce the
at the

fruit she desired to

pluck for herself and

her children

expense of Edward Lincoln, her stepson

the 3d of January, 16 16, Richard Linin his
last

thrice removed.

On

coln sat himself

down

house

at

Swanton Morley and

" made and declared " his

Alas

will and testament, being then,

" praysed be Almightie God, of goode

!

mynde and memorie."

the pious asseveration. Neither in that will, nor in the

codicil

which he appended

to

it

on the 2d of February, some

his eldest son to the

three years later, did he once

remember

extent of a shilling piece.

more remarkable, not to say significant, in view of what he does call to remembrance in the writing of this most human document.' While the heir
This lapse of
is

memory

the

of his body

is

ignored, that body itself

is

reverently consigned

to the earth, to be buried " in the

church of Hingham, in
is left

the midle Alley there."

legacy of ten shillings

to

the church for his interment in that honourable place. This

was for the " breaking of the ground," and went to the rector.

The poor of Hingham,

the parish of himself and his

fathers, receive
ley,

twenty shillings; the poor of Swanton Morwhere he was merely a sojourner, one half that amount; the poor of Great Witchingham, his wife's parish, six and eightpence. To Anne, his wife, the watchful monitor at
his elbow,

are devised all his freehold houses and lands

theretofore undealt with

yet for the term of her

not

in perpetuity,

it is

true,

nor
his

life,

but for such time

as

Henry,

youngest son, and hers, remains in his nonage.

He

was then

but ten years old. In return for this substantial provision she is required to " meynetaine and bringe him vpp vnto littera'

Consistory Court of Norwich, Register 1620, folio 26.

Although the Hingham

in the

register does
is

not

show

that the burial actually

took place

church, there

no reason

to suppose that his wishes

were

not faithfully carried out.

20

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

is

ture and 2;ood educacon," as befits the son of a country gentle-

man who
down

content, with the grave in view, to write himself

plain

yeoman.

If,

however, she happen to " marrie

is is

and take another husband," she custodie " of young Henry, and

to be
to

"discharged of the

pay into the hands of

it

testator's loving friend,

the

John Bird, sum of twenty marks yearly

gent.,

her own

brother,

for the lad's maintenance,

as a

mild penalty upon such mature waywardness. This, be

observed, whilst retaining the lands.

The two

daughters,

Anne and
marriage,

Elizabeth, then in their seventeenth and fourteenth

years respectively, get each fourscore pounds at full age or

"which

shall first

happen."

In addition to this

handsome
Robert

portion, they are to enjoy absolutely the four acres

of copyhold land in Swanton Morley lately purchased of one

Skarff, as well as the

two acres in Great Witchingham

which
his

their father

had of Margery Dunham, "sometime"

the land claimed by the daughters, as

wife.

This

is

who is of course their half-brother Edward Lincoln Edward and Henry Bird, his wife's brothers, in 1 62 1. and Richard Small, her son, come in for affectionate rememagainst

brance; whilst John Bird, another of her brothers,

is

ap-

pointed to the important post of supervisor under the will.

The

entire residue of his estate

a very considerable one,

no doubt, by his repeated matrimonial ventures goes to Anne, his wife, who takes good care to see that she is named sole executrix. As Edward Lincoln
materially augmented,

himself so bitterly expresses

made

against

him

answer to the charges by his two half-sisters, his father " was
it,

in his

much

laboured by his latter wife to

hir children,"

make

a will for the ad-

vancement of hirand

who

were in consequence

"preferred with liberall and lardge porcons," whilst he, the object of her cordial detestation, was " disinherited by her

meanes and procurement."

A FAMILY QUARREL
In effect his situation was rather
here represents
true,
it

21

less

deplorable than he
it is

to be.

he got nothing,

every

Of

his father's personal estate,

stiver

of

it,

with the exception

respect of his
shall presently

of a few minor legacies in which he did not share, going to

the fourth wife and her children.
father's real estate
see.

But

in

he fared rather

better, as

we

The
1

will

616,

made by Richard Lincoln on

is still

the 3d of January,

the original

preserved in the

Crown

Registry

at

Norwich,

consists of four sheets of paper,

a little seal
it is

each neatly

sealed at the

bottom with
;

of red wax,' bearing the

neither in his

device of a

hound and although

own hand-

writing, nor yet signed otherwise than with his mark, these

circumstances must not be taken as going to prove that he was

unable to write, or that the will was

mis.

The

cross used in lieu

made when he of signature, or when

time
still

lay in extrea signatory

was unable

to write, at that

retained

much

of

its

original affirmatory and sacred significance,

and was conseliterary attainso.

quently employed by

many persons of sufficient

ments to subscribe their names did they choose to do

Richard Lincoln, although he appended only
the will,
his state his

"mark"

to

may

therefore have been well able to write.

at the time, there
is

of health

less

uncertainty.

About As a
so,

matter of fact he was not " sick in body," and this being
it is

obvious that the will

is

the utterance of a

man who

has

the fear of his wife rather than the fear of death before his
eyes

that

it is,

in short, a concession to petticoat rule, a bid

for domestic peace.

Probably

it

did not
it

fall

altogether short
five years.

of the desired

effect, since

he survived

by nearly

It was in December, 1620, that the end came. Returning one day from his customary round in the fields to his home
'

Here reproduced, and apparently

that of his wife's family, Bird of

Witch-

ingham. See page 60.

22
at

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

fell to

Swanton Morley, he
as his

the ground

lifeless,

"surprised
it,

by sudden death,"

daughters so graphically express

in

the midst of a vigorous old age.

On

the 23d of that

month

his

mortal remains were laid to

rest, as

we may

fairly

assume, in

the spot he had chosen for their interment, the middle aisle of

Hingham
to deal

church.

With

all

decent haste his

it

widow proceeded
Court of

with the
th of

will,

proving

in the Consistory

the Bishop of

Norwich on the 24th day of February, 1621.

On the

1 1

May following, well within three months after

own mother,
Edward

the will had been so carried to probate by their

Anne and

Elizabeth Lincoln deliberately swore that

it!

Lincoln, their half-brother, had suppressed

By what means they were induced to put forward a statefor ment so utterly at variance with the facts of the case Edward Lincoln, so far from having suppressed the will, knew or nothing whatever about it except what rumour told him to take the far more serious step of putting it forward on oath,

it is

not easy to conceive. In

common
to

fairness to

them, and

in

view of their youth, we must give them credit for sincerity

a belief that

and

what they alleged

and once

be true was true in sub-

stance and

in fact;

this point is

conceded,

as

it

must

be by every unbiassed student of the

case, there

remains only

one reasonable explanation of their open and pronounced hostility to their

half-brother, as of the false charges they formu-

lated against

him. They had been deceived by and were the

unconscious tools of their mother, who, together with their

uncle and guardian,

John

Bird, sought, by playing

upon

their

inexperience, their self-interest, and their youthful credulity,

to repair the

been

perhaps
suit,

one

fatal

omission of which their father had

intentionally

guilty

between the making of

the will and his decease.

That omission, unfortunately

cery

for the plaintiffs in our

Chanto the

had

to

do with the land devised by the father

^3&<;d<V>^</S,(Ji#^^l!4<*l<!"J'$4^<W^'i>toy/iW*<^^

A FAMILY QUARREL
two
girls

23
it

or, to

be more exact, with four acres of

only,

the other two acres and the cottage having been conveyed to

Edward, together with

of the

20

in hand, long before the

making

will, as a quid pro quo for his interest in certain other

land which the father wished to settle upon his second son,

Richard. This conveyance the father had evidently forgotten

when making
and
as

his will

while, as for the four acres referred

to above, that land

was copyhold, holden of a certain Manor, such could change hands only in accordance with an

ancient custom, well recognised in law,

to uses."

known

as

"surrender

To make

his will valid, therefore, as regards the

devise of this four acres to his daughters

Anne and

Elizabeth,

"custom" demanded
the

that old Richard Lincoln should

go into

Manor Court and there, with the consent and co-operation of Edward Lincoln, his eldest son and heir-at-law, formally
"surrender" the land to the use or uses specified and declared
to do, with the result that when he died the land passed by right of inheritance to Edward, in that will.

This he omitted

his next heir, while

Anne and
left

Elizabeth, his daughters by the

grasping fourth wife, were

apiece to console them.

with only their fourscore pounds

to say tragic, cirat law, this

Such were the highly complicated, not

cumstances in which
this

remarkable action

un-

blushing attempt to bluff

tary rights,

Edward Lincoln out of

his

his heredihalf-sisters.

was launched by
ever

stepmother and

Whether
it

it

came
in

to a hearing, or

if

it

did come,

we cannot

learn with certainty, since

suit,

what was the upshot of no

can be
all

Order or Decree
discovered.

Chancery, relating to the

it

But on the face of

the appearances are

in

favour of the defendant; and provided he was in a position,

as

he doubtless was, to back up

his assertions
little

with sound
as to

documentary evidence, there can be

the action eventuated.

question

how

The

land remained with him.

24
'riic

rni<

ANc^i'SrRY ov
us,
it

mxcoln

value ot the suit to

apart Iroin the remarkable series

otlamilv episodes
it

so ^raphieallv suggests, lies in the tact tliat

supplies

kev hv which niauv another iloeunient, before

isolated, or aj^parentlv irrelevant to the

wholly unintelligible,
line
v>t

descent under investigation, niav be correctly placed

and logically interpreted.

case strikingly
\\:\d
it^

The

will ot
tlie

Richard Lincoln
pre,scnt writers

is

jH>int.

Although

had

that will in their possession tor a period ot several years

suit,

betvTe the disco\ ery ot the ^.'hancery

its

the omission Irom

pages ot any allusion to the testator's son,

it

Edward Lincoln,

rendered
quiry.

absolutely valueless tor the purposes ot this enit

l-\uling as

did to
it

supj-^lv

the

long-sought clue to
as

I'dwards parentage,
Lincoln genealogy

one amongst many hundreds

we
\\

ranked merely

an isolated item ot
notliing

more. However mucli Anne Lincoln deserves our censure tor

hectoring her husband into making that will,
niost readily

torgive her,
suit

and heartily.

hen we consider that the

as

brought
and
in

at

her instigation.

With

its

discovery

tlie

day daw
ot"

ns,

its

light the meaningless will

becomes

piece

living

history.

CHAPTER
HOUSE
RLV]-A<TlS(j
real
_

III

FIVE GENERAIIOXS OF A

NORFOLK
Lincoln's

to
it i\

the divi'.ion of Richard

far

estate,

from

easy, in

the ah-.ence of

those most informing land-records the

Manor Rolls,'

arjri

in face

of the conflicting statements put forward by the

parties to the

Chancery
to

suit, to

determine with any degree of

precision either hov/

much he

possessed or ho'w

much

of v/hat

he did possess went

each of his sons.

According

to the story told

by Anne and Elizabeth Lin"all or the

coln, their half-brother

Edward not only had

greater part" of the landed property, but v.as "further preferred and helped with divers guifts and benefitts of very great

valewe and worthe."

On

the face of

it

this statement

of the

case savours strongly of exaggeration;

and Edward himself,

whilst admitting his reversionary interest in the thirty-five acres

of freehold tied up under the marriage settlement, expressly

declares that thirty-three acres of that land
released
cel

he

were afterwards

receiving twenty pounds and another small par-

of land

as a

solatium

to his brother

Richard, while he
Eater on his
as

himself "had only but two acres with

father
culates
'

a cottage."

made him
its

an additional grant of land worth,

he

cal-

rental value, four

.Manor Rolis are

pounds yearly; and

now
in

as eldest

son

The Hingham

the possession of the present J>ord

of the .Manor, the Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley Hall near

Wymondham,
in his

Norfolk, by whose kind permission search

is still

being prosecuted

Muni1650

ment Room,

but, to the time of going to press,

no documents

earlier than

have been discovered.

26

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

six acres

and heir he of course dropped into the disputed

his father's death.

on

Upon Henry,
devoh'ed, by

the youngest son, there had in the

meantime
howses

his father's gift, "divers other messuages,

and lands in Hingham, Swanton Morley and Great Witchingham, of the yerely valewe of fortie pounds." Under the
will, again,

he benefited, on attaining

his majority, to the

extent of twelve acres and a messuage in Swanton

Morley and

eight acres in

Hingham. Of the

three sons

Edward would

thus seem to have fared the worst, the lion's share of the
estate, so far as

we know

it,

falling to

Henry.

To what
is

extent

Edward

profited

by the other "guifts and

benefitts " asserted

by those mendacious
played her cards

litigants his half-sisters,

open to

seri-

ous question; for if Anne Lincoln, the scheming fourth wife,

as cleverly in this

matter

as

she undoubtedly

did in the matter of the lands,

it is

highly probable that her

detested stepson found himself little the richer for his father's

alleged generosity.

On
estate,

the whole, old Richard Lincoln, Samuel's paternal

grandfather, undoubtedly died possessed of a very respectable

to his

and had the bulk of it descended in the ordinary course eldest son, the father of our boy-emigrant would have
it

been comparatively well-to-do. As

marriage ruined his prospects in

was, his father's fourth

life

and, by raising up other

hands to grasp the property, made of him a comparatively poor man.

ticipated in

He
no

acquired
affairs,

little

or no additional property, par-

figured in few records.

Were

it

not

for the solitary action at

law into which he was unwillingly

to us only in the

dragged, his

name would have come down

pages of a dilapidated and fast-perishing parish register, while

the fact of his gentle birth, and the pathetic story of the young

mother who bore but did not live to rear him, would have been lost to us forever. Abandoning life's struggle in Febru-

FIVE GENERATIONS
ary, 1640,

27
month
left

he was

laid to rest

on the

ith of that

in

Hingham
will; yet

churchyard. So
at least

far as
is

can be ascertained, he

no

America

indebted to

him

for a legacy of

the best that any

man

can give. At the time of his death no

fewer than three of his sons

were,
vista

Thomas,

Daniel, and Samuel

we have already seen, permanently settled in New England. The question whether the sons would ever have emias

grated had the father been

more

prosperous, opens up a wide

States perhaps

of speculation.

The United

owes her
Norfolk

Abraham Lincoln
self

to the circumstance that a lonely

widower, some hundreds of years ago, saw

with a fourth wife whose avarice
permit us to do
as facts

was not

fit

to solace
it as

him-

to put

gallantly

less

conspicuous than her

virtue.

Of

her

little

remains to be told. After Richard's decease

for the

she lived a

widow

remainder of her days, and died in

the year 1636, leaving a will' which cannot, unfortunately,

be found. Her two daughters, aided no doubt by the substantial legacies left to them by their father, had already

now

found husbands,

Anne

in

Robert Gurney, Elizabeth in Wilin

liam Gunthorpe, both cadets of "gentle" Norfolk houses.

This we learn from a lawsuit^

which Henry Lincoln,

their

brother, was involved in the year 1641.

As

for

Henry

himself, he had by that time attained to far

greater affluence than his half-brother

Edward

ever enjoyed.
start in life,

His mother had secured for him an advantageous

and although the terms of her will are unknown
reasonably infer that, as regards her
son's prosperity

to us,

we may

own

estate,

her favourite

was

in

no wise diminished by her death. Sur-

Consistory Court of Norwich, Register 1637, according to the Calendar

file

of Wills, but no registered copy of the will appears, nor does the
year contain the original.
*

for that

Chancery Proceedings^ Charles

I,

L.

37

Lincoln

v.

Gurney.

28

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Henry
died in 1667,
at

viving her by half an average lifetime,

in the sixty-third year of his age.

Morley, where already a little last resting-place of his mother,

Richard.

Swanton congeries of graves marked the

was buried
and
his wife,

He

his half-brother

The churchyard

at

Hingham had

also, at

this time, its

cluster of Lincoln graves,

some of them hoary with

age,
all

others comparatively recent.

his

Richard Lincoln alone, of

immediate family,

slept his last sleep

within the church

itself.

or

Without lay the son of his first marriage, possibly one more of his four wives, and certainly his father and grandboth of

father,

whom
It

left

injunctions in their wills that they

should be buried there.

longer identifiable.

The

place of their interment

is

no

has been calculated that the buryingas

ground of
was,
is

populous country parish, such

Hingham then

sown over with human remains, in its every part, once in each two hundred years. The ancient dead are there, but no man knoweth the place of their burial. Obliterated by
the hands of
veal
it.

Time and

the Sexton, only the

Day can

re-

Concerning Robert Lincoln of Hingham, Richard's father, we know little more than his will, drawn on the 14th of January, 1556, and proven on the 29th of the

same month,"

is

capable of telling
is

us.

That he died

comparatively young

man
still

certain, for Richard, the eldest of five children then " being
as

on lyve,"
a

they used so picturesquely to express

it,

was

minor when that untoward event occurred.

fell

Much

in con-

sequence devolved upon his mother, Margaret Alberye.

her

On

the maintenance of the family, the upkeep of the

homestead, the oversight and cultivation of the lands, until such

time

as

Richard should come of age, when he was

absolutely.
'

to

have the

whole property

This

is

doubtless the ancestral

15
:

Arch, of Norfolk, Book

137.

FIVE GENERATIONS
estate

29 Remhow
if any, his

with part of which he dealt on marrying EHzabeth

ching in or about 1574.

father settled

How

much

other land,

upon him before the making of the

will, or

much upon his younger brother John, we have no means of ascertaining; but under the will itself Richard got no more, while John's beneficiary interest was confined to the modest
sum of five pounds.
For there were others to be thought of, and a dying man, however keen his solicitude for those who are destined to survive him, can do no more than his circumstances permit. Daughter Katherine must have the tenement in Thetford; daughter Agnes, that other tenement in Hingham, known most pathetic eventuality from of old as Portman's. Then child, one who would another conceive possible to it is

never behold
if a

its

father's face,

had to be provided
Pitcher's,

for.

To it,

son, must go Pixton's, and

and Cooper's, and

Broccle's,

and divers other lands

one rood land at

in Hingham, including "the Stumpe Crosse," as from the day of its

mother's decease; but, if a daughter, then Richard should again take the whole, from the time indicated, and pay to this
his third sister thirty

pounds

as

her child's portion. Here

we

quarrel with the records.

They pique our

is

curiosity, but tell us

no more. Nothing more, that

hold

to say, about the little inde-

terminate stranger so soon expected in the bereaved house;

but about the mother herself a fact of

much human

interest. Left a

hood

enjoying

widow while yet in

the very prime of woman-

a secure life-interest in a substantial portion

wonder that she should have found favour, notwithstanding her "encumbrances," in the eyes of her worthy neighbour, Roger Wright.
of her late husband's estate
it is little

cause for

They

accordingly
one.

made

match of

it

to all appearances a

most happy

Roger Wright not only regarded

his wife's children

with

30

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

them
gratifying tokens of
favourite.
it is

affection, but left

under

his will.'

Richard was clearly

of land, and

first

To him

devised a close

as a special

mark of

his stepfather's regard

he
in

shares the executorship jointly with his mother.

This was

February, 1571. husband, or

How
from

long his mother survived her second

when

she died, the records again, with tantalising

telling us; but the

reticence, abstain
to

appointment goes

show

that Richard, her son, was then of age

a deduction

in every

way
1

consistent with his marriage to Elizabeth

later.

Rem-

ching a few years

On
relates

the

8th of April, 1540, another Robert Lincoln of

his will,^ but
it,

Hingham made

unlike those already quoted,

only to his personal estate.

No

land

is

demised,^ none

mentioned, indeed, except a single close "called Broccles,"

and

this

we immediately
upon
his child

recognise as part of the property

afterwards settled by the second Robert of

year 1556,
is,

Hingham,
it

in the

then unborn.

The

will of

1540

in fact, the will

of that Robert's father, and

ignores

the testator's lands because those lands had already been settled,

by means of the convenient "surrender

last will,

to uses" in the

Manor
framing

Court, in accordance with his wish and intent.

this, his

In

he saw no reason
tallies

to disturb or

vary that arrangement.

This deduction

exactly with

the view of the case advanced by

in

Edward Lincoln when,

irihet'itance

the Chancery suit of 1621, he declares the lands that dehis father

scended to

Richard

to

have been " the

of Robert Lincoln, father of the said Richard." Under the

actual will Robert got only his father's harness.
in the lands
'

His

interest

was already secure.

:

Arch. Norfolk, Book 23 Arch. Norfolk, Book 9

:

158.

* J

276.

Up

to the reign of

will

away from

his eldest son.

Henry VIII, no Englishman could leave his lands by Hence they were rarely mentioned, the eldest

son succeeding as a matter of course.

FIVE GENERATIONS
The
will of
1

31
It af-

540

is

noteworthy in another respect.

fords a pretty illustration of one of the most curious customs

of the times.

In those far-off days

it

was a by no means un-

common

circumstance, although certainly a most confusing

one, for two or

more

children, sons or daughters of the

same

father, to be called

by one and the same christian name. Thus

Thomas Brown
John
junior,

has two sons

named John,

John
all

senior and

perhaps twins, or children born of different

triplets, or

mothers. William Jones, being blessed with

ing three sons by successive wives, dubs

hav-

three Richard.

They

figure out as

Richard the

elder,

Richard the younger,

and Richard "the middle."

a dual Rose,

**my

So in the will of 1540 we find

sister

daughters. Rose the elder and Rose the

younger."
the wife of
later

Elizabeth, an elder

of these

girls,

became

Hugh

Baldwin,' from

whom

were descended the

was who,

Baldwins of Hingham.
of these
girls

The mother

was Joan,^ and she

it

on the 3d of September,

father's will in the 1 543, proved the Court of the Archdeacon of Norfolk, the testator being then
as

but recently deceased. His, so far

the
first

we

at present

know, was

of that

little cluster

of Lincoln graves in

Hingham

churchyard,

now

utterly vanished
last

we

but identify his

from human ken. Could resting-place, with what reverence

should

we

not approach the spot; for in this venerable

man

we

have none other than the great-grandsire eight times rePresident of the

moved of Abraham Lincoln, sometime

United
in this
States.

way:
'

The

descent on the English side works out

See his will, Arch. Norfolk, Book 17: 265.

Probably Cowper, or Cooper. See will

in

Appendix.

32

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Robert Lincoln of
died 1543

Hinghaniy

Robert Lincoln of
eldest son

Hinghaniy

and

heir, died

Richard Lincoln of Hinghamy

and Swanton Morley,
son and
heir, died

eldest

1620

Edward Lincoln
eldest son

of Hingham,

and

heir, died

1640

Samuel Lincoln of

Hinghaniy

Norfolk, and Hinghatn, Mass.y

youngest son, baptised 24

August, 1622; died 1690;
great-great-great-great-

grandfather of

Abraham LinStates.

coln, sixteenth President of the

United

CHAPTER

IV

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE

LINCOLNS
lA

this stage

of our story

we must

pause to consider, as
at

^ m

fully as space

and the information

our

command

permit, the question that not inappropriately shapes

lips
:

itself

on the reader's

" These Lincolns of Hingham, from

whom Abraham
The
question,

of the White House was descended

were
is

they people of consequence, or just ordinary, every-day folk?"

it

must be frankly admitted

at the outset,
is

one of no
far

little difficulty.

Our

point of view

so remote, the
it is

perspective of the receding scroll of time so indistinct,

from easy

to

determine just

how high

in the social scale

Only one thing can we be quite sure of. If they were not very high up, they were certainly not very low down, and their position m a fairly well-defined middle stratum is thus indicated as " Minor Gentry." Let us see, then, what are the conditions, what the ascertained facts, and from them draw our conclusions as logically as we may. In primeval days, " when Adam delved and Eve span," no one was of gentle, much less of royal birth. But in course of time kings arose. They created nobles, who in turn set up retainers. Of these some rendered personal attendance upon
these people stood.
their lords, carrying their shields or armour.

To

distinguish

those so honoured from the ruck of the lord's train, they were

designated by various Latin or Gallic terms descriptive of the

service they rendered, such as scutifer, armiger, escuier, esquire.

The

original esquire

was thus a creation. His younger sons

shared his honours, but not in the same degree as his heir.

By

34

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

birth thev were gcncrosi, gentilshommes, gentlemen. Ostensibly a gentleman was " a man well born," but apart from this happy accident of birth he could be created by Royal Letters Patent.

The
tion.

esquire,

on the other hand, ere long ceased to be a creaLike the poet, he must be born, not made. Nor could

he be "reputed"

save in the case of Justices of the Peace,

who were
It

of courtesy styled esquire whilst in commission.

was with the evolution of the gentleman that repute had

to do,

most
into

and

as a

consequence new heads constantly sprang

view on

this social plane.

The

reputed gentleman, the

became in fact the social Jack-in-theof modern times. Under the genial sunshine of patronage or prosperity he sprang up spontanepretentious homo de plebe,

box of medieval,
ously,

as

he

is

and provided

his

"substance" was

sufficient to justify

his pretensions, few denied, whilst

many

hastened to concede,

the rank he aspired

to.

Next below the gentleman came the

yeoman. By right of birth he v/z.^ francus or freeman, as distinguished from nativus or bondsman born. Amongst those who tilled the soil he ranked highest, whilst the title he bore, and bore with justifiable pride, was universally reckoned an
honourable addition to his name.
In the
first

of the above categories

may

be placed Robert

Lincoln of Hellington, sometime contemporary and near

neighbour of our Richard of Hingham. In

commonly
sons.

styled esquire

his

day he was

doubtless for

good

ancestral rea-

widow What knight. Gawdy, Joan became the wife of Sir Anthony
609, and soon afterwards his
relationship, if any, subsisted

He died in the year

between

this

branch of the Lin-

coln family and that domiciled at

Hingham, remains an open

seem
to point

question

for in spite of
is,

much

painstaking research the most

that can be said

to a

that a variety of circumstances

kinship of rank, if not of blood, between the two

families.

The first Robert of Hingham, he who

died in the year 1543,

SOCIAL STATUS OF THE LINCOLNS

like his son

35

and namesake

who

followed

him

to the grave in

1556, carefully refrained,

ing to his

when making

his will,

from append-

name any

appellation indicative of social rank.

as it
is

The

circumstance, occurring
a last will

does in so precise a document as

and testament,

perhaps sufficiently remarkable to

justify a suspicion, not to say a belief, that the testators, whilst

living the lives of ostensible

their right

yeomen, were

fully cognizant

of

by descent
in his will

to higher social distinction.

a similar

Richard Lincoln perhaps cherished

for

knowledge

though

he styled himself yeoman, he never-

theless left strict injunctions that

he should be buried within

assumed in

the church of Hingham, thus asserting in death the rank that

he never, so

far as

we can
it is
;

ascertain, expressly

life.

He

had married,

true, not less

than three, perhaps four

gentlewomen
than on his

in his time

but

it is

difficult to believe that the

injunction as to his place of burial was based on that fact rather

known

lineage. Conversely,

it is

equally difficult to

believe that he could have married such a succession of gen-

tlewomen had he not

to the rank

possessed

some well-authenticated

title

he espoused.

The social standing of the yeoman who married a gentlewoman had long before Richard Lincoln's time been a bone
of contention between the two classes implicated, and although
it

was generally conceded that the yeoman

who

thus bettered

himself became a gentleman by repute, the face of the higher

class

was resolutely

set against

any admission of his claim

as

of

right.

He

was gentleman only on sufferance.

An
is

instructive

and amusing

case, relating to this very point,

to be

found in the proceedings of that once notorious but

now
ber.'

long-since obsolete institution, the Court of Star

ChamKing

Occurring

as far

back

as

Henry the Eighth's reign,

'

the thirty-fourth year of

the very year, by the way, in which

Henry VIII,
vol. 3
:

Star Chamber Proceedings^

iii, 112.

36

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

first

at

the

Robert Lincoln of
a certain

Hingham

paid the debt of nature,

it

originated in a suit

brought

in the

Court of King's Bench

in the

Westminster, by

Thomas Warner, against one RichDereham,

county of Nor-

ard Barker of
folk.

Hoo

near East

Whether purposely or inadvertently, Barker was described

yeoman.

in the writ as
tion.

To this he at once took wrathful excepissue

At the time of the

of the writ, he declared, " he was

gentilman, and soe ever called, appelled and taken."

ceedings against
in dispute

The

pro-

him were accordingly quashed, and

Barker's social status

was remitted

the point

for trial to

the Assizes at Norwich.

Here
sworn "

a fresh

complication arose.

Of the jurors who were

were
for allow-

to trye the verytye of the yssue," eight

ing Barker to "pass" for the gentleman he claimed to be,

whilst the remaining four, being themselves gentlemen
strenuously opposed this concession that eventually the
placent eight gave
all,

so

com-

way and the whole twelve returned it as plaintiff was "yeoman, and no gentleman." The difference of opinion coming privily to
their

unanimous verdict that

Barker's knowledge, he availed himself of

it

as a

pretext for

carrying his case to the Court of Star Chamber, alleging that

the jurors, and

more

particularly the four

gentlemen

jurors,

had rendered a verdict "nothinge regardinge their othe ne \nor\ the evydence geven and shewed." The discredited jurors thereupon joined issue. Plaintiff, they said, at the former trial

"dyd gyve
that he

in

evydence that he must nedes be

syster

gentylman, for

had maryed the

status

of Sir Walter Luke, knyght."

This proof of his

they "lytyll estemed," and that for the

reasons. As all the world knew, "maryage gentylwoman could not make any man a gentylman." True, the " Heralds at Armes of thys Realme had graunted and gyven vnto hym [Barker] armes, that ys to saye, a hunde

most pregnant of
with
a

[bounJ^ barkynge"; but although such a cognizance

"myght

SOCIAL STATUS OF THE LINCOLNS

yet in their
plaintiff to

37

perchaunce brynge to remembraunce the name of Barker,"

humble opinion
be a
live lion.

dead dog in no wise proved the

If the Heralds, moreover, had the

power thus to make him gentleman, why did not they, whilst they were about the business, ** make hym esquier " ? His claim
to the
fact,

one was

as

good

as to

the other.

A certain well-known
Barker of

moreover, was in
a

itself fatal to his pretension.

Hoo
start

gentleman

Odzooks!

his father

"dyd gayne more in

than he, this up-

one yere by hys vnfeyned mystere" or

of gentylman." For

craft

Barker, had done " in halfe his lyff by hys vsurpyd

it

name

was matter of common knowledge the

all

countryside over, not only that his father "bye

the

tyme of

hys lyff exersysed the mysterye or occupaycon of a turner of

belles

and maker of treen dyshes,

ladelles,

and pott lyddes,"

but also "that none of hys auncestoures or uncles, brytherne

or kynsfolkes, albeyett they were ryght honest pore folkes, ever enterprysed the

name

or degree of gentylman," but

were
well

"contentyd

to be taken

and reputed of the comon pore sorte."

In face of which caustic and witty indictment we

believe that Barker forever after ranked as

may

"yeoman, and no

gentleman."

No
cost, as

as

the world went then, and as Barker learned to his

to be evolved from such base material making of bells or pot-lids. Nevertheless it was a common enough occurrence for gentlemen born, who through

gentlemen were not

to the

went

no

fault of their

own had come down

in the world, or

who

were blessed with large

families and small estates, to conde-

scend in the persons of their sons, and more especially in the

persons of their younger sons, to crafts of low degree. Nicholas

Colt of Shimpling, in the county of Norfolk, clerk in holy

orders, did as

much
;

in the year
it

of grace

3.

He

was parson

of the parish

yet he thought

not beneath the dignity of his

name

or office to apprentice his son to the art and mystery of

38

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Many other gentlemen, of similar or better posiand followed in
his footsteps.

shipbuilding.

tion, shared his opinions

Hence

the fact that both

Thomas and Samuel

Lincoln, eldest and

youngest sons of Edward of Hingham, were in their youth

apprenticed to the weaving, by no means stamps the father
other than a gentleman.
boast
as

To

argue in sequence that he could

no

origin, that his family

ranked

as

"no

class,"

would

be to argue wide of the mark. Edward Lincoln, thanks to his

third stepmother, was poor; but he must not on that account

be relegated to the category of those who, in the parlance of

his

and

earlier times, are so picturesquely described as

"the

common
his

pore sorte."

The

absence of riches neither impovIt

erished his blood nor vitiated his birth.

merely prevented

maintaining the position both entitled

him

to.

His was

the lot of the blood-horse broken to the plough.

His brother Henry, on the contrary, not only assumed

the rank his birth conferred upon him, but maintained
it

throughout his

life.

As

document
law,' as

suitable to

early as 1633 he is described, in a be produced as evidence in a court of

"Henry
it

Lincoln, gent"

an

appellation which, re-

curring as

does in numerous other documents relating to

the man, without doubt correctly defines his recognised social

position.

Waiving, therefore, any remoter ancestral claim which the

Lincolns of

Hingham may have had

a

to gentility,
at

it is

evident

that, in the later generations

under review

any

rate,

they

were ostensible yeomen with

in their veins.
'

dominant strain of gentle blood

Feet of Fines, Norfolk

M.

8 Car.

I.

Fine between Francis Neave, Esq.,

defts.

pltf.,

and Henry Lincoln, gent., and Anne Lincoln, widow,

CHAPTER V
CARBROOKE AND THE REMCHINGS

EDWARD LINCOLN
called,

of Hingham,

it

will be re-

was on

his

mother's side a

Remching

name
Undoubtedly
land

at that time, as

now, of exceeding
its

rarity in

England, being practically unknown except in East Anglia.

alien,

and probably Flemish in

it

origin, the

exact period at
is

which

made

its

appearance in Eastern Englikelihood

it

altogether uncertain. In

all

had been

so

domiciled for some generations before Richard Lincoln led

Elizabeth
the

Remching family to which

to the altar; certainly long

enough

for

she belonged to have acquired both

wealth and position.

The

earliest

known

occurrence of the

name in English
It
is

records is nevertheless comparatively modern.

found

in the parish register

of a small country village,

lying

some four and

a half miles to the west of

Hingham,
Anne, the
his

called Carbrooke.

Here, according to that

register,

second daughter of Richard Remching, was baptised on the

23d day of September, 1549. The baptism of Elizabeth,

eldest daughter, does not appear.

The

village of

Carbrooke

is

not without

its

historical as-

sociations.

A
his

Preceptory of Knights Templars was founded

1

here by Roger, Earl of Clare, prior to

died,

173. In that year he

as

and

widowed

countess,

Maud,

an act of piety

donated the foundation, together with

of lands and
Jerusalem.
vassals, to

its

entire

the Knights Hospitallers

it

endowment of St. John of

still

Thenceforth

Carbrooke

under which
it,

was called the Commandery of

name

its

memory

survives.

Closely adjoining

in those days, there stood a chapel, dedi-

40

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

St.

cated to

John the

Baptist.
site

Both

lay to the south of the

present church, on the

roughly indicated by the foreground

of the illustration; and both, like the old Manor House where the Remchings lived, have long since totally disappeared. The
present church of Carbrooke boasts no great antiquity. from the early years of the sixth Henry's reign; but in
It dates
it

large

portions of the older buildings doubtless

ravages of time. In the loft over
its

still

withstand the

north porch some pieces

of ancient armour are pointed out to the curious

the

last

poor

relics

of the doughty knights

who

once held sway in

Carbrooke.
It

was

in this

church that the children of Richard and

Elizabeth

Remching were baptised, all except the two eldest Edward, known in his day as Edward Remching, gentle-

man, and Elizabeth, who afterwards became the first wife of Richard Lincoln and gave her brother's name to her second
son,

Edward Lincoln of Hingham,

father of the lad

who emi-

grated in 1637. In this church, too, on the 24th of March,

1567, Richard

Remching was

buried.

His will contains no

injunction that he should be so interred.

The honour was

conceded him because of

his standing in the parish.

He

was

Lord of the Manor of Carbrooke and the Commandery there. For the ancient Commandery was no longer the headquarters of a monastic body. Dirge was no longer sung, mass no
longer said, the bede-roll of the faithful departed no longer
told in ancient

church or chapel.

Henry the Eighth had

changed

all

that.

By

single stroke of the royal pen the

ancient foundation had been "dissolved"

the

hospitallers

driven forth, unfrocked and beggared, the rich lands confiscated, the opulent revenues diverted to swell the coffers of the

From him it passed no doubt for a weighty consideration to Thomas Southwell of Wood Rising, esquire; and
King.

he, about the year

1545, demised

it,

together with

all

its

CARBROOKE AND THE REMCHINGS

rights and

41

members,

to

Richard Remching.
for

The

tenure was

of the nature of leasehold, and on that basis the Remchings,

father and son, held

some forty-two years.' Richard Remching, Lord of the Manor of Carbrooke, must
it

have been cut off in the very prime of life, for his widow Elizabeth survived

him twenty-eight

years,

and of his seven chilat the

dren the only one

his death

who

could have been of age

time of
a legacy
at

was

his eldest son,

will,^

Edward. This we gather from the

terms of his

under which each child receives

of from twenty to thirty pounds in age of twenty-two, the others

money Edward

the

at full

age or marriage.

daughter Elizabeth's was twenty pounds

In addition to the

His
to

sum ample

provide handsomely for her "bride-cart," or wedding

outfit.

Manor and Com mandery of Carbrooke,

left

the lease of which had recently been renewed for a further

term of

years,

Richard Remching

an estate comprising

at

least three

hundred and forty-four

in

acres of land, an annual

rent-charge of twenty shillings, and liberty of faldage^ for six

hundred sheep
all

Carbrooke and the adjacent

parishes.'^

To

this property, with certain probable reservations and ex-

ceptions in favour of his

mother and

brothers,

Edward Remhe

ching succeeded on coming of age. Soon

pied the lands and
residing with him.

after that event

married, and for the remainder of the Carbrooke lease occu-

Manor House

there, his

widowed mother
removed
to the

In 1593, shortly after the Carbrooke lease

expired, he sold the remaining property and

neighbouring town of Thetford, where, dying in the year

'

Chancery Proceedings^ Eliz., P.

8:50. Paget and another

v.

Elizabeth

Remching, widow.
^
^

Consistory Court of Norwich, Reg. 1566-67, folio 278.

right reserved

by the Lord of the

Manor
Eliz.

to set

up

folds for his sheep in

the fields of his tenants.

Feet of Fines, Norfolk

pltf.,

M. 35-36

Fine between

Thomas May,

and Edward Rymshinge, gent., and Elizabeth

his wife, defts.

42

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

As a man of 1 619, he was buried in St. Cuthbert's Church.' acknowledged substance, he had been made one of the trustees under the marriage settlement of Richard Lincoln, his
brother-in-law.

Of Richard Remching, junior, Edward's youngest brother but one, we catch a cursory but entertaining glimpse in that
lively

panorama of the

ages, the official Proceedings in

Chan-

cery, anno 1593.^

The

period, as

all

the world knows, was one

of

ruffs,

and in the preparation of

ruffs

much

ingenuity and

starch

were employed. Queen

Elizabeth, with an eye to the

augmenting of her revenues, granted and sold to Richard Young of London, esquire, exclusive "lycence to make or bringe into this realme of England, and the dominions of the
kyndes of starche for the space of seaven yeres." to one Christopher Abdy of LonThis right Young sublet don, grocer, amongst others. Abdy, being short of capital for
same,
all

the venture, took to partner one Bowry, who, playing the

knave, induced
then,

Abdy to go bond for him in large sums, and payment of his obligations falling due, incontinently left him to face the music of the courts and the terrors of the debtor's prison. Amongst those whom Abdy had good cause to remember on this account was Richard Remching. He
sued upon his bond, to the wretched starchmaker's "vtter

vndooment."
In
all

the

Remching

gallery no figure appeals

bly to the imagination than that of Elizabeth

more forciRemching, the

ancient
cades,

dame who,

surviving her husband by nearly three de-

on the 14th of April, 1595,^ lay dying in the house of herfavouriteson-in-law,JohnKett,atWymondham. With the
'

His

will

is

in the

Consistory Court of Norwich, Reg. 1619,

:

folio

240.

'
3

Chancery Proceedings^ Eliz., A. 4

60.

Abdy

v.

Bowry and

others.

The

date of her will, here quoted.

Prerogative Court of Canterbury,

Scott, folio 20.

CARBROOKE AND THE REMCHINGS

pride of
life

43

she

is all
*'

but done.

The
that

"saye gowne with the

velvet cape," the

stufFe

gowne

came from London,"

the "fyne smock late

my syster's,"

the "sylke grogorane kyr-

tle," the

"stammell pettycoate with the redd sylken frynge,"

to cut so stately a figure withal,

brave and costly apparel, in which she was wont, in days

gone by,

are

no more for
she, to the

her bedecking.

They must now go

to others

inevitable grave.

Tearfully her children and grandchildren

gather around her.

quill
is

The

scrivener with his inkhorn and ready

at

her bedside, embodying in rapid, formal lines her

last behests.

"In the
in

Name

of God,

Amen

Firste

comend my
to be

soule

into the hands of

God my Maker, and my bodye

buryed

the churche of the towne of Carbrooke, in the grave

wherein

my

late

husband Richard Remchinge was layed.

in the

give to the parishioners of the saide towne of Carbrooke

greate Bible, to

my
give

remayne there

churche for

ever.

and bequethe

fortie shillinges to

be bestowed in making vpp

at the

and finishinge a convenient wall and other necessaryes

Springe called Beckett's Well,' beinge
Yardes, and next the myll in
at

the
I

Abbey Barne
give
.

Wymondham.
and

."
.

With

a minuteness of detail
full

a faithfulness

of

memory
recalls

marvellous in one so

of years, the ancient dame

her every earthly possession

her

plate

and linen, her books

and apparel, her copper,

furniture

bestowing
is

brass

and pewter, her money, debts,

each, with loving foresight,

where

it

will best serve for use and

John Kett

"remembraunce." Her son-in-law to ryde on " a habit perhaps contracted when, courting pretty Mary Remching at the Manor House in Carbrooke, he found himself overtaken by "rafty" Norfolk weather and could not well
to have

"the graye nagge he use

'

Now

mere drain-pipe, projecting from

weed-grown bank.

44
return

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

home
afoot.

That was

dozen years ago, and Mary

is

now

the mother of seven daughters, each of

whom,

over and

above some special token of their aged grandparent's regard, receives "a payre of course sheetes, a little prayer booke, and
twentie shillinges in monie."
tions runs on,

And

so the long

list

of benefacgrandchil-

dren,

this ancient

dame had eighteen

all

gown

to this one, a kirtle to that, a goblet parcelto

gilt to a third,

each and

a silver

spoon

until

the
soul,

treasures of a lifetime are dispersed

and the prescient

lady, save

stripped of earthly dross, hovers in departing.

membered, Master Scrivener?" "All,

"Are

all re-

A gesture

of dissent, feeble but emphatic, and the husband

passed over in silence, finding

of her dead daughter Elizabeth Lincoln, together with that dead daughter's son Edward,
is

no

place in her will.

Richard Lincoln's repeated matrimonial

at

experiments had met with scant approval

the Carbrooke

Manor House.
Notwithstanding the explicit directions to that
tained in Elizabeth Remching's
last will

effect

con-

and testament, her

mortal remains found no resting-place in her husband's grave

within the church of Carbrooke.' For reasons inscrutable to

us her wishes

were disregarded, and her

ashes,

committed

to

holy ground
Ketts.
'

at

Wymondham,

mingled with the ashes of the

So, at least,

we

are obliged to infer from the fact that her burial

is

not re-

corded

in the register there.

CHAPTER

VI

THE KETTS OF WYMONDHAM

THE
there

Ketts

What memories
battle,

of noble but

futile

am-

bitions,

of clash of

of troubled, tragic days,

!

does not their

name

recall

Strong men, passing

Wymondham

church in the
belfry,
it

latter

end of those days, averted

their shuddering gaze

from the gruesome Monitor dangling

malodorous and horrible.

upon the

had never seen

John Kett
so

it

was before

his day.

Yet not

remote

but that he had seen the chains and the ghastly bones in their

embrace. In his youth they hung there

nor any of his

still,

and neither he

name

w^ould ever forget the text they clanked

!

Honour the against the lofty stones : " Honour the King " By v^hat dire straits of blood and sorrow the admoKing
!

nition was inculcated

upon the Ketts, the people of Wymond-

ham, and the county at large, we have now to tell. The Ketts were undeniably of ancient lineage. As Le Chat they found a home in England either with or shortly after the coming of the Conqueror. Later they were called Le Cat,
then indifferently Catt or Kett. In the sixteenth century the
Ketts of

Wymondham
They

bore the additional distinctive

name
alias

of Knight, though to what circumstance they owed the

we do

not learn.

were armigerous, bearing,

it is

said:

Or, on a
azure, a

fesse
lion

between three leopards' heads erased and cabossed

passant argent.
possess

The

first

of the
lineal

Wymondham
knowledge
is

family of

whom we

any certain
to

Richard, and him we know only as John.' From him the line runs down
'

the father of the

first

John Kett who mar-

Wymondham Manor
wills, the subjoined

Rolls, Public

Record Office, from which, and the

Kett

pedigree, and that to be found in the Appendix, are

now

for the first time deduced.

46
ried

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Mary Remching, youngest
in this fashion:

ching) Lincoln,

sister

of Elizabeth

(Rem-

Richard Kett

alias

Knight

John Kett
died

alias
1

Knight,

5 12

Thomas Kett

alias

Knight,

butcher, died 1535

William Kett

alias

Knight,

Robert Kett

alias

Knight,

mercer, died 1549

tanner, died 1549

Thomas Kett

alias

Knight,

James Kett

alias

Knight,

died 1553

died before 1578

Francis Kett

alias

Knight,

John Kett

alias

Knight,

clerk in holy orders, died

gent., married

Mary,

1589'

daughter of Richard

Remching

The
So

rise to affluence

of the Ketts of
fall

Wymondham

is

as

remarkable
far as

as their

temporary

was sudden and appalling.

can be ascertained, neither Richard nor John Kett

was a

man of exceptional wealth. It was with the coming of Thomas the butcher that the tide of prosperity turned. The people of the time were exceptionally gross livers.
Flesh meat formed an essentially large part of their limited

To this Wymondham
diet.
'

rule the great abbey

on the

hill

overlooking
true, en-

was no exception.

The monks,

it is

joyed an annual rent, in kind, of two thousand

As
a matter of fact, he

eels

from the
of Norwich

was burned

at the stake, in the ditch

Castle, on the 14th of January, 1589, "for denying the deytye of Christe."

THE KETTS OF WYMONDHAM

only.

47

weirs of Hilgay; but eel-pie was for holy-day consumption

On

other days they consumed meat, and consumed

the inmates of cottage or mansion.

it

as freely as

the shrewd butcher of

Damgate

Street,

Thomas Kett, Wymondham, caterfriar

ing for these insatiable appetites, found ready favour with

and abbot. Parcel after parcel of the

finest

monastic lands

passed into his possession. Outside the abbot's domains, with

what he drew from the purses of abbot and people, he purchased other lands. His flocks grew apace. As early as 1520
the Court Leet sitting at

Wymondham

found the

fields sadly

overburdened with
shack "

his sheep.

That was "

in the time of

/. e.y

in the winter

months, when the larger land-

owners pastured their flocks upon the holdings of the undertenants.

So, at the expense of abbot

and people, Thomas Kett

and Robert
his fourth son

grew

rich and influential.

He

died,

proved himself no laggard in the path of prosperity. Profiting by his father's example, industry, and foresight, and com-

bining in himself the allied lucrative vocations of butcher

and tanner, he was speedily in a position to add to

of the paternal
prising five
estates the entire

his share

Manor of

Gunvills,'

com-

hundred and forty acres of land, ten messuages,

shillings.

and an annual rent-charge of one hundred

this acquisition,

With
fell

made

in

November, 1 548, or about

a year be-

fore Robert Rett's tragic end, the Ketts of

Wymondham

into line with the largest landed proprietors of mid-Norfolk,

With

the Ketts there rose into prominence another local

Flowerdews of Wymondham and Hethersett. Blood for blood, there was little to choose between them but the Ketts had drifted into trade, whilst the Flowerdews,
family, the
;

keeping themselves unspotted from the world of commerce,

had obtained commissions

'

in various capacities

under the
pltf.,

Feet of Fines, Norfolk

M.

2 Ed. 6. Fine between Robert Kett,

and

Richard Gunvyle, gent.,

deft.

48

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

this

Crown. From

eminence they looked down upon the

Ketts as social inferiors.

tacit

rivalry

was thus created,

highly charged w4th the elements of danger.

On the one
hang
fire.

side

contemptuous arrogance, on the other hot resentment,

for

made

open

hostility.

The

situation did not long

The
sisting

spark destined to ignite the tinder-like relations sub-

between the two

rival houses,

and

to set all

Norfolk
that ate

in a blaze,

was supplied by the growing unrest of the people.

their resentments

For they too had

resentments

like a canker into the very heart of the

great monastic houses stood

ployment and trade the lands of prior and abbot, the poor man's

commonweal. The empty and forsaken; the emrepresented by their upkeep were lost
readiest helpers
in the grasp of royal favourites,

and kindliest landlords, were bent, all too often, on extracting the uttermost farthing from their newly acquired possessions. Rents had risen ominously,
while the margin of subsistence enjoyed by the
ple, if so

common

peo-

narrow a margin could be

said to

be enjoyed, had

in

consequence contracted almost to vanishing point. Last but

least,

not

the very grazing rights reserved from of old for the

;

cattle

of the poor were threatened with summary extinction

for the rich, encroaching boldly

upon the common

lands of

a thousand parishes,

consumed all pasturage with their locustlike flocks. Widespread distress prevailed, and nowhere more acutely than in the neighbourhood of the deserted monastic
establishments.

To these the people had long been accustomed

For the
first

to look for relief.

time within the

memory of

man

they

now

looked in vain.

Such, in the main, were the grievances cherished by the

people at large.

Rankling

in the breasts of the people of

Wymondham was a private grievance of their own.

the late dissolved abbey, their church

of their fathers

was

the beloved church

Oh!
the pity.

As

part of

to

be wantonly destroyed.

THE KETTS OF WYMONDHAM

the pathos of
it
!

49

In

all

haste they petitioned the King, pray-

ing that of the royal clemency the sacred edifice might be

spared; or, if so

much

could not be conceded, that

at least

the bells, lead, and other materials might be granted

materials with

them

as

which

to build

anew.

The
;

petition,

promoted

mainly by the Ketts, proved not altogether abortive.

posed demolition was countermanded

The pro-

but John Flowerdew, Sergeant-at-Law, by dint of influence in high quarters obtained

leave to pull
to his

down

the choir and to appropriate the leaden roof

own

use.'

As between the arrogant

the Ketts, matters were
terings of the

rich, represented

by the Flower-

dews, and an oppressed and indignant people, represented by

now

ripe for mischief.

The first mutJuly,

coming storm were heard on the 6th of

1 549, although few foresaw the awful nature of the tempest that was so soon to burst upon the startled country.

On

that day the annual fair

was held

at

the country folk, emboldened by their

Wymondham, own numbers,

and
and

encouraged and incited by rumours of the success that had

attended similar demonstrations in other counties, proceeded
to carry into effect a long-cherished project.

This was none

other than the wholesale destruction of the hedges, ditches,

and fences with which such

men

the neighbouring waste lands

Flowerdew had enclosed and commons, to their own

as

aggrandizement and the grievous detriment of their poorer

neighbours.

Amongst
day,

the

first

of such enclosures to be laid open that

by the country folk

who

thus took their fairing, was one

belonging to Flowerdew himself. He, believing the act to

'

As

a matter of fact,

Flowerdew, owing

to the troubles that so quickly fol-

lowed, never enjoyed any benefit of the lead, although that circumstance did
not

become known

until as recently as

1834, when, during the restoration of

Wymondham
floor.

church, the plundered metal was found hidden away beneath the

50

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

to his aid, distributed

summoned a number of money amongst them with labourers generous hand, and bade them repay Robert Kett in his own coin. They cheerfully complied, and Kett's enclosures, alhave been instigated by the Ketts,

though not of the nature of

widely
as

common

land,

were

laid

open

as

the unlawful enclosures of his neighbour. Stung to

the quick by the unprovoked insult, and enraged beyond

measure by so unwarranted an act of violence, Kett next morning placed himself at the head of a similar band and retaliated

upon Flowerdew

in kind.

Had
all

Kett only paused here and allowed the outrage and

counter-outrage to find their logical sequel in a court of law,

would yet have been

well.

But he had

all

unwittingly

aroused a fury he could not withstand.

The

handful of folleafy lanes

lowers

whom

he had that morning led through the

to Hethersett

was now become

Highness
Pity

turbulent mob.

"Look

you! master," cried they, "two months sithence the King,

God keep

his

closures should be swept away.

commanded that all unlawful enHave the rich obeyed? Nay!

steal

By our Lady of
ness'

we, the people whose land they

his

and whose faces they grind, will ourselves enforce

High-

commands

as

they have done in Kent, and Oxenford, and

divers other places within the realm.
us.

Devon, andWillshire, and

And

you, master, shall lead

your enemy

We

have avenged you upon

'tis

So the clamorous
ful solicitations, set

now your turn to do as much for us." mob and Kett, yielding to their force-

himself

at their

head for weal or woe

the

avowed champion of

his country's laws, the

would-be

liberator of a long-suffering people.

CHAPTER

VII

THE NORFOLK FURIES

FROM
man who,

Hethersett this tide of men,

let

loose

upon the

land through the

medium of a

private quarrel, rolled

on to Norwich, demolishing the obnoxious enclosures as it passed, growing in volume, and strength, and lawlessness in the name of law, with every mile. Kett was joined by his brother William,' a prosperous mercer of Wymondham and
a

although some years his senior, was greatly

his

inferior in initiative

and executive

ability.

Many

of the well-

to-do farmers cast in their lot with this novel

movement; but
to formidable

the gentry for the most part wisely held aloof.

On

the iith of July the mob,

now grown

proportions, crossed the river at picturesque Cringleford and

Norwich, which they summoned to surrender. With contumely they were refused admittance, the High Sheriff of Norfolk proclaiming them rebels and

encamped under the

walls of

traitors, and in

the King's

to disperse to their

name commanding them forthwith homes under pain of the direst penalties.

The

proclamation was greeted with shouts of derision, and

the great gathering, angered by the episode, swept round the

walls of the terrified city and

encamped on Mousehold Heath.

thought and dreams.

'

In the meantime Kett had been devoting

In those hours there

many

hours to

came

to

him

Neville, Russell, and other historians of this terrible

" commotion time,"

is

state that three brothers

Kett were implicated.

exaggeration.

All the evidences in

Manor

Rolls,

and the State Papers

go

the case
to

The

statement

clearly an

the wills, the

Wymondham
Robert and

show conclusively

that

William Kett alone were concerned

a matter of fact,

in the

engineering of the movement.

As

no

third brother

was

alive at the time.

52

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

fateful visitant

a vision

of dominion before which the paltry

acres filched

by the rich dwindled into insignificance. At

feet lay spread a

kingdom

one wherein

his

no man was op-

pressed,
unjustly,

no child cried for bread, no law bore unequally or no king showed himself a partisan. God but give

would sweep away enclosures of another were bent on destroyoverleaping his ambition, the modest bounds he had ing. So at first set it, lured him on. But first he must have this city, enthroned on the hills before him. Arms were there in abundance, and powder, corn, and money. He must have the city.

him

grace, and he

sort than those his ignorant followers

Whether

for the assaulting of the city or for the repelling

as must in the very nature of things be made upon him, he could not have chosen a spot of greater strategic possibilities. The lofty Heath overlooked all Norwich, which lay as it were but a stone's throw beneath its gorse-clad

of such attacks

known
side fell

heights.

From

the ancient chapel chosen as his headquarters

'

" to this day as " Kelt's Castle

to Dussindale,

a precipitous hill-

away

where the
hill

Wensum

then

as

flowed sinuously between the

side low, out

and the

city wall

on
and

now
this
diffi-

of repair, distant from the

city's centre

cult of defence.
in Norfolk.

Behind him,

for supplies, lay the fattest lands

On this spot, beneath a spreading oak named by Kett himself "The Oak of Reformation," he set up his court, exercising freely
all

the functions of the power he dreamed

as

of.

Reinforcements, such
this
'

they were, flowed in apace.

To

hold

growing rabble
ruins of St.

in

check, to direct

its

restless energies

The

Michael's chapel, otherwise " Kelt's Castle," stand on the

left-hand side as you ascend Gas-Hill to the the garden of the

in

brow of the Heath, in what

is

now

manager of the
the city,

city gas-works.
it

The

chapel anciently stood

to
its

Tombland, within

whence

was removed

present site by

Herbert de Losinga, Bishop of Norwich, when, founding the monastery and

the cathedral, he sought to improve the approach on the west.

THE NORFOLK FURIES

into the channel of his ambitions,
ficient

53
suf-

was

a task

more than

even for one of Kett's calibre. Supplies were plentiful,

and

his lawless followers, waxing fat

and unruly, ravaged the

countryside for miles around, indulging in wholesale plunder,

sacking mansions, haling before their chief

their exactions.

all

who

resisted

To

cool their misdirected ardour, and at the

same time

to further his

own

projects, Kett resolved to attack

the city without delay.

His resolution was both confirmed

and quickened by the

arrival

on the scene of the Marquis

of Northampton,' a general, according to repute, "better

acquainted with the witty than the warlike side of Pallas,"

"more

skilled in leading a

measure than a march." At

his

back the Marquis had about 2500 men; Kett, 20,000.

The
parts

first

intimation the startled watchers upon the ram-

had of Kett's design was supplied by the emergence from

the river of a dripping band

sistible

who

hurled themselves with irre-

upon the defences, where these were weakest. The defenders fled, and the invaders, throwing open the porfury
tals

of Bishop's Gate, admitted their comrades-in-arms.

The

mayor of Norwich was at that time a loyal worthy named Codd. "To-morrow," cried the jubilant rebels, who bore him
no
love,

"

we

shall see a

Codd's head sold for

the

penny " The

!

gibe was premature.

On

morrow rebels' heads were

St.

to be

worth

less

money. For on arriving at

Martin's Plain, below

the Bishop's palace and opposite the

Cow Tower, the invaders

came

all

unexpectedly face to face with the trained bands of

the Marquis.

A
'

desperate conflict ensued.

Of the

rebels,

even those

who

were thrust through, or whose hamstrings were cut asunder

The
brother of

Queen Catherine
in

Parr.

He was
ii,

called by the
p.

young King

his

"honest uncle" (Baker's

Northamptonshire^

60).

His widow, a

Swedish gentlewoman, married

1580

to Sir

man

of the Sir Ferdinando Gorges so well

Thomas Gorges of Wilts., kinsknown in connection with his ill-

fated colony of

Gorgeana, now York, Maine.

54

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

city's defenders, are said
till

by the keen, incessant blades of the

to have fought
a

their dying hands could

in the

no longer grasp
himself
Sheffield, **a

weapon. Foremost
for

bloody

fray, "offering

manfully"

King and country, rode Lord

noble gentleman and of good service."

From

the morning until noon of the same day

being the
tunes.

ist

of August

the

Lammas

nine o'clock in

Day,
for-

battle raged
scale.

with varying

Then

an accident turned the

Sheffield's horse,

planting his foot in a hole, threw his rider heavily, and ere

the latter could recover himself a herculean butcher, Faulke

by name, rushed upon him and dashed out

club.

his brains

with a

Until quite recent years a great

S, set in

the roadway

with cobblestones, marked the spot where

fell.'

this valiant soldier

With
self

the
less

fall

of Sheffield, Kett,

who had comported him-

no

bravely than his antagonist in that sanguinary

was left undisputed master of the city. Master of the though not of his own undisciplined hordes. For one awful day Norwich was given over to the uncontrollable passions of the mob, who, intoxicated by dearly bought victory
struggle,
city,

and the contents of many

dered, and burned with

a well-lined cellar, sacked, plun-

mad

impunity.
historian of those

Old Neville, the none too impartial

terrible days, writing in the year 1575, not inaptly styles

them

"The Norfolk
an opportune

Furies," and expressly declares that but for

fall

of

rain,

of unexampled heaviness, they

city to ashes.

must have reduced the entire

The

providential

downpour quenched more than the incendiary fires. It drove the rebels to shelter and "cast a bridle upon their rage." Codd retained his head, and Northampton, slipping away
'

inscribed tablet

Let into the wall of an adjoining inn called the " Cupid and Bow " is an which reads " Near this place was killed Lord Sheffield in
:

Kett's Rebellion,

August, 1549."

The

tablet

is

modern.

THE NORFOLK FURIES

under cover of the tempest, a drenched and pathetic
carried his to

55
figure,

London.
that the Earl of War-

In the very flush of victory Kett found himself confronted

by

a serious

dilemma. Rumour had

it

wick, a

man

the living antithesis of that court ornament on

horseback, Northampton, had been chosen to lead a powerful

army against him. This city that he held "of parchment walls." Could he hope
soned by months of activity in other
easier, wiser, to

in his grasp

was one

to defend so great

an area, encompassed only by such walls, against troops seafields?'

thousandfold

defend the

camp

at

Mousehold. With Kett,

after levying

to resolve

was

to do.
city,

To Mousehold,

generous

tribute
all

on the

he accordingly

retired, carrying

with him

the great guns and ammunition.

Earl,
it

He would

need them.
fifteen

The

was confidently reported, had with him

to fear.

thousand men.^

For the present there was nothing

The march

of

Warwick's men was no such "Nine Dales Wonder" as the feat performed fifty years later by Thomas Kemp, one of Shakespeare's comedians, who came dancing the morris-dance from

London
set

to

Norwich
to fear

was nothing

but much

in nine days' time.

For the present there

to

be done. Strenuously Kett

himself to prepare for their coming, shrewdly foreseeing

that for himself and his adherents the issue was this time to

be one of
'

life

or death.
against rebels in other parts of the country.

They had been employed

Many

attempts to mediate between Kett and the King had in the mean-

time been made

without
first

success.

Prominent amongst the intermediaries was

Dr. Matthew Parker, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury

himself
Priests.

Norhad

wich man and the author of

been one of the

Defence of the Marriage of

He

of his order to marry, and so beautiful and amiable a

woman was
bridge,

his wife that

Bishop Ridley, confirmed celibate though he was,

visiting at the

once anxiously enquired, when

worthy doctor's house

in

Cam-

" whether she had got

a sister like her."

56
As
its

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

for the rabble host,

swarming upon

its

human

ant-hill,

prevision was less clear than his.

in rivers
;

A fatal

plenty prevailed.
a groat

Ale flowed

a fat sheep could be

bought for
itself to

the parks, the cellars, the poultry-yards of the hated gentry

invited easy pillage; the
licence.

camp abandoned

unbridled

Three thousand

bullocks, twenty thousand sheep,

with swans, geese, ducks, and domestic fowls innumerable,

went,
if

report say truly, to feed the daily excesses of this

gluttonous mob. " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we conquer! " was the boastful cry on every lip. In every mouth

was heard the doggerel prophecy

faith
:

to

which

all

pinned their

"

The
Shall

country gnofFes, Hob, Dick, and Hick,

clubs and clowted shoon.
the vale of Dussin's dale

With
fill

With

slaughtered bodies soon."

And now,
cornfields

late in

August, winding through the deserted

his

came Warwick, with his ponderous army,

as

heavy

ordnance, his "barrel of halters" in pickle for such poor fools

of rebels

should be deceived by his specious

offers

of par-

don.' Kett, his better judgment overridden by the superstition

moved down from the heights of Mousehold and entrenched himself in fateful Dussindale, there to await the victory which Heaven seemed to proffer. Neverof his infatuated followers,
theless,

an evil

omen

here befell, presaging disaster. Alice

Kett, his wife, was at this time with him.

One

day, as they
a viper

descended the hillside from the deserted upper camp,

sprang from the hollow of a tree and fastened
itself

upon her
to war,

bosom. For the

first

time since he had

set his

hand

Kett paled before the omen.

On

the 25th of August

Warwick and
in

the nobles with

him

took the ancient pledge of

'

battle, kissing

swords for death or

So

it

was commonly reported

the rebel camp.

THE NORFOLK FURIES

victory.

57

This again augured

ill

for Kett

and the "country

the valley beyond

gnofFes with clowted shoon "

who thronged

the walls.

Events
astir,

now marched swiftly. The 27th saw Warwick early

As the
Earl's forces de-

the rebels in watchful readiness.

bouched upon the plain through the gates of St. Martin at Oak, Kett drew out to meet them, planting between himself and the enemy, in the very forefront of the battle, a living barricade of fettered gentlemen prisoners, whom he had reserved for this unenviable part in the coming struggle.' Perceiving his design, Thomas Drury, one of Warwick's ablest

swung round and took him in flank, pouring into his serried ranks a deadly fire from arquebuses. Simultaneously
adjutants,

the gentlemen prisoners, rending asunder the chain that held

them

in line,

drew

aside to right

and

left,

and the Lance

Knights, getting

home on

Kett's front with their thirsty pikes,

drove the whole mass of rebels back pell-mell upon their entrenchments.
after

On

these, after a brief breathing space,

as the

charge

charge was delivered. Slowly but surely,

August
until at

sun climbed higher over the crimsoned valley, the superior

discipline

and weapons of the royal troops prevailed,

length the Earl's light horse, thus far held in reserve, rode
furiously into the midst of the
scattered

now

disheartened rebels and

them

like so

many

frightened sheep. Ere noon that

fulfilled,

day the ancient prophecy was

read
it.

though not as the

rebels

Thirty-five hundred of their

own

dead lay stark in

Dussindale.

Defeated of his hopes, Robert Kett yielded to his fears and fled north to Swannington, where, his horse failing him,
John Spencer of Norwich, esquire, was one of the unfortunate prisoners sett in the moste daunger of the battayle." A graphic account of his capture by, and his adventures with, that "heyghnous and rancke traytour, Robert Kett," may be read by the curious in the Proceedings of what he calls " the
'

so "

Sterry

Chamber," Edw.

6,

74.

58
neath

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

in a barn, finding

he sought refuge
a truss

concealment and

rest

be-

of hay. Late that night his pursuers found

him
Lon-

there, and, by Warwiclc's order, forthwith haled

him

to

don, where he, together with his brother William, was brought
to speedy trial.

To

the indictment,

which charged them with

"divers treasons and felonies," they pleaded not guilty.

They
them
there-

had taken up arms, they

said,

not against their liege lord the

King, but against the tyrant gentry.

little.

The
at

plea availed

Both were sentenced

to

be hanged

Tyburn and

after to be

beheaded, drawn and quartered'

still

a sentence pre-

sently varied for a fate

more

terrible.

On

the 2 2d of October

we find them prisoners in the Tower,

William,
of the

as the older and less deeply implicated, "goinge at large " there.^ This concession meant nothing. In the margin
official list

on which

their

names appear, may be

seen,

written in the quavering, upright hand of the boy-king,-Edward

the Sixth, the fatal word: ^'Justice." Yet a short respite, and

on the 7th of December, 1 549, Robert, the arch-rebel, was hanged in chains from the battlements of Norwich Castle, while William suffered a like fate on thebelfryof Wymondham church.3 The adder bit deep that day into Alice Rett's bosom.
Strange to say, the fortunes of the Ketts suffered
little

through the events of those

in the tenure

stirring

months. Certain lands

of the rebel leaders, Robert and William Kett,

as

were

as a

matter of form escheated to the King

Lord of the
;

Manor

of Wymondham Abbey, of which they were holden

but no sooner had the forfeiture been carried into effect than
the lands were regranted to their
'

heirs'*

commendable
Pouch

act

Public Record Office,

official

London: Baga de
trial,

Secretis,

17, Bundle 4,

where the
*

record of the

hitherto overlooked,

may

be seen.

State Papers

Domestic, Ed.

6, vol. 9:

48:

"A

Report of the Prysoners

beinge in the
3

Tower the xxij of October" Wymondham Manor Rolls, 5 Ed. 6. Wymondham Manor Rolls.

(1549).

THE NORFOLK FURIES

marry
a

59

of grace. John Kett of Wymondham, grandson of Robert the rebel and grandnephew of William, was thus in a position to
daughter of Richard Remching, Lord of the

of Carbrooke

an

Manor
rela-

alliance that

brought him into close

tionship with the Lincolns of Hingham, since Mary

his wife

was own sister to Elizabeth Lincoln, first wife of Richard and grandmother of Samuel the emigrant. The prestige of the family, singularly enough, suffered still
less.

No

lasting stigma appears to

have attached to

it

because

two of

its

members had had

the misfortune to run foul of the

far to seek.

common hangman. The reason is perhaps not

people, the ultimate judges of the

The

unhappy

brothers,

deemed

them

guilty of

no crime;

or, at

the worst, only of justifiable

crime against those

who

sought, unjustifiably, to subvert their

ancient rights and privileges.

They were

true patriots, al-

though unfortunate ones. In the hearts of the people, whose cause they espoused, and on whose behalf they died, they lived as a type of that noble order of men who, once in generations of men, dare lift voice and hand in defiance of might
that seeks to foist itself

upon the weak

as right.

martyrs in that most righteous of causes, the

years should pass, were to suffer, not death,

They were commonweal;

true, but per-

prototypes of lesser martyrs who, before another century of

it is

petual exile from the land of their fathers and of their birth for convictions cast in the Kett mould. For many years the chains clanked their harsh admonition,

"Honour
Castle and

the

King!"

against the lofty stones of

belfry.

Norwich

Wymondham

And

the people, whilst hon-

ouring their sovereign perforce, honoured the Ketts for the love they bore them. The chains rusted and fell away, but
the story of those courageous

men who
tale,

suffered death for

the people's sake became a household

year at every Norfolk fireside.

retold for

many

Young Samuel

Lincoln, like

6o

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

and grandfather before him, heard
he breathed
took root,
it

his father

time and

again in the fifteen years

it

his native air

heard
was
to

until in his heart there

we may

believe, the seed

later,

of that hatred of oppression which, centuries

bear such noble fruit in his lineal descendant,
coln, the Liberator.

Abraham Lin-

Drawing of Seal

used by Richard
his

Lincoln in attesting

Will

J3 J5

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PART II THE AMERICAN ANCESTRY

CHAPTER

VIII

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

SO
century

few of the lay readers for

whom

this

book

is

particu-

larly written are familiar

with the

series

of brilliant
past half-

discoveries

which have been made during the

official

among

the

records in

New England, New Jer-

sey, Pennsylvania, Virginia,

and Kentucky, casting light on the

obscure points and perfecting every link in the chain of evidence, that
it

has seemed best to reproduce here, in

all

compact

and orderly form,

thors' discovery

that has been

done

to this time,

and with-

out a clear knowledge and understanding of which the au-

of the English Lineage of Samuel Lincoln

value.

would be meaningless and of no

Samuel Lincoln,
land,

sixth son and seventh child of

Edward

Lincoln, gentleman, of Hingham, county Norfolk, Engwas baptised there 24 August, 1622.' He was apprenNorwich,^ probably about
1633, and accompanied
his

ticed to Francis Lawes, a weaver of

master and family to

New

Engor the

land in 1637 in the

"John and Dorethey" of Ipswich "Rose" of Yarmouth.'

'

He

is

called eighteen in the shipping

list

of 1637, and seventy-one

at his

death in 1690, which agree with each other and place his birth at about 16 19.

The
*

usual time of baptism was, however, at a few days old, and this

was pro-

bably not an exception.

Francis

Lawes himself had been admitted

to the

Freedom of

the City of

Norwich 24 November, 1617 (Freeman's Rolls), as having been apprentice to Reg Hoath. He was resident in the parish of St. Mary Coslany in 1633-34
:

(Norwich Rate Book,

3

p.

65)

"These
the
:

people went to N.
"John
:

E
:

with William: Andrewes

of Ipswich

Mr. of

and Dorethey

of Ipswich and with William Andrewes

64
He

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

had been preceded
to

America by
settled at

his elder brothers,

Thomas and Daniel, who had

at the

Hingham,

Mass., a

circumstance which probably determined his removal there

end of his apprenticeship,

after "living

some time

at

Salem."

Daniel Lincoln

died unmarried in 1644, and

left his

brother Samuel his principal legatee.

Thomas Lincoln,
left

the

other brother, although twice married,

at his

no children and,

death in 1675, also bequeathed the greater part of his

estate to

Samuel and

his children.
,

Samuel Lincoln married Martha

whose surname has Martha Lincoln

not yet been discovered,^ and

who died 10 April, 1693. He aged seventy-one years. They had issue May, 26 died 1690, eleven children, of whom eight survived their parents. Of
these,

/n

Samuel Lincoln

/fl

however,

we will

only follow the history of Mordecai

Lincoln, the fourth son and child, who was born at Hingham, 14 June, 1657. Mordecai Lincoln resided at Hingham until 1700, when he erected "a spacious house" at Boundbrook Bridge in Scituate, and also the Lincoln Mills in the same place.^ He modestly called himself "blacksmith" in his will, but was a
large and wealthy proprietor of iron works, grist and

The former occupation, among his descendants.

his

as

we

shall see,

saw mills. became hereditary

Sone Mr. of the Rose

of Yarmouth." Caption of Shipping List, 8 April,

1637; Hotton's
'

Lists, p. 289.
op. cit.,

Cushing's

MS.

Lincoln's History of Hingham.

The

introduction of the

name of Mordecai,
It

heretofore

unknown

in

the

Lincoln family, among the children of Samuel may supply a clue to the identity
of the wife

Martha

in the future.

should not be

lost sight

of by younger

genealogists.
3

Deane's History of

Scituate., p.

304.

NOTE
The photogravure
Hingham, Mass.,
graph
in the

print of

"The Old
is

Ship Church,"
rare Htho-

facing page 64,

from a

possession of

Mr. Charles

B. Barnes, Jr.

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

65

He married, first, Sarah Jones, daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Whitman) Jones of Hull, Mass., a marriage noteworthy for its first introduction of the name of Abraham into the Lincoln family, a name afterward to be made so illustrious and which, with Mordecai, became characteristic of this
branch,
as,

from that time

the
first

to the present, there has rarely been

a generation of their descendants without one or both of them.

Sarah Jones,
nett,
a

wife, probably died soon after the

removal to Scituate; and he married, secondly,

Mary Gandying
1

widow, who survived him

for

many

years,

April, 1745, at the age of seventy-nine.

Mordecai Lincoln,

like his great-grandfather,

Richard

Lincoln of Swanton Morleyin England,' died very suddenly, "of an apploplexy," 8 November, 1727, in the seventy-first
year of his age.

May, 1727, was proved 27 March, 1728. widow, Mary, gives to his son Mordecai ;;^iio in bills of credit, to his son Abraham ^60 "besides what he hath," to his son Isaac the house he
His
it

will, dated 3

In

he provides

liberally for his

then occupied in

Hingham

(probably the old homestead of

the father), and to his son Jacob his homestead at Scituate,

with lands,

mills,

and other valuables. Makes bequests

to the

eldest children of his sons

Mordecai and Abraham, the two

^'^C^f^ilCi^ ^vl Vi
children of his deceased daughter Elizabeth Cole, the eldest
child of his daughter Sarah
wife's granddaughter,
also

Tower, Deborah Gannett,

his

and Mary Gannett, her daughter.

He

to college,

makes provision for sending three of his grandchildren "should they desire a liberal education." His in'

See English Ancestry,

p.

21,

66

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

^3099
i4j-.

ventory of

8^. (a large

sum

for the period) indi-

cates the affluence of his condition.

Of the six children of Mordecai, the two eldest, MorDECAi and Abraham, removed, probably in the first decade

New Jersey, and, later, to Pennwhere we shall follow them. Isaac Lincoln, the third son, born 24 October, 1691, remained in Hingham, married there twice, and left, at his
of the eighteenth century, to
sylvania,

death in 1771, a very numerous posterity, his two sons having each presented

him with

thirteen grandchildren.

Sarah, the
Daniel

elder daughter, born 29 July, 1694, married

Tower of Hingham, and died 7 July, 1 754, aged sixty. Elizabeth, the younger daughter, married Ambrose Cole, Jr., of Scituate, 29 December, 1720, and, as her gravestone
testifies,

died 14 September, 1724, aged twenty-one.

sec-

Jacob Lincoln, the youngest child and only son by the ond marriage, was baptised 23 May, 1708, at Scituate.'
married, first,

He
at

Mary Holbrook, who

died 27

November, 1749,
She was buried
.

aged thirty-seven years and ten months.

Cohasset.

He

married again Susanna

all

By

his first wife

at

he had nine children,

but three of

whom

were baptised

Hingham. There

is

a tradition that

he removed to Lancaster,

Mass., "late in life," and his

name

disappears from the

Hingto be

ham
first

registers after the

baptism of his youngest child by his

trace of

wife, 25

November, 1749; but no

him

is

found in the Lancaster records.

Lincoln, the second son of Mordecai and Sarah (Jones) Lincoln of Hingham, Mass., was born there i 3 January,

Abraham

1688-89.

H^

removed, with

his elder

brother Mordecai,
i i

to
'

Monmouth
The
Scituate
First

County,

New

Jersey,

and

there,

February,
This date
is

town records have unfortunately

register there.

perished.

from the

Church

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

67

1722, he purchased 240 acres of land in Crosswick, of Safety Boyden, and again, three years later, 1 5 March, 1725, another 200 acres in the same place, of Abraham Van Horn. These
lands he sold, 20 February, 1737, to

Thomas

Williams.

Like

his father

and brother, he was an iron founder.

He

afterward removed to Springfield, Chester County (the part

now
His

He

Delaware County), Penn., where he died in 1745. was proved 29 April of that year. had wife Rebecca who was still living in 1735,
in
will, dated 15 April,
,

but died before him.

ABRAHAM
I.

and

REBECCA

LINCOLN

had

issue seven children.

Abraham

daughters: ^7s.

Lincoln, who, by wife Anne, had three Rebecca, who married, 7 March, 1763, James
and was
still

Carter,' merchant, of Philadelphia,

;

living in 1772,

but died before 1793 Anne, born 8 August and baptised 23 September, 1753, at Kingssessing, Penn.; and Hester, who
died young before
II.

Abraham died after February, 1 747. 1 772. Isaac Lincoln, married at Christ Church, Phila-

delphia, 30 December, 1746, Mary Shute. He was of the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia, and died before 1758.

He

probably

left

no

issue.

III.

Rebecca Lincoln, married

at Christ

Church, Phila-

delphia, 19 September, 1750, Joseph

Rush^ of Philadelphia

' Will of James Carter of Abington, gentleman, dated 22 July, proved 15 August, 1795, names eldest daughter Hester, wife of Roland Parry (Exor.), and younger daughter Elizabeth Carter, sister Sarah Ferrill, grandson Carter

Parry, brother William.

Wife not named, and probably

deceased. Witnesses:

James Glen and Thomas Livezey. Recorded Philadelphia, Book X, fo. 313. * Son of William and Elizabeth (Hodges) Rush of the well-known Quaker
family of that name.

William, the father, was son of William, the eldest son

a troop of horse in

of John Rush,
ried at

commander of
in

Cromwell's army,

who mar-

Horton

Oxfordshire, England, Susanna Lucus, 8 June, 1648, be-

came

a convert to

his family.

(See Penn.

Fox in 1660, and came to Pennsylvania in 1683 with Mag.^ vol. xvii, p. 325 Alden's Am. Epitaphs., vol. i,
;

no. 174.)

68
(born
3

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

January,
1

1 798 ), by whom married, and he secondly, she had four children. She died Elizabeth Hilton, by whom he had ten children.

7 1 9-20, died 20 December,

IV. Jacob Lincoln, born 1725.

delphia County. Scythe-maker.

Of Kingssessing,

Phila-

He
i.

married in Kingssessing,

June,

747, Anne RAMBo(born

1725, died 8 February, 18 19),

Catarina,
all
2.

by

whom

he had

six children

John,

3.

Rethe
died

becca, 4. Moses, 5.

Mary,

6.

Jacob;

of

whom, with

exception of Moses, were baptised

5 June, 1769, aged forty-four.
in Eastern Pennsylvania.

at Kingssessing.

He

His descendants are

still

living

V.

VL

Sarah Lincoln, probably died young. John Lincoln, probably born about 1732. Wasliving,

and then under fourteen, in 1745, and of Amity, Philadelphia County, "single man," in 1759.

Vn. MoRDECAi Lincoln, born

at

about May, 1734, baptised Christ Church, Philadelphia, 3 August, 1735, "aged 15

months."
sylvania.

He was living in

745, but then absent from Penn-

We will

now

return to the consideration of the elder line

and the direct ancestry of the President. MoRDECAi Lincoln, the eldest son of Mordecai and Sarah
(Jones) Lincoln, was born at

Hingham,
County,
in the

Mass.,

24 April,

1686.

He removed

to

Monmouth

New Jersey, with

decade of the

his brother

Abraham, probably

first

eighteenth century, but certainly before 17 14.'

We find

him

29 February,

720, being then of Freehold, acquiring by deed

of Richard Salter^ four hundred acres of land on the Mache'

See will of Capt. John

Bowne
p.

of Middletown, N.

J., in

account of

Bowne

family in Cognate Families,

^

95.
his wife's

His father-in-law. These grants probably represent

marriage

portion.

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

ard Salter

69

ponix River' in Middlesex County, and six years later, 26 May, 1726, another one hundred acres from the same Rich;

but he was then resident in Coventry, Chester

County, Penn., where he had entered into a partnership with Samuel Nutt^ in the business of mining and forging iron

business

which he had learned from

Coventry
list

his father.

He

was in
find

fact interested in

as

early as 1721,

when we

him on

the earliest tax

of that place.
a

This partnership was not

long one,

for,

14 December,

1725, he sold for ;^500 his one-third interest in all "the Mynes and Mineralls, Forges, Buildings, Houses, Lands and

Improvements" held under articles of agreement with Samuel Nutt, to William Branson'* of Philadelphia, merchant, who
continued his interest in the business until his death in 1760,

having previously vested his four daughters and their children

in the property,

1783, to Rutter
'

from whom it passed, between 1778 and and Potts of the Warwick Furnace.
rises

A small

stream which

near English

Town, Monmouth County,

is

passes

into Middlesex

County, running north between Jamesburg and Old Bridge, and

an Indian poor land.
to

empties into South River (a branch of the Raritan). Macheponix

word meaning "bad bread,"

*

/. e.

Samuel Nutt was from Coventry, county Warwick, England, and came

Pennsylvania about 17 14.

He

bought iron ore lands so early

Coventry, and
at

as 17 17 in

War-

wick township, and

in

1720

in

once began the erection of

forges there. See History of Chester County^ Pennsylvania^ p.

344

Acrelius's

History of
J

New

Sweden.

Wrongly

entered as Mordecaj Linerwood, hut corrected next year, 1722,

to Lincoln.
4

William Branson was the son of Nathaniel Branson of Sonning, county

Berks, England, shoemaker,

who had

purchased 1250 acres of land from Wilin

liam Penn, although he never came to reside

America.

land by deed, 28 August, 1707, to his son William,

in the

He conveyed this who came, early in 1708,

in Philadelphia

"Golden Lyon"
east side of

to Pennsylvania.

In 1709, he resided

on the

Second

Street, being then called joiner, in

1720 shopkeeper,

and 1726 merchant.

in

He

had acquired, before 1741, over 3400 acres of land

Berks and Chester counties.

5

The

celebrated Franklin Stoves, invented by Dr. Benjamin Franklin, were

70
In
1

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

727 Mordecai Lincoln, with Benjamin Boone and others, was appointed viewer of Tulpehocken road from the Schuylkill River to Oley. He finally removed to Amity in Philadelphia County, where he died in 1736. He is called " Gent."
in his inventory, so

we may
first,

infer that the iron industry

had

prospered.

He
by

married twice:

before 1714,'
Salter,

Hannah, daughter
J.,

of Richard and Sarah (Bowne)

of Freehold, N.

he had an only son, John (the ancestor of the President), and five daughters; secondly, Mary whose
,

whom

surname

he had three children (one of them posthumous), and who, surviving him, became his residuary legatee and executrix. She had married again, beis

unknown,'' by

whom

fore 17 January, 1742,

Roger Rogers,^

as,

at that date,

she

gave power of attorney to her stepson-in-law, William Tall-

man, to sell for her, as executrix, the one hundred acres left by her husband to his two younger daughters. This sale was consummated i o May, 1 743, to one James Abrahams for ^40, and in it she is named as "widow and sole executrix, being

now

the wife of Rodger Rodgers.""^ Mordecai Lincoln's will,' dated 22 February, 1735-36, " being then sick," was proved June following. By it he left 7

made at the Warwick Furnace by Robert Grace about 1742, to whom Dr. Franklin had given the model. See Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. See will of Capt.John Bowne in account of Salter and Bowne families.
'

'

Said to have been

Robeson by Miss M.J. Roe of Gilbert, Ohio, on authority

of

MS.

of Dr. William H. Egle.

3 At Gwynned Monthly Meeting, i / 26 / i 745, it was reported that " Roger Rogers owns the Discipline established amongst us but acknowledged the way

too straight for him to walk in," and was therefore disowned, but as this Meeting did not then have authority over Exeter and Amity, this may not refer to
the husband of
*

Mary

Lincoln.

MSS. Gilbert Cope.

p.

Roger Rogers died

intestate,

and administration was granted

370. See Appendix,

to

Mary,

his

relict,
5

22 December, 1758.

Registered Philadelphia,

Book E,

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

to

71

Mordecai,

his eldest son

;

by

his

second wife, half of his

wife,

land in

Amity

to

Thomas, the second son of the same

the other half, provided that, if the said wife prove with child, the estate was to be divided into three equal portions. She did

so prove,

and the posthumous son, Abraham, shared the pro-

perty with his brothers of the

whole blood. John Lincoln,

first

the eldest son and the only one by the

wife, received

three hundred of the four hundred acres of his mother's marriage portion, the other one

hundred being divided between

the two youngest daughters,

Anne and
'

Sarah, His friends and

neighbours, Jonathan Robeson and George Boone,^ were made

and his wife Mary sole executrix and tutor to the minor children. Mary Rogers, the widow, was still living 10 June, 1776, when a petition for a sale of property was returned, which was confirmed in April, 1777, and she acted as administratrix of
trustees
'

Jonathan Robeson was third son of Andrew Robeson of Amity township,

Philadelphia County.

Will of Andrew Robeson, dated 171920, proved 27

in

February, 1719-20 (Registered Philadelphia, Book D,p. 145), mentions lands

Roxborrow and Neversink. Jonathan was born at Philadelphia, 1684, member Pennsylvania Assembly, 1735, owned and worked several iron furnaces in Berks County, removed to New Jersey, 1760, first Judge of Sussex County, and died at Upper Dublin, Penn., in i 766. Andrew, the father, of New Jersey and Sumac
Park, Philadelphia, was born in Scotland, 1653.

One

of the Proprietors of West

New Jersey by deed of William Penn

there,

in

1676, member of Council of Proprietors

1688-93, Justice ^^ Gloucester, 1689, and Surveyor General, 1689 ^^^ 1694. In 1676 was of Clonmel, Ireland, but late of London, merchant. One Samuel Robeson in his will, dated 21 September, proved 15 October, 1699,

names
^

his cousin

Andrew Robeson of West

Jersey and uncles

Thomas and who

David Robeson of Scotland. (See Jm.

Ancestry^ v, 171, and

MSS.

Gilbert Cope.)

The

earliest

connection shown with the family of the intrepid explorer

was afterward

to exercise so malign an influence

on

his posterity.

72
She

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Thomas
and her
died in 1783, intestate,

the estate of her second son,

Lincohi, in June, 1775. estate was administered

25 March of that year by her eldest son, Mordecai Lincoln. MORDECAI and (SALTER) LINCOLN

HANNAH

had

issue six children,

I.

John Lincoln, born 3 May, 171 1. Of whom hereafter. DeborahLincoln, born January, 171 7, buriedat Allentown, N. J., I 5 May, 720, aged three years and four months.' III. Hannah Lincoln had lands on the Macheponix in
II.
1

New

Jersey by deed of gift from her father before 1735.

Millard of Amity, Philadelphia County, before 15 December, 1742, when he joins her in deed of her moiety of her father's gift,^ to William Tallman {vide infra). She was dead before 1769, when Joseph Millard, then called Esquire, was of Union township. They had children
She married Joseph
^
:

I.

Mordecai
IV.

2.

Joseph;

3.

James; and

4. Barbara.

Lincoln had gift of land jointly with her sister Hannah. She married Francis Yarnall'* of Amity, cordwainer (born 27 September, i7i9),before 10 May, 1743, when
'

Mary

Gravestone

still
;

remaining

at

Allentown.

Trenton Deeds

see Appendix.

Quitclaim deed of John Lincoln of Augusta County, Virginia, and the heirs

of

his father,

Mordecai Lincoln, deed., to Abraham

to

his half-brother.
it

This deed

seems never

have been registered

for reference to

have to thank Miss

M.
^

J.

Roe of

Gilbert, Ohio, a descendant of the Tallmans. See Appendix.

his

Complaint of

marriage " out of meeting " was made

at

Exeter Meeting

8 mo. 7th, I 742, and testimony formally made against him 10 mo. 30th of same year (Book A, p. 36). He was son of Peter and Alice (Worrilow) Yarnall

of Goshen, Penn. Peter Yarnall, born 20 October, 1690, married 25 April,

1

7 15, at

Chester, Alice, daughter of John and

;

Ann

(Maris) Worrilow of

Edgmont

she was disowned

lO March, 1728-29, and he 16 November,

to

1730, but
Philip,
in

certificate for their children

Peter was son of Francis and

Hannah (Baker)

Oley was signed 21 July, 1740. Yarnall, who, with his brother

came
1

to Pennsylvania about

171

was Representative

in Provincial

1684 from Worcestershire, England, and Assembly for Chester County. AnYarnall,
/.

other son of Francis and

Hannah (Baker)

e.

Joseph Yarnall, mar-

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

73

he joins with her, and William Tallman and Anne his wife, in the sale of the entire tract of one hundred acres of land to Samuel Leonard. They were both living and of Reading
in 1769.

V.
sister

Anne Lincoln, born 8 March, 1725.

Sarah of one hundred acres of land in

Legatee with her

New Jersey.
=>

She
joins

married, 20 October, 17

,'

William Tallman
in

of Amity

(born 25 March, 1720, died 13 February, 1791^),

who

deed of May, 1743. They removed to Virginia with the Lincolns about 1768, lived

with her and her

sister

Mary

on Smith's Run at foot of Massanutten Mountain, Augusta (now Rockingham) County, Virginia, in sight of the Lincoln homestead. They had eleven children, who all died young except a son, Benjamin Tallman of Ohio (born 9 January,
1745, died 4 June, 1820), who married, 9 November, 1764, Dinah Boone'^ (born 10 May, 1749, died 25 July, 1824). .5 Anne Lincoln Tallman died 22 December,
22 September, 1748, at Exeter, Elizabeth Boone, probably widow of Samuel Boone, uncle of Daniel, who had died 6 August, 1 745, leaving a widow
ried

of that name. MSS. Gilbert Cope, of

History of

West

Chester, Penn.

see also Smith's

Delaware County^

p.

518.

Date
*

obliterated in record.
I.,

Son of Benjamin and Patience (Durfee) Tallman of Warwick, R,

legatee of twenty shillings in will of his father, dated 5 July, 1755, proved

13 August, 1759. Benjamin Tallman, the father, born 28 January, 1684,

being son of Peter Tallman of Portsmouth, R.
Briggs of Taunton, Mass., and
I.,

by

his

second wife, Joan

1

who was freeman

his

in

Newport,

655, died

708,

and administration granted to

Diet.

son Jonathan, 3

May, 1709.

Austin's Gen.

R.

/.,

A^.

E. Reg., vol.

xli, p.

157, and Tallman Family Bible, transcribed

detail.

by Miss
^

M.

J.

Roe,

ut supra.

See also Durfee Genealogy for fuller

in the record,

The

year was obliterated

but

is

restored by reference, in deed

recorded in Berks County, Pennsylvania, to his will as proved in

Rockingham
See

County, Virginia,
'f

in that year.

Daughter of Benjamin and Susanna Boone, the uncle of Daniel.

in

account of Boone family

5

Cognate Families,

Year

obliterated in record

about

p.

98.

1812.

74

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Lincoln, born about April, 1727, was a legatee, with her sister Anne, of one hundred acres of land on the Macheponix, which was sold by her brother-in-law, William
Tallman, 10 May, 1743, under power of attorney from Mary Rogers, her stepmother and the executrix of their father's will.

VL Sarah

She married

in

Quaker Meeting William Boone' (born 18

1

November, 1724, died

i i

77

),

her marriage being reported

as

"orderly" by the Exeter Monthly Meeting, 26 May, 1748. She died 2 1 April, 8 o, aged eighty-three years, two months,

and odd days/

MORDECAI
children.

and

MARY

LINCOLN
May, 1730,

had three
legatee of

VII.

MoRDECAi Lincoln, born

Amity by his father's will. He was taxed in Berks County in 1752, was Quartermaster in Continental Army, and was of Exeter, o June, 776, being named in petition of his mother, Mary Rogers {yide i?ifra), on whose estate he afterward administered, 25 March, 1783. He had married in 1755 Mary Webb, by whom he had issue five children, who all settled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. ^ After the Revolution he removed to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he died in 8 2, aged eighty-two, and was buried at Uniontown. Children were: i. Benjamin, born 29 November, 1756; 2. John, born 28 March, 1758; 3. Ann, born 22 November, 1759, married William Jones; 4. Hannah,'' born
lands in
i 1 i i

31

December, 1761;

5.

Sarah, born 25 February, 1767.

Son of George and Deborah (Howell) Boone and own cousin of Daniel.
See Boone family,
^
J

p.

98.

Exeter Meeting Records.

On

the authority of Miss

M.

J.

Roe of

Gilbert, Ohio, from Dr.

W.

H.

Egle of Reading, Penn.

I

believe that this

child

represents the mysterious

assisting

Hannaniah whom
his

we

find in

Kentucky

in

May, 1785,

Abraham Lincoln and

son

Josiah in the survey of his farm in Jefferson County. Hannaniah himself had

o
^-,

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

VIII.

75
his

Thomas Lincoln,

legatee of lands in

Amity by

father's will.

Taxed at Reading, 1757, and at Exeter, 1759, Manheim, Lancaster County, 1769. He was Reand was of
presentative for Berks in the Pennsylvania General Assembly,

1758.

He

married Elizabeth

by

whom

he had seven

children, all minors at his death in 1775, when, his widow renouncing, administration was granted to his mother, Mary

Rogers, 16 June, 1775.

Her subsequent

petition in Orphans'

10 June, 1776, that all were minors and seised of messuage and lands in Exeter "adjoining lands of Mor-

Court

recites,

decai Lincoln." Children were

Thomas; 3. Michael, went to Buffalo Valley, Lewisburg, Union County, Penn. 4. Joseph; 5. Sarah; 6. Mary; 7. Elizabeth,
:

i.

Hannah;'

2.

IX.
ber,

1759. Representative for Berks to the Pennsylvania General Assembly,

Abraham Lincoln, posthumous son, 1736. He was taxed as a single man in

to the State Convention, 1787,
1

born 18 Octo-

1782-85,

and to the State

i

Constitutional Convention,

790.

He married,

o July,

760,

Anne Boone

(born 3 April, 1737, died 4 April, 1807), daughter of James and Mary (Foulke) Boone of Oley.^ He
died at Exeter, 31 March, 1806, aged seventy.

Had
;

issue ten

children:

i,

Mary, born 15 September, 1761

3.

2.

Martha,

born 25 January, 1763;

already, 17 January,

Mordecai, born January, 1765,

i 783, entered 89723^ acres, and 22 April, 1785, there had been surveyed for him 1000 acres more (Boone's Survey Book, 25C84, p. 32

and 26C45).
chase in
'

He was

said to

have afterward joined Boone

vol.
i,

in his

Missouri purJ.

798 (Nicolay and Hay, Hznnaniah was

find with
cites

p. 5).

But see note following.

H. L.

Dr. H. E. Robinson,

late President

of the Missouri Historical Society, has

stated that this

a son, served in the Revolution, and

in

was the HanReview,

naniah
vol.
i,

whom we p. 72). He

Abraham Lincoln

Kentucky

(^Afo. Hist.

no proof, however, and

I incline to
is

believe that the identiJ.

fication
^

above with the eldest child of Mordecai

the correct one.

H. L.

Uncle of Daniel Boone, who was son of Squire Boone,

in

elder brother of
p.

James. See account of the Boone family

3

Cognate Families,

98.

His descendants are

still

numerous

in

Pennsylvania.

76
thers

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

November
;

died 1820, and administration granted 23

to bro-

John and Thomas Lincoln; 4. James, born 5 May, 6. Rachel, I 86 5. Anne, born 1 9 April, 1 769 1 767,' died born 24 March, 1 77 died 1775; 7. Phebe, born 2 2 January, 1773; 8. Anne, born 19 October, 1774; 9. Thomas, born 12 March, 1777, died 1863; 10. John, born 21 October,
1 ; 1 ,

1779, died 1864.

We

will

now

return to the consideration of the

main

line

of the President's ancestry.

John Lincoln, the

(Salter)

eldest son of

Mordecai and Hannah

John"

Lincoln, born 3 May, 1711,^ was called "Virginia to distinguish him from his first cousin of the same

name, the son of Abraham and Rebecca Lincoln. In 1748 he sold the New Jersey lands which had been willed him

by

his father,

being then of Caernarvon, Lancaster County,

In 1758 he was of Uniontown, but was

Penn., weaver.^

taxed for lands in Exeter the same year and in

Amity in 1 759. Before August, 1768,'* he had removed to Virginia, being

fertile

then about fifty-seven years of age, and settled in the

in Augusta County (the part now in Rockingham County), a few miles north of the present town of Harrisonburg, where he was still surviving in August, 1773/

Shenandoah Valley
5

'

David

J.

Lincoln of Birdsboro, Penn., well known as an authority on mat-

ters

pertaining to the Lincoln family, and

who
J.

died

10 April, 1886, aged

seventy years, was a son of this James Lincoln.

'
3

This date on the authority of Miss M.

Roe, from Dr.

W.

H. Egle.

Deed 8 November, 1748, of 300 acres on Cranberry Brook, Middlesex County, N. J., to William Dye for ^200. Recorded at Trenton. t Deed 1 6 August, 1768, from heirs of Robert McKay to John Lincoln of 600 acres on Linvill's Creek, Augusta County, Va., being part of land patented
to

McKay
5

and others

in

1739. Recorded

at

Staunton, Va.

see

Appendix.

Rockingham was
Deeds
at

set ofF

from Augusta
:

Staunton as follows

1777. John Lincoln and Rebecca his wife for 210

for 5 shillings, ditto

in

acres land, 7 August, 1773, to

Abraham Lincoln

from same

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

77

and where he probably died. It was believed by the President, upon "a vague tradition," that his great-grandfather, John Lincoln, was a Quaker.' It would appear that such was not the case, nor, except in sporadic instances, were the family.

A^vc^r^
The

'SfAL

intimacy and frequent intermarriages with the Boones

and others

who were so,

sufficiently accounts for this tradition.

(

Children of
I.

JOHN and REBECCA

lived
a surveyor.
to

')

LINCOLN.

John Lincoln,

and died in Rockingham County,

Virginia.
II.

He

was

Married and

left issue.

Kentucky near Lexington and died there. His children removed to Missouri. III. Abraham Lincoln, born 16 July, 1739. Of whom
hereafter.

Thomas Lincoln, removed

IV. Isaac Lincoln, removed to Tennessee and settled on

the Holston River at Watauga. Married and had
issue.^

V. Jacob Lincoln, remained in Virginia. Lieutenant in

Continental Army.
I
.

He

married and had

issue:

Abraham of Linvill's Creek, married

215
to

Polly

Horman and
and
Lincoln

to Isaac Lincoln,
release

acres,

same consideration,

11 August, deed of lease

ditto to Isaac

from same

Abraham Lincoln, 12 August, and

date.

from same on same

'

See Appendix.
in A^.

Hon. Solomon Lincoln

E. Hist. Gen. Reg., October, 1865, vol.

xix,
^

p.357Family tradition has assigned the name of

Moore

to this wife.

The

initial

"

R"
^

given her by some writers was only her " mark."

See facsimile.

In 1854

Abraham Lincoln corresponded with

letter
i

Jesse Lincoln, son of Isaac,

i,

then of Tennessee. See

edited by Nicolay and

April, 1854, in Complete Works, vol.

p.

177,

Hay.

78
beth,

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

:

had three daughters

married,
first.

Amajida, married John Brock

Eliza-

Dr.

Maupin

and, second,

Hon.

Chap}ohn D. Pennypacker; Rebecca, married Dr. man. 2. Jacob, of Linvill's Creek, married Nancy Lineberger and had 'John; David; Jacob B.^ of Nelson County,
Virginia; Dorcas, married

Prense of Page County; and

perhaps others.

3.

David of Lacey's Spring,^ married

Franklin, Jacob,

Abraham, and perhaps others. 4. Elizabeth, married Joseph Chrisman, who removed to Lafayette, Mo. 5. Abigail, married Joseph CofFman of
Dayton, Va.
6.

Horman and had

A
8.

daughter
7.

who

married John Strayer of

New

Market, Va.

daughter

of Page County.

daughter

who married who married

Evans

Dyer of
as

Pendleton County. Jacob Lincoln, the father, served

lieutenant in the Continental

Army

and died in Rockingham

County, Virginia.

Abraham
(
)
'

Lincoln, third son of John and Rebecca Lincoln, was born in Pennsylvania, 16 July, 1739,^
Tye
River, Nelson County, Virginia,

The

descendants of Jacob Lincoln are given on the authority of Mrs.

Jacob B. Lincoln of

widow of Jacob

B.

and granddaughter of Dr. Maupin and Elizabeth Lincoln, daughter of Abra-

ham
^

of Linvill's Creek.

With whom

President Lincoln corresponded in 1848,

letter 2 April,
1

when
848,

member of
Nicolay and

Congress, on the subject of his family. See

in

Hay, Complete Works,

J

vol.

i,

p.

117.

The

authority for this date, as well as those of the births of the three sons
is

of Abraham,
entitled
in

an

article

on the Lincoln Family which was published

in a

paper

The Sunny

South, printed at Atlanta, Ga., in 1888,

and the exact dates

which bear every appearance of having been taken from some treasured

family record, and are therefore entitled to

that the author

some credence
in

in spite

of the fact

wrongly locates the family

Botetourt County, Virginia, over

100 miles

to the south of the actual location,

It is,

and which county had not,

at that

period, been set ofF from Augusta.

most unfortunately,

now

impossible

to identify the writer of this article, for calling attention to

which we have

to

thank Mrs. Caroline Hanks Hitchcock of Cambridge, Mass.,

who

has done

so

much

to aid our labours.

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

and accompanied
his father to Virginia as a

79

young man.

He

had a grant of 210 acres of land from him, 12 August, 1773,

on Linvill's Creek in Augusta (now Rockingham) County. He was a captain of Virginia MiUtia
in the Revolution
'

o^^^t^'^^^
fever of the pioneer

and seems to
restless

have been prosperous, but the

was

in his veins, and, incited by the narratives of his kins-

man, Daniel Boone, he

sold his

patrimony

in the

Shenan-

doah Valley in 1780, to follow the fortunes of the explorer

into the wilds of Kentucky.

He married, first, Mary Shipley,^ daughter of Robert and

Sarah Shipley of Lunenburg County, Virginia,
of his elder children
vious to 1779.
;

she died in Virginia at

the mother some time pre-

His second wife, Bathsheba Herring,^ daughterof Leonard Herring of Bridgewater, now in Rockingham County,

Virginia, was left behind

when Abraham made

Indeed
it

his first venture

if

into the wilderness in 1780.

seems open to doubt

she ever crossed the mountains into Kentucky.

'

His name so appears

in a court-martial

held at Staunton, 1776 (Husting

Court Records), which he signs as Abraham Linkhorn.

*

The

first

authority for the Shipley connection

was Hon.
his

J.

L. Nail of

Missouri, the great-grandson of

Abraham Lincoln by
in

youngest daughter,

Nancy Lincoln
105
3

Brumfield. This has since been amply corroborated from both

family and outside sources.

;

See Shipley genealogy

i,

Cognate Families,

p.

Nicolay and Hay,

first

vol.

p. 5, note.

For the

clue to the hitherto unsuspected identity of Bathsheba Her-

ring I have to thank

my

valued friend and correspondent, Major George Chris-

man
in

of Harrisonburg, Va., a venerable and respected citizen of that place and

himself a sharer in the blood of the Herring family.

See Herring genealogy

Cognate Families,

p.

108.

J.

H.L.

8o
the

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

first

Until very recently

wife, was the

it had been believed that Mary Shipley, mother of all of Abraham's children, but

the consideration of the following facts will

show convincing

evidence to the contrary.

Thomas Lincoln,

the youngest son and probably youngest

child of Abraham, was born 20 January, 1780.'

The

8 th

of

February following Abraham Lincoln and "Bershaba"^ his wife deeded 250 acres of land^ to one Michael Shanks for

^5000, and

this

was recorded

7 June following, but without

the privy examination and renunciation of dower by the wife who, with an infant less than one month old, had been unable
to travel twelve miles over the

rough road which separated the

Lincoln
seems
ber,
1

home from
1, a

the County Court House.

for,

Her

inability

to

have continued,

nineteen months

later, 8

Septem"she
this

78

commission was issued

for her examination,

being then unable to travel to the County Court," and

was executed on the 24th of the same month and returned into court the same day."* Meanwhile Abraham Lincoln had gone into Kentucky,
perhaps not his
first

journey over the perilous Wilderness

Road,5 and, 4 March, 1780, paid into the Land Office there
'

Ut supra. Sunny South. So

first

written in the deed, afterward Basheba and, in the commission,

full

Barbara.
pendix.
3

She signs as Batsab. See facsimile and

copy of deed

in

Ap-

Being the 210 acres given him by

his

father,

12 August,

1773, and

another tract of 40 acres which had been deeded to him by Tunis Vanpelt,

Thomas Bryan, and Hatton Muncey.

*

See deed

in

Appendix.

Publicity

was

first

given to this most valuable document by the late Judge

in

John T. Harris of Harrisonburg

its

Century Magaz-ine., vol. xxxiii, p.

8lO

but

full

significance seems never to have been appreciated, and the later his-

torians and biographers of the President have continued to record

as his grandmother.
s

Mary

Shipley

See Appendix, p. 187.

See Speed's Wilderness Road, published by the Filson Club, Louisville,

Ky., 1900.

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

^
1

8i

60 of the ^(^5000 received

for his patrimony, for a warrant

of 400 acres of land in Jefferson County.' Prior to this, however, Boone's Survey Book^ shows an entry in July, 1 776, of 1 000 acres of land to " Lincoln " ^ and

which we may well believe records a "stake" planted for his friend and kinsman on one of the explorer's early trips into the wilderness. As we have already seen, on Lincoln's arrival in Kentucky on what was probably his first scouting trip to the new land, he had promptly entered 400 acres on which he subsequently settled and erected his cabin a few days later, 7 June, 1 780, he took up 800 acres more on the Green River,"* and again (after his return with his family), 1 1 December,
;

1782, another 500^ acres and, at a subsequent but indeterminate date, yet another 500,^ one of which last was probably
identical

with the 500-acre

site

tract in

Campbell County (near

the present

of

the city

of Cincinnati), but which was not

surveyed until 27 September, 1798, and patented 30 June,

^ in all some 3200 acres, a 1799, long subsequent to his death goodly domain of the finest farming land in the world, which,

had
the

all

prospered,
in wealth

would have placed

and position
an infant

his descendants

among
as

first

in their

community

the

wilderness crystallised into

'

state.

But, at least for

See facsimile from original

in

possession of Col.
i,

Reuben T. Durrett of

Louisville (Nicolay and

^

Hay,

vol.

p. 8).

Now

in the

Lyman
full

C. Draper

MSS.

in the

Library of the State Hist. Soc.

in this

of Wisconsin, For
able record

and careful extracts of the Lincoln entries

valu-

we

are indebted to

Miss Annie A. Nunns, Secretary

to

Dr. Reuben

G. Thwaites, Superintendent. J Op. cit. Lincoln for 25C. 36 and 25C. 37: "taken to Richmond warrant of 1000 acres," both probably referring to the same tract. As per authority of Col. Reuben T. Durrett of Louisville, Ky. See in
. . .
*

Nicolay and Hay,

5

vol.

i,

p.

11.

Boone's Survey Book, 25C. 38.

^ Ibid.^ 7

25C.

p.

32.
loc. cit.

Nicolay and Hay,

note 4.

82

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

the hapless younger son, the bullet of the savage marauder

changed everything. One morning in the early summer of 1785, going out to his daily task in the fields with his two elder sons and the

Thomas, Abraham Lincoln was shot dead by an Indian from an ambush in the forest. The two young men, aged
child

twenty-one and nineteen respectively,

fled

the elder to the

cabin and the younger to the nearest stockade. Fort Hughes,

leaving the helpless infant of five years to his fate beside his
father's body.

As the savage stooped

to

lift

the terrified child

from the ground, Mordecai, who had secured his rifle, shot the Indian through the heart, and little Thomas, thus released, escaped to the cabin, where his brother held the enemy
at

bay until Josiah returned from the fort with

assailants fled.

assistance,

and the

The

date of

Abraham

Lincoln's murder has been variously

given by historians

as **soon after

1780"

to

1788 and, by the

1

President himself, from the family tradition, as

784.

A little

scrutiny will enable us to give a close approximation to the

truth.
tract

The

Certificate of the survey of the Jeff'erson

of 400 acres, on which he settled

County and where he met his

death, dated 7

May, 1785,

has been frequently quoted and

even printed in facsimile,' but seems to have been generally

misread and misunderstood. This important document shows
that, at its date,

Abraham Lincoln was

still

alive

and acted

as

"marker"
ran the

to the surveyor's deputy,

William Shannon,

who

lines, his

second son, Josiah, and one

Hannaniah Linp.

coln ^acting
'

as

chainmen. Here we have absolute proof that

vol.
i,

Nicolay and Hay,

p.

14. to

Recorded Louisville, Book B,

60.

Hannaniah Lincoln seems

have been the third son and fourth child

of Mordecai Lincoln, half-brother of

John Lincoln

{Virginia John), being

the eldest child of Mordecai the elder by his second wife

Mary, and born 31

December, 1761 (but called Hannah in the records). This Hannaniah, who would have been Abraham's first cousin if this theory be correct, had already

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

he was
It

83
point to

alive in

May, 1785, and

the probabilities
after.'

all

his death as

having taken place soon

has been related that the widow, after the murder of her

husband, took refuge

among

the relatives of the Lincolns,

neighbourhood of BeechWashington County, some thirty-five miles to the south, where the more dense population made safer residence. This may be true, but it has already been shown that her health was delicate, and the rough journey with a young child over the terrible Wilderness Road and the rude life of the frontier had probably undermined her vitality, and she must have soon succumbed and laid down a cross too heavy for her strength and added one more tragedy to the pathetic price paid for the
to settle in the

who had now begun

land in

conquest of the land her grandson was one day destined to

rule and save.

Certain

it is

that,

her dower in September, 1781, she disappears

the records.

from the relinquishment of absolutely from

Taking advantage of the old English law of primogeniture then in force in Kentucky, the two elder brothers ousted their infant half-brother from all his rights of inheritance in
his father's estate, his

almost certainly dead, or

been protected

at least

own mother, Bathsheba, being then we may be sure that he would have to the limit of her own dower rights,
left

and the unhappy child was

and
'

to

the tender mercies of

entered large tracts of land in Kentucky. See notes under Mordecai,sonof John,

Thomas his The writer

brother, pp. 74, 75.

in

the Sunny South, already cited (p.

78), states,

among

his

exact data, that

Abraham Lincoln was

seem
to

forty-six years of age at his death,

which

agrees exactly with his birth, 16 July, 1739, as there given.

his

The

inventory of

estate (there

have been no papers of administration), dated 10

March, 1789, amounted to ^68 i6.f. 6d. of personal property, comprising two horses, eight neat cattle, two rifles and a shot gun, farm and household
list in

implements and,

last

but not
i,

least,

the

inevitable

axe.

(See

detailed

Tarbell's History, vol.

p.

4, from original in possession of Col. R.

T.

Durrett.)

84

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

swarming with savage
beasts

strangers in a wilderness

and

still

more savage men.

Children of

ABRAHAM and MARY

1764.'

(SHIPLEY) LINIf this date

is

COLN.
I.

MoRDECAi Lincoln, born

cor-

rect,

death,

he would have been twenty-one years of age at his father's when he avenged him on his savage murderer. By the

law of primogeniture he succeeded to all of the landed estate, and with his brother seems to have sequestered the personal
property
as well.

He was

prosperous farmer, a

man
and

of mark
a

and influence in
sentative in the

his day, sheriff

of

his county,^

Repre-

Kentucky

Legislature. 3

He removed to HowHancock County,

ard County, Indiana, and, about 1828, to

Illinois,

where he died in 1830. He was married and left three sons: i. Abraham; 2. James; and 3. Mordecai. II. JosiAH Lincoln, born 10 July, 1766. He was a farmer in good circumstances for the time.-^ He removed to Harrison County, Indiana, where he died in 1836.5

He was married

and

left

an only son,

Thomas

Lincoln, late of Corydon, Har-

rison County, Ind.^

'

On

the authority of the article in the Sunny Souths already cited.

This
is

article states that there

were

three daughters, but the

name of

the third

not

given.
'
3

She probably died young.

Tarbell's History^ ed. igoo, p. 5.

So stated by the

late

Dr. C. C.

Graham of

Louisville, a gentleman

whose
of the

authority and veracity are unquestioned. See also Barrett's Life of Lincoln^ p. 6.

There

is

no mention of

his

name, however,

in

any

now

existing

list

legislators.

"

knew Mordecai and

Josiah Lincoln intimately.

in their

They were

excellent

men,

plain,

moderately educated, candid

manners and intercourse and

looked upon as honorable as any

Pirtle,
5

men

have heard of."

Letter of
is filed

Henry

17 June, 1865. Cited by Herndon, vol. i, p. 7. His inventory of personal property, amounting to $65.00,

(box 49)

in the

Probate Court of the county for that year.

No
is

other papers relating to

the estate exist.

*

grandson of the name of Mordecai Lincoln

now (1908)

resident in

THE AMERICAN PEDIGREE

III.

85

Mary

Lincoln, married Ralph

married

Crume

or

Krume of
of

Kentucky.'
IV.

Nancy Lincoln,

William Brumfield

Kentucky.
Child of
V.
ginia,

ABRAHAM and BATHSHEBA (HERRING)

born in Rockingham County, Vir-

LINCOLN.
Thomas Lincoln,
20 January, 1780.
of Joseph

He

married, 12 June, 1806, at

Beechland, Ky.,

Nancy Hanks,
and

daughter
(Shipley)

Nancy

cfjv^^o^^'''T^-fy^^^<^^^

Hanks (born

5 February,

Lucy (Shipley), wife of Richard Berry, her guardian, who became surety on the marriage bond, taken out two days earlier. After two removals in Kentucky the family emigrated to Gentryville, Spencer County, Ind., where he entered a quarter section of land, 1 8 October, 8 7, and where his wife died 5
1784),
at

the house of her aunt

October, 1818.^

He

married, secondly, 2 December, 18 19, at Elizabeth-

town, Ky., Sarah, widow of Daniel Johnston,^ of that place, deceased, and she, surviving him, died 10 April, 1869, at a farm near Charleston, 111., which had been given her by the
President.

There was no

issue

of

this marriage.

Milltown, Spencer township, Harrison County.

Vt

asserti

Amos Lemmon

of

Corydon, Ind.

Her grandson, Hon.

J.

L. Nail of Carthage, Mo., frequently referred to

in

these pages, has been one of the best oral authorities for the facts of the pedigree.
^

stone upon her grave bears the following inscription

" Nancy Hanks

Lincoln, Mother of President Lincoln, Died October

five years.

Erected by a friend of her martyred son. 1879."

Studebaker of South Bend, Ind.)

stately

Age thirtyMr. P. E. monolithic monument has since

5, 1818.
[i.e.

been erected close by.

3

By whom

she had had issue three children, John D., Sarah, and Matilda

Johnston.

86

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Indiana they removed in March,
1

From

8 30, to Illinois,

and

settled ten miles from Decatur and, finally, to Coles County,

where Thomas Lincoln

Farmington.
Children of

died,

7 January, 1851,' aged seventy-

three years and eleven days,^ at Goose

Neck

Prairie, near

THOMAS

and

NANCY (HANKS)
after
1

LIN-

COLN.
I.

Nancy Lincoln

(called

Sarah

9),

born about

1807, married, August, 1826, Aaron Grigsby of Spencer

County, Indiana, and died in childbed, 20 May, 1828.

II.

Abraham

Lincoln, born 12 February, 1809,

at

Buf-

falo,

Hardin (now La Rue) County, Ky. Sixteenth President OF THE United States.
III.

Thomas Lincoln,
old.

born

after 18 13,

and died when

few months
'

monument has been Robert T. Lincoln.

*

erected

to

his

memory by

his

grandson, Hon.

If the record of his birth

is

correct as given (see p. 80), he

would have
;

been only seventy years, eleven months, and twenty-eight days old
at

if his

age

death was as stated by his son in the family Bible,

a discrepancy of

it

would place

his birth

on 6 January, 1778,

two years and fourteen days.

CHAPTER

IX

COGNATE FAMILIES
the tracing of a genealogy too
little

attention

is

usually-

IN

paid to the female lines of ascent, from every one of

which the

inheritor draws, equally with his direct pater-

nity, those bodily

and mental characteristics which distinguish

him from
sonality of

his fellows.

Abraham

Nothing that contributed to the perLincoln can be neglected with safety

by the

historian,

and in the following brief sketches are pre-

sented what has been ascertained regarding his distaff lines of

derivation in America.

JONES
In the absence of any authentic information regarding the

surname and parentage of

Martha,

the wife of

Samuel

Lincoln, the emigrant, we must commence these accounts of the cognate lines with the ancestry of Sarah Jones, the
first

wife of

Mordecai Lincoln, whose

to the

gift

of the

name

of

Abraham

Lincoln family, in honour of her father,

makes her a noteworthy figure in the pedigree.

This family was represented
brothers,
at

Hingham,

Mass., by

two
the
It

Robert and Thomas

Reading

Jones,

who came from

1636-38.

vicinity of

in Berkshire, England, in

has not as yet been possible to trace the pedigree in England,

but

it is

suggestive that, at Welford, in Berks, about twenty

miles west of Reading, there occurs a family of Jhones of that

place,
teristic
'

and of London, with

prenomen.'
Berks, by

whom Abraham
in Harl.

was

a charac-

See

Fisit.

Ashmole, 1665-66,

Soc,

vol. Ivi, p.

234.

88

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

the
first

Robert Jones was

in

of the two brothers to arrive

America, being

a proprietor at

probably identical

with

Robert Joanes

Hingham in who

1636.

He

was
St.

married, at

Mary's, Reading, 13 June, 1625, Elizabeth Soane. He afterwards seems to have married a widow of the name of Eliza-

beth Curtis, formerly of Reading, whose maiden

name had
and had
married

been Alexander' (who died 25 September, 171

children:
i.

2),

Robert;
;

11.

Joseph; in. Sarah,

elder,

who

Belknap
V.

iv.

Benjamin the

baptised

March,

Ephraim, baptised 29 July, 1649; vi. John, bap1638; VII. Elizabeth, baptised August, 1662 tised 17 July, 1652 and VIII. Benjamin the younger, baptised 27 October, 1666. Robert Jones was a Cornet, and died 17 November, 1691.
;

His will, dated 20 April, 1688, names Ephraim, who probably died young.

all

the children except

Thomas

Jones, the brother of Robert, was of

Hingham,

from Caversham, Reading the east bank of opposite on county Oxon. (directly the Thames), and may have been identical with the Thomas
and proprietor there in 1638.
baptised at

He came

December, 1599/ although his age of thirty-six in the Shipping List of 1638^ would have placed his birth in 1602."^ He had four children born in England and under ten years of age at his emigration. His first wife, Ann, accompanied him to America, and was probSt.

Mary's, Reading,

'

His daughters-in-law Elizabeth and Jane Curtis gave him power of attor( 1

ney, 4

0)

646, to collect legacies from their grandmother, Jane Alexander, late

of Reading, county
married
*

Oxon.

(sic).

See Aspenwall,

p.

41. Jane Curtis afterward

ib^-g^op.
cit., p.

Thomas

Collier of Hull before 21

December,

240).

In this register, which dates from 1558, the

in all cases

names of
A^.

the parents are

omitted
J

before 1600.

Drake's Founders of
ii,

New
as

England^

p.

59

and

E. Hist. Gen. Reg.,

vol.

p.

109. In both cases the

name

of the town of Caversham (written

Cau'sham) has been misread

*

Gowsham

and Gonsham.
are,

These

lists,

as well as statements

and depositions,

however, notoriously

incorrect, and to be relied

upon only when buttressed with other evidence.

COGNATE FAMILIES
ably the mother of most, if not
ried a second time
all,

89

of his children.
,

He

mar-

Elizabeth who survived him and was called "mother-in-law" by his sons Abraham, Thomas, and Ephraim. In 1 657 he and his son Abraham were proprietors at Hull.
of which place he was which took place in 1680 at Hull. His inventory, taken in March, 1680-81, is filed at Ipswich. His children were i, Abraham; 11. John; in. Ephraim; Chamberlain; v. Hannah, marIV. Sarah, married to Coding; vi, Thomas, baptised 29 March, 1640; ried to and VII. Mary, baptised 28 May, 1643, at Hingham.
to Manchester, a resident at his death,
:

He afterwards

removed

Abraham
was born
in the "
in

Jones, the eldest son of Thomas and

Ann

Jones,

England and came with

his parents to

America

Confidence" of London, sailing from Southampton

24 April, 1638.

He was

a proprietor at

Hull in 1657, and

May, 1658,
his

sold lands there,

which had been given him by

his father, to

Daniel Cushing.'

He

resided at Hull during

1653,''

whole
3

life.

He

married, probably about

Sarah

Whitman (died 11 June, man by his wife Ruth

1
'

171 8), eldest child of John Whitof Weymouth, Mass. He died

717, his will, dated 8 January, 171 6-1 7, being proved 4

Suffolk Deeds, iv, I2g.
*

Said by Sewall to have lived in wedlock sixty-five years. See Farnam's

Genealogy.

Whitman
3

John Whitman is said to have come from Holt, county Norfolk, before 1638, when he was freeman, ensign 1645 to 1680, and deacon, and died
13 November, 1692, aged ninety. His
married
will, dated

9 March, 1685, proved 16

March, 1692-93, names daughter Sarah Jones.

at

Zacharia

Whitman was

Chesham

Bois, Bucks, 10 June, 1630, to Sarah, daughter of Richard

to

and Martha (Turner) Biscoe, and came

America with wife Sarah, aged

twenty-five (she was baptised at Chesham, 9

charia,
(see

two and

a half, in the

November, 1606), and child Za"Truelove" of London, 19 September, 1635

to will of

Hutton and Drake).

;

Compare Zacharia Whitman, witness

Abraham Jones

see in Appendix.

90

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

March, 171 7. His children by wife Sarah Whitman were: 11. Abraham, born 1659, freeI. Thomas, born about 1656; man 1680, left issue by wife Nancy;' iii. Joseph, had issue
by wife Lydia and died 1769; iv. Benjamin, born 1668, had issue by wife Elizabeth and died 27 December, 1748, aged eighty; v. John of Milford, born 1669, had issue by
wife Sarah;
VII.
vi.

Josiah,

not

named

Mary Spear, 1708, Ephraim, who married four wives, who died 171 3, Mary Adams, 17 14, died 1734, Hannah
Copeland, 1735, and Margaret
,

in

his

father's

will;

and died before April,

1747;^ and VIII. Sarah, who married before 1686 MorDECAi Lincoln of Hingham and died before 1708, leaving
issue four children.^

SALTER
Richard Salter came from England * and settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey, about 1687 or earlier. It is uncertain from what part of the kingdom he was derived, but the name is a common one, while the Christian name of Richard
5

occurs in Dorset, Hants, Northants, Salop, and probably else-

where.
of

He was perhaps related to Nicholas Salter, cloth worker, London, and his cousin, Edward Salter, both of whom
to the Virginia

were subscribers
'

Company and among

the

See Hull Registers.

Suffolk Wills, xxxix,

="

615.
in

See Lincoln genealogy,

So

in records,

but in 1679 a

American Ancestry, pp. 64, 65. Mr. Richard Salter was of St. Georges Parish
in

in

Barbadoes, owning 217 acres of land, with four white and one hundred

and twenty negro servants, and

1685 had

part of

consignment of the un-

happy

rebels, aftermath

of

Monmouth's
;

Rebellion, on the

"Jamaica Mer-

chant" (Hotton, pp. 462 and 342) but he was still resident in Barbadoes, 2 August, 1692 [N. E. Hist. Gen. Reg., vol. xxxix, p. 144). 5 See Stillwell's " Salter Family," Jllen and Salter Families, 1883, and Salter
Genealogy, 1882.

COGNATE FAMILIES
knighted.""

91

incorporators of the Second and Third Charters of the same.'

Both were leading merchants of London, and both were This family was from Whitchurch in Dorset.^

He
money
ill

and Captain John Bowne (his brother-iu-law) raised to defend the patentee rights before Lord Cornbury/

the then Governor of the Province, provoking thereby the

will of the Proprietors, and

Bowne, who was

member of

the

House of

Representatives, was disciplined and expelled.

They

represented, with the courage of their convictions,

the rights of the people, and were upheld by

acts, despite

them

in their

the criminations of the proprietary party. Pro-

minent

in their day

and generation, and

fearless advocates

of

the rights of the individual, they earned for themselves from

their enemies the reputation of being
'

most factious and

sedi-

Brown's Genesis of United

States^ vol.

ii,

pp. 990, 991, and Harl.

Soc,

vol. xvii, p. 223.

* 3

Metcalf's Book of Knights^ pp. 169, 178.

Harl. Soc, vol. xvii, p. 223; Hutchins's Dorset^ vol. i, p. 347. Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, son and heir of Henry, Earl of Clarfirst

endon, and the unworthy grandson and namesake of the

Earl of Claren-

don, the statesman and historian, was born December, 1661.

He was one
Revolution of

of the

earliest

of the deserters to the Prince of Orange

in the

Governor of

1688, although he had been showered with favours by James H. He was New York and New Jersey, 1701-08, and " earned a most un-

enviable reputation, which he appears to have fully deserved, and his character

and conduct were equally abhorred

minster Abbey Registers^ p. 308.)
at

in

both hemispheres." (See Chester's JVestclandestinely married, 10 July, 1688,

He was

Totteridge, county Herts, to Catherine, daughter and heir of

Henry O'Brian

(son of Henry, Earl of

Clifton of Leighton

Thomond
in

in Ireland), in

by Catherine, suo jure Baroness

Bromswold,

county Warwick, which Catherine be\'J02^ suo jure Baroness Clifton,

came, on her mother's death

and died
there.
at

November,

at Trinity Church Lord Cornbury, who became Earl of Clarendon on the death of his

New

York, 11 August, 1706, and was buried

709, died
in obscurity

father, 31

October,

and deeply

in debt,

31 March, and
he had disii,

was buried
302,

5 April, 1723, in the vault of the noble ancestors

whom

graced, in Westminster Abbey. (See

vol. vii, pp.

G. E. C,

Complete Peerage^ vol.

pp. 277,
supra.)

392, 393, and Chester's Westminster Registers^

loc. cit.

92
tious

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

persons,
titles

which, in the perspective of history,

redound

to their credit

and eternal honour.

In 1695 Saher was elected a member of the House of Deputies and in 1704 a member of the second Assembly of
Representatives.

He was also

Judge and Justice and has given

him, in the records, the titles of Mr., Esquire, and Captain.

He
tain

married, probably about 1693, Sarah, daughter of Cap-

John Bowne by his wife Lydia Holmes, who was born at Gravesend, Long Island, 27 November, 1669, and was still living in 1714. The exact date of his death is unknown.
county in 1724, and was probably still living in 1728, when his son was called Richard junior. His children by wife Sarah Bowne were:
still

He was

on the bench

as

judge in

his

I.

John

Salter,

born about 1695.' Resided

in Freehold,

N.

J.

He

married Elizabeth, daughter of Elisha and Lucy

in 1723,* leaving four daughters,
all

(Stout)

Lawrence. Died
Salter,

Sarah, Lucy, Lydia, and Elizabeth,

under eighteen.

second son, born about 1695, named II. Thomas in will of his uncle John Bowne, 1714. Resided at Freehold,

N.

J.

He

married Rachel

and had children: Hannah,

Richard, and Deborah. Died 1723.^

was living on Staten Island, 1724 and in 1733 he removed to Monmouth County, New Jersey. Married, before 171 4, Rebecca, daughter of John and ReIII.

Ebenezer

Salter

becca (Throckmorton) Stillwell (Esq.) of Staten Island. She

was

still

living in 1757,

Monmouth
Alice,
'

County. They had children

Elezar.
17 16,

and resided in the western part of Manassah, Daniel,

:

Thomas, and
in

He was

of age before

proved, but under age

*

His will dated

II, p.

when his uncle John Bowne's will was when it was written. See Bowne family. 4 May, proved i October, 1723. Recorded Trenton, N. J.,
17 14, 13 June, 1722, proved 25 April, 1725. Recorded Tren-

Book
3

254.

His

will dated
J.,

ton,

N.

Book

II, p.

248.

COGNATE FAMILIES
1728.
cil, a

93

IV. Richard Salter, born about 1698-99, called Junior in

position

In 1749 he was proposed for member of the Counwhich he held until his death. Chief Justice

of the Supreme Court of

Jersey, 9 June, 1754. He resided at Trenton and Allentown and erected a large mansion

New

on Black Point near Seabright. He married Hannah, daughter of Elisha and Lucy (Stout) Lawrence (born 1696, living
1763).
year.

He

died in 1763

his will dated

1 1

February of that

Had

children Richard, Joseph, John, Lawrence, Elisha,

Elizabeth, Sarah, Lucy, Catherine (died young), and Susan.

V.

Hannah Salter, only daughter.

Married before 1 7 1 4

MoRDECAi Lincoln.

See Lincoln genealogy.

BOWNE
William Bowne
settled at Salem, Mass.,
at Jeiferies'

about 1635, and

was granted forty acres of land

Creek

in 1636.

and his sons came to Gravesend, Long Island,^ with Lady Moody,^ and were among the founders of that place, having an allotment there 12 November, 1649. In 1665 he
'

He

See will of Capt. John

'

A Thomas
I.,

Bowne in Bowne family. Bowne from Matlock, Derbyshire, England

I.

Flushing, L.

(born 1595), of before 1656, seems to have been of quite a different family
Genealogies, p. 184.)

from the above, (See Powell's L.

3

Deborah Dunch, daughter of Walter Dunch of Avebury, county Wilts,

his wife

by

Deborah, daughter of James Pilkington, Bishop of Durham, She

married, 20 January, 1605-06, Sir

(1605), Sheriff of Wilts,

a Baronet 11

Henry Moody of Garsdon, Wilts, Knight i6i8-i9,M, P., 1625, 1626, and 1628-29, created

Moody, being
Sir

March, 1621-22. He died 23 April, 1629, at Garsdon, and Lady a Puritan and "a wise and anciently religious woman," ac-

cording to Governor Winthrop, came to

New

England with her young son,

at

Henry Moody, before 1638.

After an unfortunate experience

Lynn

and Salem with the Ecclesiastics (1641), Savages (1643), ^"'^ Tempests (1646), she removed to Long Island and became one of the patentees of

Gravesend before 1654.

She died before 11 May, 1659, when

letters

of
i,

administration were granted to her son (G. E.

p.

C,

Complete Baronetage, vol,

History).

191; Notes and Queries, 7th

Ser., vol, v, p,

415; Winthrop's

94

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

as

obtained a patent for a tract of land at Middletown, N. J. He died in 1677, and letters of administration on his estate were

granted
late

of William

Bowne

" heretofore of Gravesend and

of Middletown."
his wife

By
II.

Ann

(whose maiden name has not been

i.

discovered) he had three sons:

John, of

whom

hereafter;

III.

James, of Portland Point, N.J. , a Deputy in 1677, and Andrew of Middletown, N. J., whose will, dated 6 May,
eldest son

1706, was proved 20 June, 1708.'

John Bowne,

of William and Ann, came to

a plantation

Gravesend, L. L, with his father, and was allotted

there 20 September,
1

647 f and he also purchased of Sir Henry Moody, son and heir of Lady Deborah, his plantation lot, number 24, in the same place. He was representative in the Hempstead Convention in 1665, but must have very shortly after removed to Middletown, N. J., of which he was one of
the patentees,^ and where he was resident so early
as

1667 and

took the oath of allegiance in 1668.

vincial

Member

of the Pro-

Assembly of

New

Jersey in 1680, and Speaker, 1682.

Justice for

Monmouth

County, 1683.

He married about 1663 Lydia Holmes, daughter of ObaDiAH and Catherine ( ) Holmes,'* by whom he had issue
five children,

of

whom

detailed account follows.

He

died

in 1684, letters of administration being issued to his

widow

May of that year, the bondsmen being his brother Andrew Bowneof New York, merchant, andjohn Bowne, the eldestson.
28

Children
I.

ofJOHNandLYDIA (HOLMES) BOWNE were:

,

John Bowne, born i April 1 664, of Matteawan, Middletown, N. J., merchant, also captain. Member of the Provin'

Recorded Monmouth County,

;

i,

209. See N. T. Gen. and Biog. Rec.^ vol.

T., p. 44.

iv, p.
* 3

24 Bergen's Settlers Kings County, N. Grant recorded 10 September, 1660.

Rann's

New

Jersey, vol.
p.

i,

p.

73.

See Holmes family,

97.

COGNATE FAMILIES
cial

95

Assembly, 1704, but expelled by the Cornbury camarilla for attempting to resist their tyrannical aggressions, as has been
related under

Salter

[q. v.).

He

married Frances

(who

died

1716 17'), but

left

no

issue.

His

will, dated 14 Sep-

tember, lyi^-j was proved 15 February, 1715-16. Left to

^400; to sister, Sarah Salter, all plate, etc.; to Gershom Mott, for his children, ^200; to Joseph Dennis, Jeremiah White,TH0MAS and John Salter, Hannah Linwife

coln and William Hartshorn's three children, each 2.^0. Brothers Obadiah Bowne and Richard Salter, Executors
and Residuary Legatees.^
II.

Obadiah Bowne, born

8 July,

666.

Member

of the

Provincial Assembly.

Had

grant of land at Chingueroras,

N.J., from

brotherjohn, 13 January, 171 516. His will, dated 19 February, 1725-26, with Codicil, 12 April, 1726,
his

proved 25 April, 1726, names sons John (Exor.), Cornelius, Obadiah, and Thomas, and daughters Anne, Lydia,and Mary.^

Deborah Bowne, born 25 January, 1668. IV. Sarah Bowne, born 27 November, 1669. Married Richard Salter, and was still living in 171 4. See Salter
III.

family, page 90.

V.

Catherine Bowne,

married, before 1697,

Gershom

gentleman.

Mott"* (born 1653), of Green Point and Hampstead, L. I., He removed to Monmouth County, New Jersey,

before 1685;
'

High

Sheriff there,

1697-98; member of Pro7, to

Administration of her estate granted 17 February, 171 6-1

her nephew,
p.

Burlington, N. J., Monmouth Wills, had contested the will of her husband, 1 1 April preceding.

Thomas Hunlock, of
^

Book A,

49. She

Book A, pp. 10-27. Book B, p. i. Sixth son of Adam Mott of county Essex, England, who came to America before 1 644, and was married 28 July, 1 647, as Adam Maet to Jenne Hulet (Jane Hewlett) from county Bucks, England, at New York Dutch Church.
Wills,
s

Monmouth Monmouth

Wills,

She died and he married, secondly, Elizabeth Richbell (Bunker's Long Island
Genealogies^ p.

252

A^. T.

Gen. and Biog. Rec.^ vol. xxv,

p.

49).

96
in

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

and 171
3.

vincial Assembly, 1707, 1710,

1

He

was expelled

710

for refusing support to the

Cornbury faction and

re-elected 171 3.

His
as

will, dated 15

February, 1730, proved

30 March, 1733,

of Middletown.

HOLMES
Obadiah Holmes was born
cashire,

about 1607

at Preston,

Lan-

England.

He came

to Salem, Mass., 1639,

had

a grant of land there as

one of the

when he " glassmen " who

In

were given

special privileges to encourage that industry.

to

1646 he removed
land assigned

Rehoboth, Mass., where he had had

years previously, and

him two

where he was

Freeman, 7 June, 1648. On the 2d October, 1650, he was presented by the Grand Jury, with others, for holding religious meetings and, the same year, he and eight more

made

separated themselves from the

he became pastor
port, R.
I.,

shortly

Church and were baptised; of the seceders and removed to Newafter. In July, 1651, he and two others

of his congregation visited Lynn, Mass., on religious business,

and were there arrested while he was preaching; they

to Boston, and there on the 3 ist of the same month were sentenced to be publicly whipped, which inhuman sentence was carried out in September following; after which he escaped and returned to Newport, becoming the next year

were sent

the pastor of the First Baptist Church, in which office he

continued until his death, which took place in 1682, and he

was buried

in his
I.

own

field in

what

is

now

the

town of

Middletown, R.
proved, owing to
nesses.

His will, dated 2 April, 1682, was not

not having the requisite

its

number of wit-

His wife Catherine, and

who
(

probably accompanied

him from England,

died shortly after him. Children of

)

OBADIAH
'

CATHERINE

HOLMES
1

were:'

Austin's Gen. Diet. Rhode

Island.,

pp.

03- 1 04.

COGNATE FAMILIES
I.

97

ried

Mary, probably born in England before 1639. MarJohn Brown, son of Chad and Elizabeth (born 1630,

died 1706). She died 1690.

May, 1640, died 1682. III. Salem, 20 March, 1642. Married Alice Stillwell, daughter of Nicholas and Ann (Van Dyke) Stillwell, removed to Gravesend, L. I., and died 1679. Left
II.

Martha,

baptised at Salem, 3
at

Samuel, baptised

issue.

Obadiah, baptised at Salem, 9 June, 1644. Married Hannah Cole and removed to Staten Island, and after to Cohansey, N, J. Justice, 1689; was one of the organisers
IV.

of the Baptist Church, and for twelve years

Judge of the

Salem County Court,

issue.

He

died before 10 June, 1723. Left

Lydia Holmes, probably born in Rehoboth. Married John Bowne. See Bowne family, page 94. VI. Jonathan, married Sarah, daughter of Richard and Of MidJoan ( ) Borden (born May, 1644, died 1705).
V.
dleton,
to

N. J. Deputy, 1668, and Justice, 1672. Returned Newport, R. I., 1684, and Freeman there that year;
;

Deputy, 1690-91, 1696,

698-1 702, 1706-07; Speaker, 1696-98, 1700-03. Died 171 3; will proved 2 November.
1

Had

issue.

VII. John, born 1649.

(born 1649, died 1679)

^^

married, first, i December,! 671,

Frances, daughter of Randall and Frances (Dungan)

;

Holden

married, second, 12 October, 1680,

Mary, widow of William Green and daughter of John and

Mary

(Williams) Sayles (born 1652, died 171 3).

I,;

Was

of

Newport, R.

Deputy, 1682, 1704-05; Treasurer, 16901703, 1708-09, and Lieutenant. Died 2 October, 171 2. Left issue by both wives.
VIII. HoPESTiLL.

Married

Taylor.

98

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

BOONE
classed

While the Boone family cannot be

several marriages

among

the di-

rect ancestors of the President, yet the close relationship

by

and the resultant deep influence

cast

upon
to

their destiny

by that most noted and picturesque figure of

our border history,

a place

Daniel Boone, seem

to entitle

them

among
is

his forebears.

The
family

earliest light

which we obtain upon the history of the contained in an account " wrote " by John Boone of

01ey,Penn. (son of George and

Mary (Maugridge)

Boone

and the uncle of Daniel), which was transcribed 21 March, 1788, by James Boone (grandson of George and Mary and
sonof James and Mary (Foulke) Boone, of Oley, born 1 743), and upon which the following pedigree is largely based,' George Boone, the earliest known member of the family,

lived

and died in England, leaving

married

a son

George Boone, born

was
a blacksmith,

in or near Exeter, Devonshire.

He

Sarah Uppey, and

died at the

age of sixty years and his wife at eighty, neither of them ever having had, it is related, " an aching bone or decayed
tooth "
!

All dates to this point are unfortunately omitted.

George Boone,
was born
1666.
at

son of George and Sarah (Uppey) Boone,

Stoak near Exeter, county Devon, in December,

a

He

was

weaver by

trade,

and married

Mary Mau-

gridge, daughter of John and Mary (Milton) Maugridge, of Bradninch, eight miles from Exeter, who was born in 1669. They came from Bradninch to Pennsylvania by way
of

Bradninch 17 August, and arriving at Philadelphia 29 September, 1 717, bringing with them Certificate from Collumpton Meeting,^ dated 31 of 10 month
Bristol, leaving
'

Penn. Hist. Mag..,

in

May, 1897,

vol. xxi, p. Ii2.

The

original

is

in

the

Draper MSS.
*

Wis.

Hist. Soc. at Madison,

Wis.

They having

affiliated

themselves with the Quakers.

COGNATE FAMILIES
(October), 171 7,
in Philadelphia
tified

99

which was presented

Three of
a short

to

Gwynedd Meeting

County, Pennsylvania, with which they identheir children

themselves.

and Squire

had

George,

Sarah,

preceded their parents to Pennsylvania.

They resided for moved to Oley in

;

time

at

Abington and

finally reas

Philadelphia County, but

now known

Exeter in county Berks, where they made their

final settle-

ment but George Boone had had

acres of land here so early as 171
ruary, 1740, aged seventy-eight.^

a warrant for four

hundred

8.'

He

died at Oley 2 Feb-

His wife had predeceased

him

GEORGE and MARY (MAUGRIDGE) BOONE were:

I.

at the

age of seventy-two, in 1735.

The

children of

George Boone, eldest son, born about 1 690

in

Devon-

shire.

He came

to Pennsylvania about 171 2, before his par-

ents

resided at Abington, Penn., the records of the

Monthly

Meeting of which he transcribed from the original records in 1 71 8, but removed to Oley in 1721. He was trustee under the willof Mordecai Lincoln (dated 22 February, 1735-36), being the first connection on record between the two families. He married, 20 August, 1 7 1 3, Deborah Howell, daughter of William and Mary Howell of Cheltenham, (now^)

Montgomery County, Penn. (born 28 October, 1691; 26 March, 1759). They had issue ten children

died

George, born
;

3 July,

714

died in Exeter, Penn., aged

twenty-four
2.

unmarried.
;

Mary, born 10 April, 1716 living 17533. Hannah, born 20 September, 171 8; married, 1742, John Hughes, and died before 1753, leaving two children,

George and Jane Hughes.

'

Rupp's Hist. Berks

Sic in record, but

County., p.

231.
in family

compare statement

paper that he was born

i666.
'

Since

745.

loo
4.

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Deborah, born 18 February, 1720-21
;

married,

May,

1739, Joseph Bennett of Chester County, 5. Dinah, born 18 December, 1722.

6.

1748,

William, born 1 8 November, 724 married, 26 May, Sarah Lincoln (daughter of Mordecai), and re1
;

moved
died in

in

1769 to Frederick County, Maryland,' where he 1771/ and his widow and children returned to Exeter

30 December, 1 776, where she died 2 1 June, i 8 i o, aged eightythree years and over. They had eight children i Abigail,
:

married, 1767, Adin Pancoast of Mansfield, N.J.;

decai;

2.

Mor-

3. William, probably joined Revolutionary army, 25 December, 1776; 4. Mary, married, 1777, Isaac Lee of

Berks County;
1

5.

George, living 1776;

6.

Thomas,
1

living

776

7.

Jeremiah, removed to Philadelphia,

78

8.

Heze-

kiah, married, before 1791,

Hannah Hughes, daughter of

George

[ut supra).

7. Josiah,

born 6 March, 1726-27; married out of MeetOley, 1787;

ing about 1750; living 1787.

8.

Jeremiah, born 6 September, 1729; died

at

unmarried.
9.

Abigail, born 9 October, 1732; probably died un-

married.
10.
II.

Hezekiah, born 22 May, 173-; living 1787. Sarah Boone, eldest daughter, born about 1692

in

Devonshire; came to Pennsylvania about 171 2 with her

brothers,

George and Squire. She married Jacob Stover of

Oley, Penn.

Squire Boone, born 25 November, 1696; came to Pennsylvania, 171 2. Was of Gwynedd, and married there, 25 September, 1720, Sarah Morgan, daughter of John MorIII.
'

But within the

limits

of Fairfax Monthly Meeting

in

Loudoun County,

Virginia.
'

His

will

proved 6 December, 1771.

COGNATE FAMILIES
gan.

loi

He

removed

to Oley,

the appraisers of the estate of

1730-31. In 1736 he was one of Mordecai Lincoln, and in

in

1750 removed
dren
1.

to Buffalo

Lick on the Yadkin River

North

CaroUna.' Squire and Sarah Boone had issue eleven chilSarah, born 1724.
Israel,

2.

born 1726; married out of Meeting and

dis-

owned, 1748.
3.

Samuel, born 1728

married Sarah Day, and had son

Samuel,
4.
5.

who was

taxed at Amity, 1759.

Jonathan, born 1730. Elizabeth, born 1732,

6.

Daniel Boone, born 22 October, 1734; of whom

Mary, born 1736.
George, born 1739.

hereafter.
7.
8.

9.

Edward, born 1714;

Squire, born
;

10.

by Indians, 1780. died aged seventy-six, having markilled

ried and
1

had

issue,
;

1.

IV.

married Hannah, born Pennington. Mary Boone, married, 13 September, 1720, John
at

Webb.
V. John Boone, died unmarried
VII.
at

Oley.

VI. Joseph Boone, taxed at Amity, 1734, for 240 acres. Benjamin Boone, born 16 July, 1706.^ He married

later,

Abington Meeting, 31 October, 1726,2 Ann Farmer and, Susanna who survived him. It is uncertain to
,

which of
'

his wives the children belonged, but, 6

Davie County.
Miss

August,

Now

in

We are indebted to

M.

J.

Roe of

Gilbert, Ohio, for details regarding

the family of Benjamin. See reference to this lady's valuable assistance in

preface.
^

Bringing a Certificate from

Gwynedd Monthly Meeting,

dated 7, 27,

1726.

I02

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

five

1753, the
probably

youngest were baptised

at

Morlotton Episcopal

Church, Douglasville, Berks County, Penn., and these were

all

the children of Susanna.

He

died at Exeter,

Berks County, 14 October, 1762, and his will was proved 27

of same month.
dren
1.

Susanna, his widow, died 5 November, 1784,

six chil-

aged seventy-six years. Benjamin Boone had issue

John, eldest son, legatee of

five shillings in will

of

father.
2. 3.

Mary, born

1 1

November, 1739, not named

in will.

4.
5. 6.

Benjamin, born 13 August, 1741. James, born 24 March, 1743. Samuel, born 11 August, 1745.

Dinah, born 10 May, 1749/ married, 9 November, Benjamin Tallman, son of William and Ann (Lincoln) 1764, Tallman^ (born 9 January, 1745, died 25 July, 1824, in
Ohio).

married

Vin. James Boone, born 7 July, 1709. Of Oley, Penn.; Mary Foulke, eldest daughter of Hugh and Anne

(Williams) Foulke,^ of Richland, Bucks County, Penn. (formerly of Gwynedd).

He

died at Oley,

September, 1785.

He

John were the only surviving members of the Boone family who did not remove to Virginia or North Carolina. James and Mary (Foulke) Boone had issue twelve
and
his brother

children
I.

Ann, born 3 April, 1737; married, 10 July, 1760, Abraham Lincoln (born 18 October, 1736), posthumous
son of MoRDECAi and
'

Mary Lincoln, "out of Meeting," for

years and six

records.
' *

This date of 1749 seems incredible, as she would have been only fifteen months old at her marriage in 1764; but both dates are as in
See Lincoln genealogy, See Fulke genealogy
in

p. 73.

Jenkins's Htst. Gwynedd^ pp. 33, 233.

COGNATE FAMILIES
' '

103

which " disorderly act she was disciplined by Exeter Monthly Meeting and made acknowledgment of her error 27 August,
1

76 1. She died 4 April, 1807, having had

2.

issue

twelve chil-

dren.'

(died 20 October, 1830), son of

Mary, born 17 January, 1738, married Thomas Lee Samuel and Margaret Lee

of Oley, 14 May, 1778. She died 19 August, 1823. 3. Martha, born 1742; married George Hughes (born
1742), son of John and Hannah (Boone) Hughes, 18 August, 1795. She died 28 May, 1798.
4.

who

died

James, born 1743. Mathematician and writer of the

in 1788.

Boone Genealogy
5.

John, born 1745. Judah, born 10 December, 1746; married, 15 November, 1 770, Hannah Lee, daughter of Samuel and Mary
6.

Lee of Oley.
7.
8. 9.

Joshua, born 1748

died an infant.

Dinah, born 1748. Rachel, born 1751.

Moses, born 23 May, 1751; married,
1779, Sarah

10.
Griffin.

11.

Hannah, born 1752; died an

infant.

12. Nathaniel,

born 1753; died an infant.

child; married, 1735, Eliz-

IX.
abeth

Samuel BooNE, youngest

.

He

died 6 August, 1745, and his

widow

Eliza-

beth married, 27 September, 1748, Joseph Yarnall, son of Francis and Hannah (Baker) Yarnall and uncle of Francis
Yarnall

who had

married

Mary,

daughter of

Mordecai

Lincoln.
Ill, 6.

Daniel Boone, fourth son and sixth child of Squire

at
75.

and Sarah (Morgan) Boone, was born

'

Oley 22 October,

See Lincoln genealogy,

p.

I04

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Any
biographical notice here of this

(8th month), 1734.'

intrepid pioneer and explorer

as his history is that

may

be omitted

as superfluous,

of the conquered wilderness he gave to

country.

civilisation

and

his

He

married Rebecca Bryan

(died

3).

Disappointed and embittered by being deprived,

technicalities, of the

through legal
hardly

lands

which he had

so

won from

the savages, he removed with his family in

1795
days.

to Charette in the then wilds of Missouri,*

11

where he
issue

died 26 September, 1820, aged 86 years,

months, and 4
nine

Daniel and Rebecca (Bryan)

Boone had
i

children
1

James, born 1757; killed by Indians,

Israel,

o October, 1 773,

at

Powell's Valley, Ky.

2. 3.

born 1759; killed by Indians.

Susanna, born 1760.

4.
5.

Jemima, born 1762; married Flanders Calloway.

Lavinia, born 1766.

6.
7.
8.

Rebecca, born 1768.

Daniel Morgan, born 1769; removed to Kansas, 1827.

John Bryan, born 1773.

Nathan, born 1780.
foregoing account shows no
less

9.

The

than six points of

intimate contact between the

of which four were intermarriages, and

MoRDECAi Lincoln
'

or his
in

Lincoln and Boone families, all of them with descendants. These were:

is

According to the record

Exeter Monthly Meeting, which

prob-

ably correct, but differs widely from

many authorities which

on

vary from 1731 to

1735.

From

this

it

would appear

that the age given

his

tombstone

is

one

year in excess of the truth, and

that he

was

really twenty-six days less than

eighty-six years of age instead of nearly eighty-seven as

represented.

(See

Miner's Boone Bibliography^ igoi.)

*

At

that time a Spanish

possession and, until the Jefferson purchase of

1803, without the territory of the United States.

COGNATE FAMILIES
1736. Squire Boone was appraiser of the estate of
decai.

105

17356. George Boone, named as trustee in will of Mordecai Lincoln, dated 22 February.

Mor-

1748. William Boone, son of George, married Sarah,

daughter of Mordecai, 26 May.

1

748. Elizabeth,

widow of Samuel Boone, married Joseph

Yarnall, 27 September,
cis

who was

uncle of Fran-

Yarnall,

who had

married Mary, daughter

of Mordecai.
1

760.

Anne Boone, daughter of James, married Abraham

Lincoln, posthumous son of Mordecai, 10 July.

1764. Dinah Boone, daughter

of Benjamin, married

Benjamin Tallman, grandson of Mordecai Lincoln, 9

November.

SHIPLEY
Robert Shipley, an Englishman,
is

said to

have come to

America about the middle of the eighteenth century and to

have settled in Lunenburg County, Virginia;' and

we

find

here a Robert Shipley, 16 September, 1765, purchasing 314 acres of land in that county. He was probably identical with
the Robert Shipley who, with wife Sarah, in 1771, being

then of Russel parish in the county of Bedford,^

acres there to Daniel Mitchel, Jr., of the same.

sells

164 Robert

Shipley, Jr.,

and Edward Shipley,

who purchases lands in Bedford County in 1769, who buys land of the same Thomas
the same date, were probably sons of the elder

Dougherty

at

Robert,^ and a later Robert with wife Rachel was probably

the same as Robert,

'

Jr.,

the father being then dead.

H. Hitchcock;
in

There
p.

On
See

authority of Mrs. C.

see

Nancy Hanks^

24.

^
3

Set off from

all

Lunenburg

1753.

of these Deeds

in

Appendix.

io6
were

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

also five daughters,

who
and
Jr.,

do not appear in the Virginia

records.'

Children of

ROBERT
Shipley,

SARAH

SHIPLEY.
Thomas

L Robert

occurs as grantee of 262 acres

of land on the Falling River, Bedford County, from

Dougherty, 10 May, 1769, and which land he sold, 14 August, 1772, to Samuel Walker of same and, subsequently, 22
August, 1777, with wife Rachel, he disposed of 250 acres of a tract which, comprising 900 acres on the Phelps Creek,

had been granted

to

n.

Edward
at

Shipley, probably his brother and

Sr.,

also son

of Robert Shipley,

likewise obtained of the said

as

Thomas

Dougherty
at-law.

the same date

issue, his

the grant to his brother and,

dying without

brother Robert had become his heir-

HI.

Mary
1

Shipley,

who

married Abraham Lincoln of

Rockingham County,
ginia before

Virginia, before 1763, and died in Vir:

779, having had issue four children decai, born 1764; 2. Josiah, born 10 July, 1766;

MorMary,

3.

married Ralph

Crume

or

Krume

of Elizabethtown, Ky,

and

4.

Nancy, married William Brumfield of Kentucky. See

Lincoln genealogy, pages 78, 79. IV, Lucy Shipley married Richard Berry of Rocking-

ham

County, Virginia,
at

who removed

to

Kentucky about 1789

and lived

Beechland, near Springfield, Washington County.

the foster parents of the orphaned

They were
whose

Nancy Hanks,

legal guardian

Richard Berry became, and from whose

home
not

she was married to

Thomas
It
is

Lincoln, he becoming the

this

surety on the marriage bond.

Hanks
Hon.
J.

who
came

Aunt Lucy
first

Berry,

has been mistaken by the

hasty his-

'

L. Nail, a descendant of
to

says the Shipleys

Kentucky

in

Abraham and Mary (Shipley) Lincoln, 1780 from the Boone region in North

Carolina, in letter, 29 September, 1895, to Mrs. C. H. Hitchcock.

COGNATE FAMILIES
torians' as the ?nother,

107

Lucy Hanks, and

so helped to give

credence to the foul fable of base birth so industriously fo-

mented by the enemies of the President, Richard and Lucy had issue: i, Frank; 2. Edward (Ned), and perhaps other
children.

V.

Sarah Shipley married Robert

to

Mitchell,^

who

re-

moved

Kentucky

in 1789.

On

the journey they were

attacked by Indians; Sarah, the wife, was fatally wounded,

and their only daughter, Sarah, then

a child

of eleven years,

was carried away into

captivity.

Robert, the father, in an

attempted pursuit for rescue, was drowned in the Ohio River.

son Daniel settled in Washington County, and after the

in

Wayne Treaty

1795 his sister was returned and him and her uncle, Richard Berry .^
VI. Elizabeth Shipley married
rest

lived

with

Thomas Sparrow."* They

set-

removed, with the

'

of the family, to Kentucky and

E. g. Nicolay and
errors have
all
1

Hay

in Cent. Mag..,

These
*

been clearly
30.

November, 1886, vol. xxxiii, p. 14. pointed out by H.M.Jenkins in Penn. Hist.

Mag.., vol. xxiv, p.

A Robert

Mitchell, born in Londonderry in Ireland in the late seventeenth

century, whose family had suffered greatly in the noted siege of that city in

1690, married Mary Tunis of Edinburgh, came to America and

Pequea, Lancaster County, Penn.
;

settled at

they had thirteen children

removed

to

Bedford County, Virginia, where they grew up and married. Robert, the hus-

band of Sarah Shipley, was probably a grandson of the emigrant.

The

youngest

of these children was Rev. James R. Mitchell (born 29 January, 1747), whose granddaughter, Mrs. Walthall, is authority for above in letter, 24 February,

1895, to Mrs. C. H. Hitchcock.

J

Her

sistence

son. Squire Mitchell Thompson of Louisville, Ky., it was whose inupon the search of the Washington County records brought to light

the proofs of the marriage of

Thomas and Nancy (Hanks)

S.

Lincoln, setting
birth.

at rest forever the slanders regarding the legitimacy

of the President's

These
apolis,

facts are stated

on the authority of Mrs. C.

letter,

H, Vawter of Indian-

granddaughter of the captive, in

8 October, 1895, to Mrs. C. H.

Hitchcock. See also Louisville, Ky., Courier

4

^Journal.,

20 February, 1874,

Perhaps from Bedford County, Virginia.

James Wright Sparrow was

living there in 1784.

io8
tied in

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Washington County. In 1817 they rejoined Thomas and Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln at Gentryville, Ind., where both parents succumbed to a fatal malarial epidemic in October, 1818, having had a daughter, Nancy Sparrow (confused with Nancy Hanks by some of the early biographers), who
married Charles Friend," brother of Jesse Friend,
ried Polly

who marfamily,

Hanks (daughter of Joseph).

See

Hanks

page 122.
VII. Nancy Shipley married Joseph Hanks of Greenbriar County,^ Virginia, and in 1789 they too joined the tide of adventurers to Kentucky and united their fortunes with their
relatives in

Washington County. They had

1

issue eight chil-

dren. See Hanks family, page

19.

HERRING
It
is

a matter of regret that the tardy realisation

this family, the

of the great

importance of
tion of
its

almost utter lack of co-opera-

living

members, and the deplorable condition of

the records of Augusta and

Rockingham

counties in Virginia,

have conspired to prevent any but the most brief and unsatisfactory sketch where it would have been the writers' desire
to

have compiled an exhaustive and accurate pedigree, strongly

buttressed with details and dates.

As

it is,

the history has to

be told almost entirely from the recollections of two members of the family of what they in turn had heard from their relatives

who had

been old people in their youth.3

Charles and Nancy (Sparrow) Friend were the parents of the irresponsible and unreliable Dennis Friend, one of the President's youthful associates, who,

assuming the name of Dennis Hanks, did much

ficult

to complicate the already difhis declining

problem of the Hanks genealogy, which the mendacity of

still

years
*

further confused.

Now in West Virginia.

also

Greenbriar County was

the

set off from

Augusta County,

as

was
J

Rockingham County,

home

of the Lincolns.

My

special thanks are

due to

my

valued and venerable friend, Major

for in-

George Chrisman of Chrisman Post Office, Rockingham County, Va.,

COGNATE FAMILIES
to

109

John Herring, the first of the family in Virginia, is said have run away to sea as a boy, in the earlier half of the

eighteenth century, and to have drifted to Virginia, where, by

the influence of relatives in England, he secured a grant from

King George
It

II

'

of a large tract of land in the beautiful but

then savage-infested region of the Shenandoah Valley.

has

become family
as

tradition that

he was a cadet of the

being

same stock
put forward

the well-known Archbishop of Canterbury of

this period,^ but this requires further confirmation before

as a fact.

With

his family

and retainers he took possession of

built a fort at Heronford,^

his

wild feudal domain and

defended himself in

where he many sanguinary encounters with the

Indians, cultivated his plantations, and reared a large family.

The names
them Harry
Lee,'^

of only four sons have

come down

to us. All of

served in the Revolutionary

War

under Light Horse

who,

after the close

of hostilities, was a frequent

in

visitor at the house,

and of whom many anecdotes are told

the family which would be out of place in these pages.

The
I.

sons of

JOHN HERRING
:

were

Bethuel Herring, who married

i
.

Irven (or Er-

win), and had seven children

valuable assistance in this quest.

Bethuel,

who was

still

living

He

is

third cousin of the President, being son

of George Harrison Chrisman by Martha Herring, daughter of Alexander Herring, only son of

William,

who was

brother of Leonard Herring, the father of

Bathsheba, wife of Abraham Lincoln, the grandfather of the President. (See

p. 79-)
'

J. H. L. King George's

reign extended from June, 1727, to October, 1760.

S.

'

Thomas

Herring,

T.

P.,

born about

1691.

He

had been Dean of

Rochester, 1732, Bishop of Bangor, 1737, Archbishop of York, 1743, and

was confirmed Archbishop of Canterbury, 24 November, 1747. Croydon in county Surrey, 13 March, 1757, aged sixty-six.
3

He

died at

Now

still

remaining

in the possession

of

Thomas

Herring, a descendant.

General Henry Lee of the Continental Army, father of the distinguished

Confederate commander, General Robert E. Lee.

no THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

in

1794 and then holding 273 acres of land in Rockingham County; 2. John; 3. William; 4. Philander; 5. Edith;
Betsey; 7. Jane.
II.

6.

John Herring,

killed in the Revolutionary

a

War.
the only

III.

Leonard Herring married

is

lady of

whom

recollection that remains

rian.

that she was a Scotch Presbyte-

By her he had

a family of thirteen children, of

whom

the

memory

said to

of only one has been preserved. He has been have " gone West " with his family in 1782.' The one

child remaining to our

knowledge was

Bathsheba Herring, born at Bridgewater at the old Herring plantation in Rockingham County and, at some time
previous to 1779, married

Abraham

Lincoln, the emigrant

to Kentucky and grandfather of the President. "

cratic father

Her

aristohis

looked with scorn on the alliance, and gave

high-spirited

daughter the choice of giving up her lover or being disinherited.

The

She married the

man

she loved and went with

.

young woman did not hesitate. him to the

.
.

savage wilds of Kentucky in 1782.

Bathsheba Herring

was a

woman of fine intelligence and strong character. She was She was greatly loved and respected by all who knew her."
*

still

living and an invalid in Virginia in September, 1781, and probably accompanied her husband over the Wilderness Road into Kentucky the following year, and not long after

succumbed
IV.

to the hardships of the rude life of the frontier .'

William Herring was

living

land in 1794.'^

He

married

County, and had an only son

'

and held 516 acres of Stephenson of Highland

5

The

date of this removal suggests a possible confusion with the migration

in that year.

of the Lincolns
^
2

Letter of Charles Griffin Herring of Harrisonburg, Va., 15 Sept., 1908.

See American Pedigree,

p.

79.

^
5

Rockingham County Land Book. A William Herring and Hannah Robertson were married by Benjamin

COGNATE FAMILIES
Alexander Herring, who married Margaret

III
Smith,' by
2.

whom
ander;
7.

he had
3. 8.

issue ten
4.

children:

viz., i.
5.

John;

AlexEliza;

William;

Stephenson;
;

Daniel;

6.

Rebecca;

tha,

Marwho married George Harrison Chrisman of Edom,^ by

9.

Margaret Davis

Ann Harrison;
viz.,
i
.

10.

whom

she had issue seven children

man, born 1823, now 2. Dr. Burke Chrisman;^ 3. William; 4. Joseph; 5. Margaret Ann 6. Martha Gratton 7. George Chrisman, born living, of Chrisman Post Office, Rockingham 1 83 1, now
; ;

Herring Chrisof Mapleton, Iowa, aged eighty-five;

:

County, Va., aged seventy-seven.''

Little remains to add.

Two fragmentary deeds, apparently

files

without date, exist in the ruined

of the Harrisonburg

County

Office,

of which one represents a conveyance by Eliza-

beth, the

widow, and her children, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Edith,

Margaret, and William, heirs-at-law of

William Herring,
land

of 225 acres of land to

Alexander Herring, This

in 1770.
a

had been conveyed

to
is

William

The
known

other deed
in

from

Leonard Herring and

wife

Abigail,

1800, to some parties omitted, for some un-

reason,

by our correspondent. This

recites that the

Erwin, 8 January, 1787, but probably another William. This was the only Herring marriage found in the Rockingham County records.
'

Sister of

Judge Daniel Smith, who held a record of

fifty

years on the

bench, with only one decision reversed by the Superior Court.

*

George H. Chrisman's brother, Joseph Chrisman, married Elizabeth Lin-

coln, and had one son,

John Chrisman

they removed to Lafayette County,

Missouri, about 1837. She was daughter of Jacob Lincoln of Lacey's Spring,

Va.,
5

who was
led

brother of

Abraham Lincoln,

the emigrant to Kentucky.

in

Dr. Burke Chrisman, about 1883, made some investigations

London
Arch-

which
*

him
no

to believe in the tradition of the connection with the steps ever

bishop, but

seem

to

have been taken to verify

this.

Our

principal informant

and authority on the Herring pedigree.

The

exact connection with the President's family

alogy.

may

be traced in the above gene-

112
said

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Leonard was son of Alexander Herring, who had died intestate, leaving said Leonard his heir-at-law. The 88-acre tract conveyed by this was conveyed to him [qucere

Leonard or
son,
is

his father

Alexander?] in 1780; Leonard, the

recorded on the

Rockingham County Land Book

as

holding this 88 acres and another tract of 230 acres in 1794. The above seem to show no affiliation with the members

of the family in the pedigree given, and no doubt represent

a

younger generation of one of the two elder

lines.

HANKS
While the Hanks family
slanders

indefatigable researches of a
'

member of

the

have forever silenced by overwhelming and

cumulative proof the vicious and unclean fabrications and

which

cast
it is

doubt on the parentage of the mother of

greatly to be deplored that the ascending

the President,

line of her ancestry,

beyond her
as

parents,

still

remains without

positive proof.

Two theories have been propounded, of which

worthy of respectful
attention, but
as

both will be given here

of which neither can be accepted by the writers

strated

demonbeyond the reasonable doubt caused by lack of com-

plete proof. In other words,

we

still

lack legal demonstration

of the paternity of Joseph Hanks, husband of Nancy Shipley

and father of
It
all,

Nancy Hanks,

the mother of the President.

part,

seems very probable that the greater

although not

of the family of the name in America were derived from

one

John Hanks, who was of Plymouth,

Mass., in 1632 and in

the following year, with Manassah Kempton, took the invenMrs. Caroline Hanks Hitchcock, author of Nancy Hanks^ the Story of Ahraham Lincoln's A/o/^^r, New York, 1900, also preparing a MS. Genealogy of the Hanks family, to which and to Mrs. Hitchcock we beg again to tender our most cordial thanks for kindly and generous aid rendered in our work in
'

both the Lincoln and Hanks names.

COGNATE FAMILIES
tory of the estate of William Wright,' deed.

113
His name
dis-

appears from the Plymouth records, and he

to Hadley, Mass., and, as

may have removed

been

John Hav^kes

in the records,

father of Eliezer and Sarah, the latter of whom married Philip

Mattoone; other children may have been

Carsewell Creek, and
in running the line

of Marshfield, servant to Governor Winslow,

Edward Hanks who lived near

is

Samuel Hanks, whose house

named

between Marshfield and Duxbury. Benjamin Hanks, born about 1665, appears with wife Abigail in Pembroke, Plymouth County, Mass., in 1699 is
;

said to have

come from England

in

that year, but

it

seems

much more plausible that he was a descendant of John Hanks of 1633 through Eliezer, Edward, or Samuel.
His wife Abigail having died, he married
a

second time,

22 March, 1727, Mary, widow of William Ripley of Bridgewater, then aged forty-nine. He removed about 1727 to Easton, Mass., and in 1736 back to Plymouth, where he purchased the Island of Saguish in Plymouth harbour, where he died 9 January, 1755, in his ninetieth year, and his widow, Mary, 21 October, 1760, in her eighty-third.
Children

were

of

BENJAMIN

and

ABIGAIL HANKS

I.

Abigail, born 8 June, 1701.

;

III.

Benjamin, born 16 July, 1702 of whom hereafter. William, born 11 February, 1704; of whom hereafter. IV. Nathaniel, born 15 April, 1705 married Ann ,
II.
;

and had one son, Abiah,

who

probably died young.

V. Anna, born 14 November, 1706; married, 7 January, 1732, John Norris of Kingston, Mass., and had one daughter.
'

William Wright had come to Plymouth

dated

in the

"Fortune,"

621.

In his

will,

16 September, 1633, ^^ refers to Governor William Bradford

as "brother," and

Samuel Fuller,

in

his will

proved 30 July, 1638, names

perhaps both intended as

" brother

Wm.

Wright " and

his wife

Priscilla,

brothers in the Lord, so frequent in Puritan writings.

114

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Mary, born 14 February, 1708; married John Sim-

VL
mons,

VII. John, born 22 October, 1709; married, 16 January,

1734,

resided at

Mary Delano, by whom he had John and Nathaniel Duxbury died 1742 and administration granted to
;
;

widow, Mary, 6 September of that year. VIII. Elizabeth, born 5 March, 171 1 married, 27 October,
1

73 I, Nehemiah Pearce. IX. Rachel, born 2 May, 171 2; probably died young. X. Joanna, born 9 October, 171 3 probably died young. XI. James, born 24 February, 171 5, at Bridgewater; had
;

by wife Abigail:
1745;
3.

i.

Joseph, born 1743;

Sarah, born 1748; 4.

Hannah, born Huldah, killed in French and

2.

Indian wars, 1756.'

Child of

BENJAMIN
at

and

MARY

HANKS.

Easton about 171 7; married, 25 July, and had nine children. Bruce, 1753, Sarah

XII. Jacob, born

Benjamin Hanks, son of Benjamin and Abigail Hanks, born 16 July, 1702; married Mary White, daughter
II.

field;

of Richard and Catherine White, 23 April, 1724, at Marshremoved to Mansfield 1746, but died at North Easton
9 January, 1755, and his widow at North Easton 25 OctoChildren of Benjamin and Catherine (White)

ber, 1760.

born 1725; 2. Abigail, born 1726; 3. William, born 1728; 4. John, born 1730; 5. Richard White, born 1734; 6. Uriah, born 1736;'' 7. Benjamin, born 1738; 8. Mary, born 1741 9. Silas, born 1744; 10. Rachel,
were:
i.

Hanks

Isaac,

died at
III.
'

North Easton, 18 April, 1756. William Hanks, son of Benjamin and Abigail
Birmingham, England,
i

Mitchell's Hist. Bridgewater., Mass.

A Uriah Hanks with wife Lurancy came from

700,
very

to

Plymouth with two infant children, Benjamin and John. Compare

this

unusual Christian name.

COGNATE FAMILIES
the family,"

115

Hanks, born at Pembroke, Mass., 11 February, 1704, and, " according to statements and traditions of various members of
'

removed
James;

to Virginia

and

settled near the

i.

mouth
born.

of the Rappahannock River, where his sons

2.

Richard;

3.

4.

John; and

5.

Abraham; Joseph were

All of these sons, except John, were said to have removed to

Amelia County about 1740, when the

an infant
in arms.

eldest of

them could

not have been above sixteen years of age and the youngest

This has been pointed out by a recently

deceased genealogist,^ and in face of these facts

luctantly compelled to relinquish the line of
cestry, as

we

feel re-

Plymouth anuntenable.

deduced through William,

as utterly

Moreover, Joseph Hanks, who, in January, 1747, was selling lands on the Cellar Creek in Amelia County, Virginia,

would have been too old

for

identification

with

Joseph, the son of William,

who

could not possibly have

also

been of age

at that date,

while he would

have been too

old for identification

with the Joseph Hanks, father of

Nancy Hanks,
to have been

the mother of the President, as

we know

her

born in February, 1784, when this Joseph must have been upwards of sixty years old. So that, in either case,
this pedigree fails us in its

present form, although further

evidence
at

may

supply the missing link between William, born

in
1

Pembroke

704, and Joseph, the father of Nancy,

who

died in 1793.

On

the whole, a

much more

probable derivation of

Nancy

Hanks's father would seem to have been from a family of

Hanke,3 who
and many of
^

resided in the immediate

neighbourhood of

the LiNCOLNs and Boones in Berks County, Pennsylvania,

whom we know
pp. 20-21.
in Penn. Hist.

to

have gone also to Virginia

}^^y->

Nancy Hanks^

Howard M. Jenkins

Mag.^

1900,

vol. xxiv, p. 130.

The

spelling of the

name

is

a negligible quantity before the

nineteenth

century.

ii6

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

this

in the great southward migration of the eighteenth century.

An

account of

family will then be in order, that

may

complete our survey of the possible ancestry of

so far as the evidences have

we Nancy
light.

Hanks

been brought to

The
was

earliest

of these people

whom we

find in Pennsylvania

Luke Hank from

patented five
part

Sawley, county Derby, England,

in Chester

who
(the

hundred acres of land

County

now Delaware

County), 21 August, 1684,' three hun-

dred acres of this being in Darby and two hundred in

New
to

Town. He

died before 1737, and

it

seems uncertain whether

he ever resided upon

America, but
his

son

his

lands

or, indeed, ever

came

John Hank was of Darby, Penn., and was taxed there 1732; named as "cousin" in will of John Hanke of Whitemarsh (of whom
later),

dated 12 December, 1730

and was
in

witness of the marriage of the same John's

widow

March,

1733. He was a Quaker and received certificate of removal from Philadelphia to Burlington, N. J., 5 February, 1738. He had already married there, 22 September, 1737, Rebecca Brian, daughter of Thomas Brian, late of Northampton township, Burlington

County, N.

J.,

deceased.

He

had

certificate

from Burlington

to Leicester, England, 1 744, which was returned in 1753 to Burlington, having never been presented, which was the " cause of considerable discussion in the meet-

ing," but he brought a certificate

from that place; from Bur-

lington he removed to Haddonfield 16 October, 1757, and in 1767 from Evesham to Burlington again, where he died

and administration was granted, 21 July, 1772,^ to his son John Hank. John and Rebecca (Brian) Hanke had issue

two children
'

i.
at

Hannah, named
records.

in the certificate of
p.

1757;

Recorded

Medea, Chester County, Book D,

J.,

440.

Trenton, N.

Book 37,

p.

282.

COGNATE FAMILIES

117

2. John, who married Rachel Ewing. The family disappears from the Burlington records after 1 770,' John Hanke of Whitemarsh, Philadelphia County,^ yeo-

man, was most probably the brother of Luke Hank before named.3 He married at Gwynedd, i i December, 1 7 1 1 Sarah Evans, daughter of Cadwallader and Ellen (Morris) Evans,'* by whom he had eight children, and who, surviving him, remarried at Gwynedd, 6 March, 1732-33, Thomas Williams
,

of

Montgomery township
five

(her marriage being witnessed by

her

eldest children).

John Hanke's

will, dated 12

De-

cember, 1730, proved 31 May, 173 1, mentions a "cousin John Hank," who was certainly the son of the Luke Hank
already mentioned, and presumably
rather than his cousin as stated,
5

nephew of

the testator

thus identifying

him with

the Derbyshire family.

Children of
I.

JOHN and SARAH (EVANS) HANKE. born 20 November, 171 2, at Gwynedd. Hanke, John
,

Had
'

wife Margaret

by

whom

he had

issue: i.

Joshua,^

For most of the

particulars relating to this family

we

are indebted to the

MS.
^

notes of Mrs. Caroline

Hanks Hitchcock.

Now

Montgomery County.

See notes on will of this John, infra.

Cadwallader Evans, son of Evan ap Evan, the youngest of four emigrating

brothers in 1698,

was born
in

in

Wales, 1664, died

at

Gwynedd, Penn., 20 May,

is

1745. See pedigree

5

Jenkins's Hist. Gwynedd., pp. 145-154.

all

The

loose use of this term for

degrees of relationship

most confus-

ing.

In this case there can be

little

doubt that the relations were those of

all

uncle and nephew, the ages of the parties and other circumstances
to that connection.

pointing

In

this case

John Hanke, the

testator,

would have been

brother of
^

Luke of Derbyshire.
this

Comparison of the name of Joshua among the sons of

John Hanke
suggests the

with Joshua, the son of Joseph and brother of

Nancy Hanks,

strong probability of Joseph having been a younger son of John and brother

of

this

Joshua, for
to

whom

his

own

son
in

may

well have been named.

The

family

removed

Rockingham County,

the immediate vicinity of the Lincolns,

adding greatly to the probabilities.

ii8

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

died at

who

Hannah, who married Asa Lupton (born 1757), son of William and Grace (Pickering) Lupton of Frederick County, Maryland, re-

Gwynedd,

31 July, 1758;

2.

sided in
others.

Rockingham County,

Virginia

and very probably

He

lived six miles east of Reading, within a half-mile

Mordecai Lincoln. Removed to Virginia.' n. Jane Hanke, born 12 October, 171 4. Married, at Gwynedd, 13 May, 1736, John Roberts (born 1714) of Whitpain, son of John and Elizabeth (Edwards) Roberts,^
of the house of

and died 9 August, 1745. in. Elizabeth Hanke, born 28 January, 1716; living
1733IV.

V.
1733VI.
ton,

William Hanke, William Hanke,

born 171 9; died an infant. born 12 November, 1720; living

Samuel Hanke, born

J.
;

N.

15 March, 1723. Of Burlingby licence, to married there, 26 October, 17

Sarah Going.
VII. Joseph
ness to will of

Hanke, born 1725. He was living and witJohn Edward of Montgomery County, Penn-

sylvania, dated 9 April, 1749.

He

probably went to Virginia

it

with the other members of the family, but

sible that
as

seems impos-

he could have been the father of

at

Nancy Hanks,
the time of her

he would have been fifty-nine years old

birth in 1784.^

VIII.

Sarah Hanke, born

N.
p.

8 October,

to Burlington,

J., in August, 1752,

1728 she removed and was afterwards dis;

owned by the Quakers and probably married

'

out of meeting.

Hist.

Gwynedd^

373.

John Roberts, the father, was fourth son of Robert Cadwallader, who came to Pennsylvania at an advanced age with his family from North Wales in
* I

700 and
'

settled at

Gwynedd, being preceded by

his three elder sons.

Op.

cii.,

pp. 197-203-

See

p.

122.

COGNATE FAMILIES
Joseph Hanks, the father of
certainly descended

119

Nancy Hanks, was almost from John Hanke of Gwynedd and

Whitemarsh, but we can say with equal certainty that he was not the son of that John who was born at Gwynedd in 1725, but he may have been the son of either John, William,
Samuel, or Joseph, the four surviving sons of John.

Of these
as

the probabilities seem to point most strongly to John,

is

he

known

to have been in

Rockingham County,

Virginia, in

the immediate neighbourhood of the Lincolns (with

whom

he doubtless went to Virginia in 1768), and also from the coincidence of the name of Joshua among both their children.

All authorities agree that his wife was

the daughter of
settled in

Nancy

Shipley,

Robert Shipley,' an Englishman who had Lunenburg County, Virginia,* in 1765. He is said to have been also of Amelia County,^ and the deeds found there show a flourishing colony of Hankses in that region,"* Joseph, Abraham, Richard, and James, all brothers; but,
although

we
in

here find a Joseph

who

could have just been

identified in point of age

with the son of John of Whiteat

marsh born

725,

as

he would have been twenty-two

i

the

signing of his earliest deed,

2 January,

no brothers Abraham, Richard, or James, and

writers

747, yet the latter had it seems to the

that

more probable

that

it is

to

Rockingham County

we must

look for our Joseph's birth and parentage.

Future

and more thorough investigation will no doubt make all clear. Whether from Amelia, Bedford, or Rockingham county,
it is
'

at least certain that

p.

Joseph Hanks, with his kinsfolk by

See Shipley family,

io8.

'

Shackford says North Carolina, but the patent of land seems to prove
it

conclusively that
3

vi^as

Virginia. (See A^. E. Hist. Gen. Reg., April, 1887.)

in the records of

There were

also

Hankses

Bedford County, which had been

set off
*'

from Amelia.

Hitchcock's Natic\ Hanks, pp. 21-24.

I20

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

marriage,

Sparrows,

the Lincolns, the the had come over the mountains

Berrys,
all

Mitchells, and the

into

Kentucky

during the 1780's, and that the

present

last

three had settled near the

town of Springfield in Washington County, where the family of the murdered Abraham Lincoln had afterward taken
refuge

among them.
a

Joseph Hanks lived but

few years
settled in

after his

emigration to

Kentucky

in 1789.

He

had

Nelson County, where

he died in 1793. His will, dated 9 January, was proved 14 May of that year. His wife, Nancy Shipley, or Nannie as he
affectionately calls her, survived

him

and, with his son Wil-

liam, executed the will.

Children

of

JOSEPH

and

NANCY

(SHIPLEY)

HANKS.
I.

William Hanks,
his
i

probably the eldest son, was living

his father's estate in 1793.

and executor with

mother of
1

He married, 2 September, 793, at Bardstown, Ky., Elizabeth Hall,' by whom he had eleven children, all born in Elizabethtown, Ky.
2.

James, born 1794, married and had issue; Elizabeth; 3. Nancy; 4. Charles, married and had issue;
:

I.

John, born 1802, married Susan Wilson Nie, removed to Spencer County, Indiana,
5.

William;

6. Celia; 7.

Joseph;

8.

thence in 1828 to

Macon County,

Illinois,

where
i

in

1830 he
married

was followed by the Lincoln family; he died

left

July, 1889,
3,

issue;

9.

Lucinda, born 27 February, 181

Thomas
'

Douglas, died 1890 in California;

10. Sarah,

mar-

Elizabeth and her brothers, Levi Hall (who married Elizabeth Hanks) and
settled at

David and Henry Hall, were of a Virginia family who

Greens-

burg, a few miles southwest of Washington County, Kentucky.

was

killed

by Indians, and

his

had four children,

Richard,

widow married Caleb Hazel, by

The father whom she

Caleb

Peter, Caleb, and Lydia.

The

third son,

Hazel, was Abraham Lincoln's early teacher.

*

The well-known John Hanks, the

in the

cousin and boyhood friend of

rail-splitting.

Abraham

Lincoln and his companion

famous

COGNATE FAMILIES
ried

121

Brown of

Illinois;

1.

Andrew Jackson, of Mount

his brother

Pleasant, Iowa.

William Hanks removed with

Joseph and

Thomas Lincoln and

in 1826.

their families in

18 16 to
fol-

Spencer County, Indiana, where other of their relatives

lowed them
Illinois,
11.

He

afterward went to

Macon County,

near Decatur, where he died in 1851 or 1852.

Thomas Hanks

married and remained in Virginia

his family to
i.

until

80 1, when he removed with

Ross County,
2.

Ohio.

He
4.

had seven

children:
5.

Peter;

Absalom;
lived
2.

3. Isaac;

William;

Nancy;

6.

son

7.

A daughter.

III.

in

Joshua Hanks, born in Virginia. Married and Kentucky. He had two children: i. Absalom, and
IV.

daughter.

Charles Hanks
:

lived in
2.

Kentucky. Married and had

;

four children
this

i.Jane;

family nothing more V. Joseph

is

John 3. Conrad; known.

4.

Nancy.

Of
10

Hanks, born January, 1781.

Married,

November, 18 10, at Elizabethtown, Ky., Mary (Polly) Young, daughter of John and Susanna Young of Hardin County, Kentucky (born 1793). He was a carpenter and cabinet-maker, and of him Thomas Lincoln learned his trade. In 1816 he removed, with his brother William and

Thomas Lincoln and

diana, and in

their families, to Spencer County, In-

1826

to

Sangamon County,

Illinois,

later to

Adams County, near Quincy, where he died 4 April, 1856, and his widow 24 January, 1872. He had twelve children:
I.

Jacob Vertrees, born

2,

had

issue

2.

Elizabeth, mar-

James Kirkpatrick; 3, Susanna, born 18 16; 4. Nancy, 8, married William Hoosier 5. An infant, died young; 6. Ditto; 7. John Henry, born 1822, had issue;
ried

born 181

8.

Joseph, born 1825, had issue; 9.

'

Mary Ann, born

p.

1827,

married William Hall;

'

10.

Amaltha Jane, born 1830, mar120.

See note under William Hanks,

122
ried
12.

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Henry Loper;
ii. Isabelle,

born 1833, married

Caroline, born 1836, married

James

Hall.'

VL Elizabeth Hanks

(Betsey) married Levi Hall, bro-

ther of Elizabeth Hall, wife of

William Hanks,' removed

after

to

Spencer County, Indiana, soon

her brothers and

sister,

Nancy Lincoln, and died shortly her. They had three children
:

after
i
.

and buried beside

Hall,

Squire

married

Matilda Johnston, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Bush)^

Johnston, and had nine children;
2.

William Hall, married

Mary Ann
Hanks;
last
3.

Hanks, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Young) James Hall, married Caroline Hanks, sister of the
(Polly) married,

named.
i

Vn. Mary Hanks

o December,

795, at

Elizabethtown, Jesse Friend.^

VHL Nancy Hanks,

orphan
aunt,
at

born 5 February, 1784, and left an her parents' death in 1 793. She was adopted by her
(Shipley"*)

Berry, whose husband, Richard Berry, became her legal guardian, and at whose house in Beechland, Washington County, Ky., she married, 1 2 June, 1806, Thomas Lincoln, her uncle, Richard Berry, becoming surety on the marriage bond. The mother of Abraham Lin-

Lucy

coln. Died

5
I

October, 18 18.

"All that
Blessings

am

or hope to be
'

owe

to

my

angel mother.

on her memory."
Thomas

See note under William Hanks,

^ J

p.

120.

The

second wife of

Lincoln.

His brother, Charles Friend, married Nancy Sparrow, daughter of Thomas

a son,

and Elizabeth (Shipley) Sparrow, and had

sequent assumption of the

Dennis Friend, whose sub-

name of Hanks
106.

has greatly increased the popular

confusion
<
s

in the

Hanks

pedigree.
p.

See Shipley family,

Abraham

Lincoln's tribute to his mother's

memory.

CHAPTER X

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

THE
writers,

earlier biographers either neglected the Presi-

dent's father altogether

and passed him over in

si-

lence or painted

him

as a

good-natured but rather

incapable man, unfortunate in most of his undertakings, but

brave, honest, moral, and religious.'

With

later

sensational

however, posing for

effect to the galleries, the

temp-

tation to exaggerate if not to invent, to deepen the

shadows

and

slur over the better parts, to

magnify, in short, the greatfather, has

carifinal

ness of the son

by besmirching the character of the

resist,

proved too strong to

cature, with little or

and

a gross

and grotesque
been the

no foundation

in fact, has

and shameful
coln,

result.^
life

Let us take a brief conspectus of the

of

Thomas Linhis grave,

from

his desolate
far this

and orphaned childhood to

is

and see
is

how

harsh criticism

just or

how much

of it

due to foolish fable or vindictive

political malice.

Born

in Virginia,

he must have accompanied

later,

his father as

an infant of about two years on his emigration to Kentucky

and witnessed

his

murder three years

only escaping caphis brother

ture by the savages through the accurate

aim of

Mordecai. Whether or not his mother, Bathsheba, took re

"A

good-natured

man

of undoubted integrity, but inefficient

/.//>, p.

in

making

his

way
man, Hay,
also
*

in the

world and improvident" (Holland's

23). "

An

easy-going

entirely without ambition but not without self-respect "

Life^ vol.
i,

(Nicolay and
See

p.

12

Cent. Mag..,

November, 1886,
pp.

vol. xxxiii,p. 14.

Arnold and Raymond). Herndon's

i,

Life.,

vol.

i,

p.

8; Lamon's

Life.,

8-19; Morse's

Life.,

vol.

pp. 9-15, and others.

124

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

him
in

fuge with

Washington County

after the tragedy

may

never be known, but our next glimpse of him is obtained there where, abandoned by his half-brothers, he found a re-

fuge and friends

the Shipleys.

among

the relatives of his father's

first

wife,

Deserted by those whose natural ward he was, a helpless

child in perhaps the rudest of
riod,
all

of our frontiers

at

any pe-

Thomas Lincoln was

elect,

left to

beg, starve, or steal, as he

might

by

his unnatural

brethren.

That the
first

first

two

fates did not overtake

him was due

last

to the kindly hospitality

of his step-aunts, the

sisters

of his father's

wife

while he

was guarded from the

dread alternative by the stern and

inflexible Puritan honesty in his blood, the only heritage left

him of his Lincoln ancestry. Thrown thus upon his own

ing with savage beasts and
lutely took

resources in a wild land

still

swarmmore savage men, he resoas a

up

a life of

hard manual labour

farm boy,

in

the early course of which

or help

we

find the only record of

any aid

from

his paternal relatives, as

w^as passed at

we

learn that a year

of his youth

Tennessee, with

his uncle, Isaac Lincoln; but

Watauga on the Holston River in we may gather

that the bread of dependence eaten at the board of his relative

was

stale

and

profitless, as

we

so soon find

Washington County among those already than kin, and from whom he never separated
again.

him again in proved more kind

far or for

long

a courage and energy that have been so little apprehe not only supported himself by his rude and illrequited tasks, but learned, and apparently learned well,' the

With

ciated,

" Had the best set of tools in Washington County was a good carpenter for those days " (Letter of Dr. C. C. Graham, see Tarbell, vol. i, p. 6).
. . .

"Was

a good carpenter" (Letter of Rev.

T. N. Robertson, Pastor of
vol.
i,

Little

Pigeon Church, Cent. Mag.., November, 1886, Nicolay and Hay,

p. 18).

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

of his future wife, whose
this trade

125
us that

trade of a carpenter, at the shop of Joseph Hanks, the brother

name may

serve to
all

remind

was the one dignified beyond

in

others throughout

Christendom.

He

had

some way managed, during

as

this period, to

pick

up the rudiments of an education,

signing his

we

learn by finding

him

own name

to his

marriage bond in a firm, bold

hand, not altogether unlike that so characteristic of his eminent son.'

He

had

also

shown himself

so thrifty

with his

small savings that, at the age of tv^^enty-five, he had purchased

a farm' destined to be the future birthplace of his illustrious

son and to be conserved

Near

Springfield in

as such for a national domain forever. Washington County, pretty Nancy

Hanks had grown

Berry, had

up, since the death of her parents in 1793,

with her aunt, Lucy Shipley, whose worthy husband, Richard

become her guardian,^ and probably Thomas Linvisitor, if

coln had been a frequent

his house,

not often a resident, in

as cousins

and the young people matured together

while

de facto if not actually de jure,

Thomas

Lincoln's ap-

prenticeship with
still

Nancy Hanks's

elder brother

must have

further cemented their friendship. Their long intimacy

'*

ripened into love, and they were married

'

at

the

home
p.

of
6i,

See facsimile of marriage bond in Mrs. Hitchcock's Nancy Hanks^

vol.
i,

and Tarbell's Life,

*

p. ii.

See also

p.

85.
its

"A

fair

representative section of the land in

immediate region ...

(in

1890) was then under cultivation and yielding an average crop" (Coffin). Now known as Lincoln Park. " Above grade of ordinary country boy to
have had energy and ambition to learn a trade and secure a farm through his

own
3

efforts
It

by the time he was twenty-five" (Tarbell,

vol.

i,

p.

14).

has been asserted that one Parrott was her guardian, but he was in fact
in that capacity.

only witness to the marriage bond signed by Richard Berry

^

By Rev.

Jesse Head, deacon of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a noted

man of the

period,

preacher, carpenter, editor, and country judge,

ideas, both

and

said

to have been

imbued with

on religion and slavery,

p. 59).

far in

advance

of his times (Hitchcock's Nancy Hanks,

rodsburg, Ky., and died there {Ibid.,
p.

He

afterward went to Har-

67).

126

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Richard Berry in Beechland, he also becoming the surety on the marriage bond. Their wedding was celebrated with all
the rude and boisterous hilarity and hospitality of the times,
a detailed

account of which has

come down

to us

from an eyehis bride

witness and participant.'

After the marriage

Thomas Lincoln took

at his trade

to

Elizabethtown, where he worked

of carpenter,

probably finding ample occupation in the recently founded

and rapidly growing town.^ At

child, the daughter

this place

was born their

early

first

Nancy
i

or Sarah,

whose

and pathetic

death

is

elsewhere recorded.
808, they removed to the farm which

The

following year,

five years previous, at had been secured Buffalo on the Big South Fork of Nolin's Creek, three miles

by Thomas Lincoln

from Hodgensville and fourteen from Elizabethtown, and here, on the 12th of February, 1809, a day that will be forever henceforward celebrated as a national holiday in America, was born Abraham Lincoln, the greatest figure of his
century and one of the grandest of
all

history.

In
a fine

3 the family, apparently prospering,

moved

again to

farm of 238 acres

at

Muldraugh's Hill on Knob Creek,

near Rolling Fork,^ and only a short distance from their

first

more humble residence, and here a third child was born, Thomas, who died an infant and was there buried. At this period the children, Nancy and Abraham, obtained most of
their scanty schooling of Zachariah Riney, a Catholic,

and
as

Caleb Hazel.'^
In the spring of
'

Thomas Lincoln was

i,

appointed
p.

Dr. C. C.
p. 65).

Graham

of Louisville, Ky. (Tarbell, vol.

10, and

Nancy

Hanks ^
*
^

It

laid out in 1793. His selections of land cannot with justice be cited as evidence of

had been

ineffi-

ciency or want of judgment (Coffin).

*

See his parentage under

Hanks

family in Cognate Families, p. 120.

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

place of George

127

the road surveyor on the road from Nolin to Bardstown' in

Redman,

a position that reflects the confirecalls the fact that his distin-

dence of his neighbours, and

guished son eighteen years later occupied a similar charge in

Sangamon County,

Illinois,

Why Thomas
thorities agree

Lincoln abandoned
all his

this

farm, which

all

au-

was the best of

holdings, will never be

known human
Ohio

but

it

seems not improbable that his antipathy to

slavery

may have prompted

titles

into a free state,^ to

the defective land

his removal beyond the which motive cause we may add in Kentucky which had already

operated so

much

to the prejudice of the great discoverer,

Boone himself. Be this as it may,

flatboat

in 18 16

he had determined
his outfit

to try his

fortunes in Indiana and set out on a prospecting trip upon a

on the Ohio River, with

of carpenter's

tools

and four hundred gallons of whiskey, smoked bear

meat, hams, venison, and peltry, in which he had shrewdly

invested, in accordance with the
profitable

custom of the period,

capital.^

as a

and portable form

of

The

boat was

wrecked on the journey, but Thomas Lincoln rescued the

greater part of his worldly wealth
'

from the waters and, de13).

He was appointed i8 May, 1816 (Tarbell, vol. i, p. " Thomas and Nancy Lincoln and Sally Bush were
wrong of
"

just steeped full of

Jesse Head's notions about the

plained by

slavery and the rights of

Thomas

Jefferson and
i,

Thomas

man as exPaine " (Letter of Dr. C. C. Grahis children

ham,
up

see Tarbell, vol.

p. 35).

He

shrank from seeing

.

grow

in a

community cursed with

slavery.

He

could see nothing in the

in

future but labour by the side of the negro, and degradation and companionship " (Holland, vol. i, pp. 23-25).
^

his

presence

According
its

to

Dr. Graham,

this trip

down

the

Ohio had

trade at
loss
is,

New
of
his

Orleans as
vessel

objective,

from which he was only deterred by the

this

and much of her cargo. If

be correct, as

it

probably

we have

here another example of

Thomas

Lincoln's uncredited enterprise (Letter of

Dr. C. C. Graham, see Hitchcock's Nancy Hanks^ pp. 94-96).

128

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

named
Posey, he

positing his effects with a worthy settler

located his claim, journeyed to Vincennes (seventy miles) to

enter
it,

and returned on

to bring his family to the

home

of his

selection
tryville,

free soil in Spencer

his children

County, Indiana, near Genas

where

completed such schooling

they

could obtain under three instructors,

named Hazel Dorsey,

the latter in the year

Andrew Crawford, and "Mr." Swaney,

1826, when,
at

the age of seventeen, the future President's

scholastic career abruptly ended.

Great suffering and

into their

many

misfortunes marked their advent

has been

new home, and much

first

made of
as a

the fact

that for the

ter

year of their

life in

Indiana their only shelresidence

for

was

"half-faced camp," which did duty

clear his land,'

until

Thomas Lincoln could

and
fell

sow the seed

his first harvest,

and shape the timber for

his house.

This camp, however, was neither better nor worse than the
average cabin of the then pioneer^ or, indeed, of the fron-

tiersman of our

own

day in the yet unsubdued portions of the

life

West.

The

climate was not a harsh one,^ and w^hile the

it

was certainly one of great hardship,

impossible in
its

was neither unique nor

Elizabeth Hanks,
.

conditions.'*
sister,

Here they were joined by Nancy's

'

"

It is all stuff

about

Tom Lincoln

Tom
*

Lincoln was a
i,

man and

keeping his wife in an open shed. took care of his wife " (Dr. C. C. Graham,
. .

Tarbell, vol.

p. 14). in
A'^.

See Hon. Joseph H. Barrett of Ohio,

E. Hist. Gen. Reg., vol.

xlviii,

PP3

327-328.
Gentryville
lies

little

further south than Louisville, Ky., a fact often

xlviii, p.

lost sight of.

*

See A^. E. Hist. Gen. Reg., vol.

328.
life.

" There was nothing ignoble or mean

in this

Indiana pioneer

It

was

rude, but only with the rudeness

which the ambitious

. . .

are willing to endure in

order to push on to a better condition

their life
;

there

was nothing

belittling in

there

was no pauperism, no
in

shirking.

If their lives lacked culture

and refinement they were rich

Life, vol.
i,

independence and self-reliance " (Tarbell's

p.

47).

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

and her husband, Thomas Sparrow,

129

who

occupied the camp

when

the Lincolns
tried

But sorely

moved into their nearly completed house. Thomas Lincoln had yet worse to contend

with than had gone before.

A malignant

malarial fever' was

now epidemic
wife,

in the region,
to
it,

and the Sparrows, husband and

succumbed

leaving their

young

grandson'' to the

care of the Lincolns; but, a few days later,

Nancy Lincoln
husband
sadly in need

also fell a victim to the deadly disorder, leaving her

in his desolate

home with

three

young children

of

mother's care.
Lincoln, however, showed himself equal to this

Thomas
a

trying situation.

At Elizabethtown
ability

in

Kentucky there

lived

worthy woman of unusual whom he had known in his

and force of character,^

earlier life,

She had subsequently married a Johnston,'^ who had been the jail-keeper of Hardin County
but he was

named Sarah Bush. man of the name of Daniel

young
children,

now

dead, leaving her with three

two

girls and a boy.

winter of

Her Thomas Lincoln wooed and won, and in the early 9 brought home his new wife, with an ample i 8
1

marriage portion of household gear.^ Neither he nor his

'

Locally

known

as the

" milk sick," believed to have been caused by poicattle.

sonous herbs eaten by the milch

*

The

son of their daughter,

Nancy Sparrow, who had married Charles

p.

Friend (the brother of Jesse Friend, see

called
p.

io8), and died leaving an only child

(see

Dennis Friend, who afterward assumed the name of Dennis Hanks

122), causing deplorable confusion in the true understanding regarding the

family.

Hanks
J

" His choice of two noble

women

as his successive partners in life indi-

cates
4

some corresponding

quality of character" (Binns's Lincoln^ p. 7).

Married 13 March, 1806, and

who

died in April, 18 14 (Barrett's Lincoln^

p.

17)5

John David, Sarah, and Matilda Johnston.

He

had paid off her debts

in full
7

before their marriage (Letter Samuel

Hay26).

croft, clerk of

Washington County,

December, 1866: Herndon,

vol.

i,

p.

I30

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

illus-

children had ever reason to regret his choice, and her

trious stepson,

whose wonderful
less

career she survived, always

spoke of her with only

his

reverence and affection than of

own

sainted mother.'
a

Always
at

man of religious mind and

as

a consistent attendant

such churches

were

available,

he now, influenced no
at

doubt by the recent establishment of a Baptist Church

Little

Pigeon Creek, became

later

member

of

it

in 1823, folis

lowed three years

tilla

by

his daughter.

There

not a scin-

of evidence that he had ever been connected with any

other sect than the one with which he

now

united himself.

If this form of worship was "unintellectual and unenlight-

ened,"^

it

was

at least

the best that the culture of the time

a

and place afforded, and he remained

devout

member

of

it

throughout
it

his

long

life.^

The

fact that, five years previous,

a

had been
to

twelvemonth before

clergyman could be
grave of his former
life

found

preach the funeral sermon

at the

wife * speaks volumes for the poverty of the religious

'

in

"As

to his acuteness

and

his perception

of character, certainly the selec-

tions he

made when seeking both his first and second wives stand to his credit. Both Nancy Hanks and Sally Bush are described by all as women of exceptional qualities " (H. M. Jenkins, "The Mother of Lincoln," in Penn. Mag.^ vol.
xxiv, p. 130).
*
3

Morse,vol.i,

p. 14.

President Garfield and Jeremiah S. Black were Baptists.

as active

"They were known

and consistent members of the communion.

walnut table made by him is still preserved as part of the furniture of the church " (Letter of Rev. T. V. Robertson, Pastor of Little Pigeon Church,
see Cent.

Mag.^ November, 1886,

p.

20).

"A

church-goer and,

if

tradition

may be

believed, a stout defender of his peculiar religious

p. 56).

views" (Hitchcock's
life
;

Nancy Hanks.,
church of
as far as
I

"He
.

was

consistent

member through

of the

my

choice, the Christian

. .

Church or Church of Christ

1887.
A^.

and was

know always Thos. Goodwin of Charleston,

p.

truthful, conscientious,
111,, in

and religious " (Rev.

xlviii,

E. Hist. Gen. Rtg., vol.

238).

Rev. David Elkins, who,

at

the boy Abraham's entreaty, rode one hunrite.

dred miles to officiate in the sad

//..//..//...,//..,

\,,,>ry .'//nA'.>..y/>r^>rr/^.','.

.'/</'-.

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

the region. His daughter,
fession of faith,

131
and

who had
at

followed

him

in his pro'

had been married

less

about the same time

after,""

died in childbed

than two years

adding another

weight

to the load

of affliction of

this already heavily

burdened

man.

John Hanks, the son of Joseph Hanks, of whom Thomas

Lincoln had learned his trade, had

now

also joined the little

Pigeon Creek; but in 1829 he pushed on to the westward with the pioneer instinct that seemed inherent
household
at

in the race,

and

settled in

Macon County,

Illinois,

whither
the fol-

his letters, filled

fertility

with glowing descriptions of the incredible

land,

of the

new

drew

his kinsfolk after

him

lowing year.

The

reasons of this last migration are not far to seek; a

barren and infertile land, poisoned by miasma, tormented by

insect pests,

like a

and where sickness and death had followed him Nemesis during most of the fourteen years of his resithis

dence in Indiana, made

ever taken by

removal probably the wisest step

his

Thomas Lincoln during

chequered career,

and the increased prosperity that thenceforth attended the

family fully justified his course.

Much

has been said of

Thomas

Lincoln's frequent mihis

grations, but these,

with the exception of

unexplained
for the pesti-

relinquishment of his fine farm on

lent

Knob Creek
if actuated

woods of Indiana,
and even

rather redound to his credit than to

this last,

his prejudice;

by

his revolt

against the incubus of

human

slavery,

should not be laid

against him. Fourteen years' residence in Indiana and twenty-

one in
'

Illinois,

the latter punctuated by one minor change,^

in

' 3

To On

Aaron Grigsby,
20 May, 1828.
a year or
life in

August, 1826.

" After

two

in

Macon County,
(J.

he passed the remaining twenty

years of his

Coles County"

H.

Barrett, A^. E. Hist. Gen. Reg.^

vol. xlviii, p. 328).

132

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

'

hardly demonstrate a "restless squatter."

If he had, like most

of his neighbours, somewhat of the rover in his composition,

he came rightly by
Lincoln family,
strenuous energy
tions in

it,

for a notable point of character in the

after

they broke away from the locality in

for centuries, has
six out

England where they had lived

been the

which made
(to

of the seven genera-

America

and including the President), pioneers

in

new and

wilder lands. ^
as a

Thomas

Lincoln, so often pointed

out scornfully

"rolling stone," was but following the in-

stinct in his veins,

and

if less fortunate,

was not more

itin-

erant than his great-grandfather,

Mordecai Lincoln, whose

"great trek" that was

prosperous career belied the ancient proverb. In March, 1830, began the
destined to
last

mark the dawn of returning prosperity for the family and to make Abraham Lincoln a citizen of the Prairie State. Thomas Lincoln and his wife, Abraham, then just arrived at his majority, John D. Johnston, the wife's son, and her two daughters, Sarah and Matilda, and their husbands, Dennis Hanks and Squire Hall, formed the party who toiled for two weeks through forest and prairie to Macon County, where they were welcomed at the Hanks farm near Decatur, and at once set to work, with John Hanks's assistance, to erect their new house for which the timber had already been
'

Morse,
I.

vol.

i,

p.

g; Herndon, vol.

i,

p. 8.

Samuel Lincoln came from England

his son, lived

to
in

Massachusetts Bay, 1637.

Massachusetts, being the
his son,
only

2.

Mordecai Lincoln,

and died
3.

exception to the rule in the direct line.

Mordecai Lincoln,

went

to
his

New Jersey about 17 10 and to

son,

Pennsylvania about 1721. 4. John Lincoln,

went
6.
7.

to Virginia,

768.

5.

Abraham Lincoln,
went

his son,

went

to

Kentucky,

1782.
1830.

Thomas

Lincoln, his son, went to Indiana, 1816, and to Illinois,

his son,

Abraham Lincoln,
also been

to Illinois with his father,

1830,

being then aged above twenty-one years.

This has
p.

remarked by Shackford

(A^. E. Hist.

Gen.

Reg.., vol. xli,

in

156), but he lost sight of the fact that

Abraham Lincoln, being of age

1830, was also entitled to be enrolled as one of the pioneers.

THOMAS LINCOLN THE MAN

cut,

133

and Abraham, together with John

field
it

Hanks, cleared,
first

ploughed, and planted a

crop, fencing

of fifteen acres for the

rails

with the black walnut

figure so prominently in the election

which were to campaign thirty-one

his last
filial

years later, and ended his

vice.

home

life

with

ser-

His

after fortunes

have become

a part of his country's

history.

The winter which

terrible

followed was that of "the deep snow," a

still

landmark in the memories of the old people which

years since.'

lingered but a few

The sufferings of our pioneers

must have been intense, but the tide of fortune had turned; henceforward they were never to know again the grinding poverty and misfortune endured in Indiana, and Thomas Lincoln's declining years

were passed quietly and peacefully

to

their ending at a little

beyond the limitation of the Psalmist,

in the

proud in the already great achievements and content

affection

and esteem of

his only son.^

With characteristic modesty Abraham Lincoln

has

summed
that,

up the family history as poor"; as a matter of fact, they were much more than
and
a survey

" the short and simple annals of the

of

this sturdy struggle against every disadvantage

can leave no unfavourable impression on the broad and unbiassed mind. It

is

an object-lesson of only

less

import than
Lincoln
profligate,

the

life

of his more favoured son.

Had Thomas

faltered

by the wayside, had he been a drunkard, a

a sluggard, or a rogue,^ the brilliant life of

'

Abraham Linwarm
affection of

Powers's Early

Settlers

of Sangamon County.
loved and held the
his life " (Holland, p. 24).

'

"

He was

man whom everybody

his

eminent son throughout

3

" All

stories to the

disparagement of

Thomas Lincoln

are exaggerated.

He

was no

financier, but he

was a brave,

sensible,

high-minded

man

" (Letter

of Major H. C. Whitney to Mrs. C. H. Hitchcock, 17 January, 1895).

spite

"In

of his wandering

life,

contracted no bad habits.

He was

temperate and

honest" (^Nancy Hanks^

p. 56).

134

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

coin would never have been lived

fact entitled to the

grateful consideration of his countrymen.

Thomas Lincoln was

vvrord,

not a great

man
of, if

in

any sense of the

it

is

given to but few

is

of us to be,

but he was
nature

good ma?i, which

within the reach

not attained by

all.

The
were

inflexible honesty, truth,

his son's direct heritage

humour and good

from him,
as

which

well as the intel-

lectual force, latent but not extinguished, transmitted

his early

New

England

ancestors, constituted a

from foundation on
all

which was

to be builded the best, wisest,

and greatest of

Americans, past, present, and perhaps to come.

CHAPTER

XI

INHERITED TRAITS

FEW
No
in
all,

names have been more prominent than that of Lincoln in the history of the Colony and the early days of the Republic, and it is a significant fact that

the greater part of those so distinguished are found

among
settled

the descendants of Samuel.

less

than eight persons of the

Mass., prior to 1650,
all,

Hingham,
or nearly

from whom probably

;

name of Lincoln

of the family in America derive their debesides

scent.'

There were,

President, a Stephen,
latter segregated as

Samuel, the ancestor of the two Daniels, and four Thomases the

weaver, cooper, miller, and husbandman.

Thomas
brothers,

the weaver, one of the Daniels, and Samuel were

as

were Stephen and Thomas the husbandman

the relative connection of these with one another and the

three others
is

unknown, but they were presumably not

dis-

With the exception of the two brothers of Samuel, all of them left numerous descendants. From Thomas the cooper was derived Hon. Benjamin Lincoln (i 699-1 771), member of the Executive Council, and his more widely known son, Major-General Benjamin
tantly related.

of the Revolution.
Stephen's descendants appear to have

won

their laurels in

more
at
'

peaceful paths: Isaac (Harvard, 1722), long a teacher

Hingham; Abner

(Harvard, 1788), professor at Derby

Robert of Boston,
154), and William

1646,

The only other early Lincolns in New England were who died in 1663 (A'". E. Hist. Gen. Reg., vol. xii, p.
fight,

of Roxbury, fatally wounded in the Narragansett

children.

1675, who had no

136

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

minister at Gloucesi

Academy; Rev. Perez (Harvard, 1798),

ter,

Mass., and Rev. Calvin (Harvard,

First

820), long the revered

pastor of the

Church of Hingham being numbered

reach the issue of Samuel that

among them. But it is when we

impressed with the extraordinary number of prominent

that adorn the roll of his posterity
life
;

we are men
battle-

not only in the cloistered

issue, or

of the student,
as

as

with Stephen's

on the

field,

with those of Thomas, but

as authors,

historians,

lawyers, physicians, judges, fiduciary heads of great business

organisations, and high in the councils of state,
find evidence of the

we everywhere
lines

commanding

ability

and intellectual force

that

seem

to

have been slowly developing along varied

to finally culminate, stimulated perhaps

by the rugged

life

of

the Western pioneer, in the mental and physical development

of

Abraham

Lincoln.

The names
illustrate the

of a few of these

may be

recalled to

mind

to

cogency of the argument: Hon. Solomon Lin-

coln, the historian of

Hingham, who had

also

been twice

Representative and United States Marshal; William (1801

43), the historian of Worcester, Mass.; Rev. Henry (Harvard, 1786), pastor of First Parish of Falmouth, Mass.; Dr.
Isaac (Harvard, 1800), of Brunswick,

Maine,

for sixty years

Bowdoin College; Dr. David Francis of Boston, a Amos, of the "Boston Tea Party" and Captain of Artillery in the Revolutionary War himself the son of Enoch of Hingham, Representative to the General Court (1776), and who was also father of Hon. Levi
overseer of

distinguished physician;

Lincoln of Worcester

(i

749-1 820),

Member

of Congress,

Senator, Attorney-General of the United States, Secretary of

State under Jefferson, Lieutenant-Governor and

Governor of

Massachusetts (1807-09), appointed to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of United States, but declined the

INHERITED TRAITS
honour;
his son, also

137
State Senator

Hon. Levi

(i

782-1 868),

and Representative (1812-22), Speaker (182022), Lieutenant-Governor and Governor of Massachusetts (1825-34),

Supreme Court and Member of ConEnoch (1788-1829), the brother of the last named, of Fryeburg, Maine, Governor of Maine ( 1 826-29) AbraAssociate Justice of
gress
; y

ham
cil

(1762-1824), delegate to State Constitutional Convention and member of Executive Coun(a

of Worcester, Mass.

younger brother of the

first

Governor Levi); Daniel

Waldo (1813-80),
President from

son of the second Governor Levi, Vice-

President of the Boston and Albany Railroad (1867-76) and

1876

until his death;

George,
at

his brother.

Captain United States Army, and killed

Buena

Vista,

Mexico, in 1847, while gallantly leading his men to the charge; another brother. General William Sever, Colonel
Thirty-fourth Massachusetts and Brigadier-General in Civil

War, and many

others

but these

may
line

suffice to

demonstrate

the remarkable and

versatile talents

of the family. of the President,

Taking up the more immediate

find his uncle

we

Mordecai, the elder brother of Thomas, Sheriff

of his county and

member

of the Legislature of Kentucky.'

Jacob Lincoln, of the next earlier generation, the brother of

Abraham, the Kentucky pioneer, was a lieutenant in the Continental Army, while Abraham himself, at the breaking out of the war in 1776, had been a captain of the Virginia
Militia.''

Ascending yet another degree

to

"Virginia John,"
his three

the emigrant from Pennsylvania,

brothers
all
:

we

find

half-

occupying leading places

in their respective

com-

munities

Mordecai, next eldest to John, served

as quarter-

master in the Revolutionary

'

War

the next,

Thomas, was

Letter of

W.

F. Booker, clerk of

Washington County, 26 March, 1895.

Barrett's Lincoln^ p. 6.
*

See Husting Court Records at Staunton, Va., where his

name

appears on

a court-martial in that year as

Abraham Linkhorn.

138

THE ANCESTRY OF LINCOLN

Representative for Berks County in the Pennsylvania General

Assembly, 1758; and the youngest, Abraham, was Representative (1782-85), delegate to State Convention (1787), and
State Constitutional

Convention (1790).

Through all the names that have been mentioned, as well as the many that have not, has run the warp of inflexible honesty characteristic of the race, which reached its apotheosis in the
affectionate

and well-merited

title

of " Honest Abe."

Turning now to the distaff lines of ascent, we find ourselves much hampered by our still scanty knowledge of the pedi-

more recent intermarriages but the patient researches of Mrs. Hitchcock have shown us that the Hanks family, from whom Abraham Lincoln derived his stature and
grees of the
;
'

personal appearance,^ was one of unusual ability.

In the next generation

we

find the father

and three uncles

of Bathsheba Herring serving in

the

Continental

Army

throughout the Revolution, and in the suspected connection with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Herring ( 1 69 11757), we realise what important results probably await an exhaustive examination of the English pedigree of this family.

The

poverty of the Pennsylvania and,

still

more, of the Vir-

ginia records has deprived us of

knowledge of even the name

of the ancestress in the next generation, but

the Salters

when we

reach

we find

ourselves again

upon

sure ground.

Richard

Salter, the grandfather

of "Virginia John" Lincoln, was a

in

man who would have been notable member of the House of Deputies

any community,

Jersey (1695), while Captain, of the Assembly (1704), Justice, Judge, and Richard, his son, was a member of the Council and Chief

of

New

Justice of the

Supreme Court of
the Story

New

Jersey.

Nancy Hanks^
York, 1900.
is

of Abraham

Lincoln's

Mother ^ by C. H. Hitchcock,

New
hand,
'

Complete Genealogy of the Hanks Family, by the same

also in preparation.

Ibid., p.

86.

INHERITED TRAITS

139

Through Richard Salter's wife, Sarah Bowne, we draw upon her father, John Bowne, having another distinguished Hne, been Representative in Hampstead (New York) Convention (1665), member of the Provincial Assembly of New Jersey

(1680), Speaker of the same (1682), and Justice of

Monalso

mouth County (1683). His

a

son,

John Bowne,

Jr.,

was

member of the Provincial Assembly and was, with Richard Salter, Jr., among the most strenuous opponents of the Cornbury faction. Obadiah Bowne, another son, was likewise of the Provincial Assembly and his son-in-law, Gershom Mott,

was Sheriff (1697-98), member Provincial Assembly (170713), and expelled, as well as his brother-in-law, for opposition
to the corrupt

Cornbury,
wife, Lydia

Through John Bowne's

Obadiah Holmes,

Holmes, we tap an-

other strong stream of sturdy ancestry.

Her

father,

Rev.

had led one of the revolts against the

little

bigotry of his surroundings and had conducted a

band

of advanced thinkers from Massachusetts to Rhode Island.

Later, falling into the hands of his enemies in Boston in 1651,

he suffered shameful punishment

endured with the fortitude of the

at their

hands,

which he
martyrs.
Jr.,

earlier Christian

Three of

his

sons were distinguished

men

Obadiah,

Judge of Salem County, New Jersey (1677-89); Jonathan, Deputy in New Jersey (1668), Justice there (1672), Deputy at Newport ( 1 690-1 707), and Speaker (1696 and 1703);
while John, a third son, was Deputy in Rhode Island (1682
1705), and Treasurer (1690, 1703, and 1708-09).

Many more
for the

instances

might be

cited, but already sufficient

file a

evidence has been adduced to enable us to

strong brief

now
is

generally admitted theory of hereditary genius.

trait in

There

not a

the broad and lovable character of

find

Abraham Lincoln that we may not or many of his ancestors.

foreshadowed in one

/
^

Samuel Lincoln, from

deed,

December, 1649.

Samuel Lincoln, from deed, 19

July, 1680.

<nt.<f

r^^.%9^ Mf*ni

from

MoRDECAi Lincoln, Sr., will dated 3 May,

1727.

MoRDECAi Lincoln, Jr.,

^o^^^a'i

A^^^
Vv

from

will

dated 22 Feb-

ruary, 1735-6.

John Lincoln,
from deed dated
7

August, 1773.

Abraham Lincoln, from

.^r?^
18 February, 1780.

deed dated

^"^^

-XotvCO /?mrk

Thomas Lincoln, from

dated 10 June, 1806.

marriage bond

/7 /^^ yf/^ ^^/y^tn-t^^Ksb^n^ ^^^y^^O<ru^

President.

From

a letter

dated De-

cember, 1863.

APPENDIX
ORIGINAL AND INEDITED DOCUMENTS,
WILLS, DEEDS, ETC., ETC., IN ENGLAND AND

AMERICA

Arms of Bird
Argent, a
Crest
cross patonci bet-ween
:

of

Witchingham

four martlets gules, a canton azure.

salient

Out of a coronet a demi-grey hound

proper.

FEET OF FINES
[Rutland, Essex, i8 Edw.
I,

No. 202.]

Final Agreement made

in the

King's Court at Westminster on the

morrow of

the Purification of the Blessed

Mary,

Edward

I.

[3d February, 1289-90], Between Adam son of WilHam de Lincoln of Great Jernemuthe [Great Yarmouth] and Johan his
wife,

demandants, and Walter de Wyndesore, deforciant, of

of Codesmor with appurtenances
in co.

the

Manor

Rutland and

of 1 messuages 27 acres of land and the half of 18 acres meadow and the half of 19 acres pasture and 30s. rent with appurtenances
in Westham and Estham in co. Essex. The said Adam and Johan acknowledge the said Manor, etc. to be the right of said Walter, and for this acknowledgment fine and agreement said Walter grants to said Adam and Johan the said Manor, etc. to have and to hold to said Adam and Johan and to the heirs of the said Adam begotten of the body of said Johan, the rent thereof per annum to the said Walter for all services 40 li. And after the decease of said Walter the said Adam and Johan and their heirs shall be quit of the said rent and there shall be paid each year to the heirs of said Walter one rose for all services. And if it happen that said Adam and Johan die without heirs of the body of said Johan begotten then after the decease of the longer liver of them the said Adam and Johan the said Manor, etc. shall revert to the said Walter and his heirs.
[Norfolk,

H. 12 James

/.]

Final Agreement made

in the

King's Court at Westminster in the

I,

octaves of Hilary, 12 James

between Richard Lincoln, dehis wife, deforciants,

mandant, and Thomas Lincoln and Alice

Morley.
Said

touching one messuage and 12 acres of pasture in Swanton

Thomas and

Alice acknowledge said tenements

to be the right of said Richard,

who

gives therefor

X4^-

144

APPENDIX
{Norfolk,

M.

8 Charles /.]

Final Agreement made in the King's Court at Westminster on the morrow of All Souls, 8 Charles I, between Francis Neave, Esq., demandant, and Henry Lincolne, gent., and Ann Lincoln,
widow, deforciants, touching one messuage, i garden, i orchard, 20 acres of land, 30 acres of meadow, and 10 acres of pasture in] Witchingham Magna. Said Henry and Ann acknowledge
said tenements to be the right of said Francis,
for

who

gives there-

/41.
\_Norfolk,

M. 35-36

Elizabeth.']

Final Agreement made

in the

Queen's Court

at St.

Albans on the
his

morrow of All
wife, deforciants,

Souls, 35

Elizabeth, between
gent.,

Thomas May,

demandant, and Edward Rymshinge,

and Elizabeth

touching the moiety of one messuage, 200 acres

of land, 20 acres of meadow, 24 acres of pasture, 100 acres of

gorse and heath, 20s rent and liberty of faldage for 600 sheep
in

Gyrston, Watton, Marten Carbrooke and Thomson. Said

to be the

Edward and Elizabeth acknowledge said tenements right of said Thomas, who gives therefor ^iio.

II

CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS
LINCOLN
\_Series II,

V.

LINCOLN
1.]

317: 45. 162

Bill of Complaint of

Anne Lincoln and

late deceased,

Elizabeth Lincoln,

daughters of Richard Lincoln,

being infants within the age of one and twenty years, by John Bird, gent., their " gardian,"

sworn II May, 1621 Richard Lincoln was

:

in his life time seised in his

demesne

as

of

fee of

and

in divers

messuages, lands, and tenements in Hingham,

of the yerely value of ^30, and having issue Edward Lyncolne, his eldest son, did about twenty yeres now last past for the preferment

and advancement of the sayd Edward,

decease to the use of the said
ever.

settle
life

the use of himselfe duringe his naturall

and convey his lands to and from and after his

his heirs for

Edward Lyncolne and

Further he did prefer and heipe the sayde Edward with

many

other guifts and benefitts of very great value and worthe, and since
that

tyme did

also

convey divers other lands, of the yerely value of

his life

fower pounds, to the use of the said Edward for

decease to the use of
their heirs.

and

after his

some of the children of the Having thus preferred Edward and his

sayd Edward and

children with
all

or the greater part of his estate, and being then seised in fee of fower

Swanton Morley, holden of the Manor of Swanton Morley cum Worthey, which he lately purchased of Robert Skarffe, and of twoe acres of land in Great Witchingham, holden of the Manor of Witchingham Magna and Longvyles, which he had lately purchased of Margery Dunham, the same being all or the cheifest part of his (remaining) estate, about twoe yeres nowe last past he did
acres of land in

make

his last will in wrightinge

and did devise the sayd fower acres and

two acres unto the sayd Anne and Elizabeth and their heirs. About the same time he, the sayd Richard Lyncolne, did surrender all his copyhold premisses to the use of his sd
last will.

Shortly after which, about

146
the

APPENDIX
last past,

month of January now

he suddenly

fell

sick nigh his then

dwellinge howse, and before he could return home suddenly dyed. Your Orators having some notice of the sayd last will," presently
after his

death entered into the sayd fower acres and two acres and

became thereof

cellent Majestie, that

and great and detayned the sayd

But soe it is, maye it please your most exEdward Lyncolne, not satisfyed with soe liberall preferment made unto him as aforesayd, hath suppressed
seised.
will

and refuseth to prove the same, and hath

likewise concealed denyed ymbeasilled or otherwise suppressed the

aforesayd surrender and divarse copyes and other wrightinges concerneing the sayd fower acres and two acres, and doth

nowe give out

that

ther was noe surrender made by the sayd Richard to the use of his last will, for that he was surprised by sudden death before that he

make the same. Your Orators further believe that there exists some combinacon betwixt the sayd Edward and the Steward of the Manor, whereby Edward Lyncolne hath unconscionably procured himselfe to be adcould
mitted to the sayd six acres as heir by descent, since he doth threatten

ymediately to enter into the premisses and cleerely to ouste and

dispossesse your subjects thereof.

Your Orators

therefore pray that

your Majesties gratious

Subpoena be yssued against the sayd Edward Lyncolne, commanding him att a certeyne day and under a certeyne payne personally to appeare before your Majesties Cort of
writt of

Chancery, then and there to answer the premises.

LINCOLN
^Series II,

V.

LINCOLN
:

317

45. 162 1.]

Writ addressed to

Robert Peck,'

clerk,

Robert Constable, Richard

Humfrey and Richard Oakes,

gents., for the appearance of

Lincoln, the defendant, in the Octaves of Trinity

Edward Term. Dated

Consistory of Nor-

Westminster, 14 May, 19 James

I.
father,

Note
(i

that the will of

fo.

Richard Lincoln, the

was proved

in the

wich

6ao,

36) on the 24 February next before the date of complaint, by the mother of
or their guardian and attorney. Bird, their uncle on the mother's side,
fact.

complainants.

They

could hardly have been ignorant of this

*

The
writ

appearance of Robert Peck's

in

name on

this

writ

is

very interesting.

He

is

the

famous parson of Hingham who,

1638, settled with his congregation at Hingham, Mass.

capacity as magistrate.

The

was addressed to him

in his

APPENDIX
LINCOLN
[Series II,

147

V.

LINCOLN
:

^ij

^^.

1621.]

plaint of

Answer of Edward Lyncolne, defendant, to the Bill Anne Lyncolne and Elizabeth Lyncolne, sworn 2
I.
:

of

Com-

James

June, 19
insuffi-

Defendant,

after taking exception to the incertainty

and

ciency of the complaint, says his late father, Richard Lincolne, was
in truth in his
life

tyme

seised of

&

in

one messuage and 35 acres

of arrable meadowe

&

pasture grounde, being freeholde, situate in

Hingham, and worth not more than ^20 per annum, to be letten. This messuage and land were the inheritance of Robert Lyncolne,
father of said Richard,

and by the death of the

said

Robert the same

did descend and

come unto

the sayd Richard Lyncolne as sonne and

heyre of the sayd Robert. Richard Lyncolne, having thus come into
his

own, about the i6th year of Elizabeth's reign, on the occasion of

daughter of Edward' Rymchinge, did

his marriage with Elizabeth,

convey and assure the sayd premises unto the sayd Edward

Rym-

chinge and one Robert Cooper and their heyres, to the use of the

sayd Richard Lyncolne and Elizabeth for the term of their lives

and the

life

of the longer liver of them, and

after their decease to the

heyres of the sayd Richard

lawfully begotten.
his wife

uppon

the bodie of the sayd Elizabeth

By

force

whereof the sayd Richard and Elizabeth

speciall

were seised of the premises, Richard in tayle

life,

and

Elizabeth for terme of her

and being so seized they had issue be-

tween them the defendant Edward Lyncolne, their eldest son. Elizabeth died, and Richard did marry and take to his second wife the

daughter of one Hobbes, by

Richard, yet living.

whom

he also had issue a son named

After the death of the said second wife he did

marry and take

to his thirde wife

one Dunham, widdowe,

after

whose

death the said Richard did marry and take to his fourth wife one

Anne

Smale, widdowe, by

whom

he had yssue nowe liveinge one

sonne named Henry and the complainants Anne and Elizabeth

Lyncolne. Above
fiftene yeres past, for the

advancement of

his

son

Richard in marriage with the daughter of one Foulsham, Richard

Lyncolne did assure the said messuage and 23 acres, parcel of the An obvious error for "Richard." See footnote, pp. 16-153.
'

148

APPENDIX
father, did

premises aforesayd, to the said Richard his son after the death of his said father, and to drawe the defendant to ioine with him in the
said

conveyance he, the

convey the two

acres, residue

of

the sayd premises, being builded

uppon with

a little cottage

of the

yerely value of 40s., unto defendant and his heirs, and did give

unto defendant

10

in

money only and no more. As touching

the

fower acres and twoe acres of copyhold, Richard Lyncolne did dye
thereof seised as alleged, and thereupon the said six acres, according to the custom of the

Manors whereof

the

same bene holden,

his

did descend unto defendant as son and heir.

father

Richard Lyncolne

was likewise seised of divers other messuages, howses and lands in Hingham, Morley Swanton, and Great Witchingham, of the value of ^40 per annum, and did convey the same unto Henry

Lyncolne
liberall

his

the sonnes

son by his fourth wife, whereby it maye appeare that by the second and fourthe wife were preferred with

&

lardge porcons of land, and defendant, eldest sonne and

heyre, had only but twoe acres with a cottage

further appeare
disinherite

whereby it maye howe the sayd Richard Lyncolne was wroughte to defendant by the means and procurement of his latter
the supposed will of the said Richard Lyncolne,
will,

wives.

As touching

defendant doth not knowe of any

neither hath he any will of the

sayd Richard, but he hath harde by reporte that Richard Lyncolne,

by the meanes of

his latter wife yet liveinge,

was

much

laboured to

make

a will for the

advancement of

hir

and

hir children.

The

sayd

Richard Lyncolne was possessed of goods to the value of ^600, and he is supposed to have willed to the sayd Anne and Elizabeth

some of fowerscore pounds a pece, and them the aforesayd six acres of copyhold
the

to

have appointed unto

Nevertheless the

land.

sayd Richard did dye suddenly before any surrender of the sayd
land was

made

to the use of his alledged will,

and the sayd land did

accordingly descend and

come

to defendant.

LINCOLN
\_Charks
/,

V.

GURNEY
:

i.

37.

64 1.]
co.

Plaintiff

is

Henry Lincoln of Swanton Morley,

of Complaint
is

Norfolk,

yeoman.

His

Bill

dated 13 July, 1641.

APPENDIX
Richard Lincoln and
tiff,

149
and mother of the plain-

Ann

his wife, father

about 4 James I,, surrendered into the hands of the Lord of the Manor of Swanton Morley a certain messuage called Mosses, and 1

acres 3 roods of land lying in

Swanton Morley,
his heirs,

to the use of

them-

selves

and the longer

liver

of them, and

after their decease to

John

Small, son of the said

Ann, and

on condition that the said

John should pay unto Ann Lincoln, daughter of said Richard and Ann, iOi and to Elizabeth, another daughter of said Richard and Ann, other j^20, payable respectively 1 and 4 years after the decease of the said Richard and Ann. If John Small failed to make these payments, Ann and Elizabeth Lincoln were to enter upon the said premises. About the year 1634, before the death of Ann his mother, plaintiff lent John Small ^40, taking as security a conditional surrender of the said lands. Small failed to repay the money. Ann Lincoln, daughter of said Richard and Ann, married Robert Gurney, one of the defendants. The money due to Ann Gurney should have
been paid on Michaelmas day
last.

Elizabeth Lincoln married Wil-

liam Gunthorpe, another of the defendants.

Suit touching said lands and the

payment of said moneys.

and Anne
his wife,

Answers of Robert Gurney,

gent.,

and of

William Gunthorpe and Elizabeth

his wife.

They

are ignorant of

Small's surrender.

The money was

as
it is

Complaynant's lending to John Small or of not paid by Complaynant, and

lawfull for

They have none underwood. They have used no indirect means or combinacons. Complaynant is natural brother to Defendants Ann and Elizabeth and has vsed them very vnnaturally in deteyning money, etc. Ann Lincoln, widow of Richard, died about the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord 3 years before
Defendants entered

them

to doe.

of them been admitted and have only

felled

the date of the suit.

Ill

WILLS (ENGLISH)
\_Arch. Norfolk,

yo!AX,fo. 276.]

To

Will of Robert Lincolne of Hingham. Dated i8 April, 1540. be buried in Hingham churchyard. To my daughters Margaret,
elder,

Rose the
at 18.

Rose the younger, and Christian, 40

shillings each

To my wife Johan, kine. To my son Robert Lincoln, my harness. To my nephew Thomas Lincoln, a coat. To my godson Robert, son of the said Thomas, a blanket and a bullock at 18. To William, son of said Thomas, a bullock at 8. To Robert Bawdwen, son of Hugh Bawdwen, a bullock. To my nephew Robert Lincoln, singleman, Elizabeth Bawdwin,wife of said Hugh, and my daughter
1

Ann
wife

Lincoln, 16 acres of corn in the close called Brockelle, between

To my daughters Ann and Elizabeth, sheets. Executors: my Johan and John Cowper, junior, tanner. Witnesses Thomas Pynchyn, John Barnewell, tailor, Robert Lincoln my son, John Jessoppe, Robert Lincoln my nephew, Robert Wright and John Pye.
them.
:

Proved

September, 1543, by the Executrix.

\_Arch. Norfolk, Vol.

XW

fo. 137.]

Will of Robert Lincoln of Hengham,

January, 1555-6.
wife Margaret,

co.

Norfolk. Dated 14
churchyard.

To

be buried in

Hengham

To my
till

my
is

dwelling-house, land, meadows, and pastures

my son

Richard

21. If said Richard die before 21 without heirs, said

sisters \not

property to revert to his

named~\ and their heirs for ever.

My

executors to have the use of

i

my

tenement called Pyxtonnes,

2 acres land late Peter
i

1 acres

rood land that was John Pytcher's,

i

Cowper's,
Broccles,

rood land

at

Stumpe Cross
is

in

Hengham,

close called
to

till

mv

son Richard

21.

My wife
life,

Margaret then

have
child

the aforesaid tenement and land for

that
is

with reversion to

my
if it

to be born, if

it

be a son, and his heirs for ever;

after

be a

daughter said tenement and land to revert,

my

wife's death, to

my

son Richard, and he to pay the said child

2^

at 21.

Mentions

APPENDIX
Bartillimew Abell.

151

To my
at

daughter Katherine and her heirs a tene-

ment

in

Thetford
in

20.

To my
son John
:

daughter Agnes and her heirs a

Frances Portmanne's,
late

tenement

Hengham sometime

John

Jessoppe's, at 20.
wife Margaret.

To my
:

at 21.

Residuary legatee,

my

Executors

wife

Margaret and Robert Alberye of

priest,

Hengham. Witnesses

Sir

Henry Goodram,

John

Baretloo,

and John Alberye. Proved 29 January, 1555-6, by the Executrix.

[Jrtb. Norfolk, Vol. XXIII,

>.

158.]
1

Will of Roger

To my wife
ham now
and

Margaret

Wright of Hingham. Dated 9 February, 570-1 all my pasture called Albries Glosses in HengThomas Dand,
with lease ground lying
life,

in possession of

within said pasture, for

heirs for ever.

with reversion to

my

son Robert Wright

To my
I

Executors, occupation of

my

tenement in

Hengham

(which

bought of Walter Pyice) and

till

5 acres in

Hengham
is

(bought of William Beele) Richard Lyncolne,

my

daughter

Mary Wright

21.

To

my wife's

son, and his heirs for ever,

my

close in

Hengham bought
of residue of hold
till

of Robert Bargayne.

To my

wife Margaret use

my

messuages, lands, and tenements both free and copy-

my

said son

Robert

is

21.

If said son and daughter die be-

fore 21 without issue, their property to be sold, half of

money

arising

from same to

my wife

Margaret, each child of

my

sister

Elizabeth to

have 20/ and Richard Lyncolne 20/ and

my wife's

daughter Katherine

Brooke
offer.

20/.

Residue of the money to the poor. If aforesaid property

has to be sold, William Entwesell,

my

brother-in-law, to have

first

To Bartholomew
:

Cage,

my

servant, I2d.,

Agnes Bobbett,

servant, I2d. and

Thomas

Bidwell, I2d.

Residuary legatee,

my my wife

Margaret. Executors wife Margaret and the said Richard Lyncolne.

William Entwesell, Thomas Brooke, James Alden, and John Cady. Proved 2 March, 1 570-1, by the Executors named.
Witnesses
:

\Cons. Norwich, Vol. 1620, fo. 36.]

Will of Richard Lincolne of Swanton Morlie,

co.

Norfolk,

yeoman. Dated 3 January, 161 5-16.

To be buried in the Church of To the said Church of Hingham for my burial, 10/. To the poor of Hingham, 20/, To poor of Swanton Morlie, 10/. To poor of Great Witchingham, 6/8. To Anne my wife, until such time as Henry Lincolne, my son, shall
Hingham,
in the

midle Alley there.

152
accomplish
hold, which
his
I

APPENDIX
age of 21 years,
all

my

houses, lands,

etc.,

being free-

lately

purchased of

Morlie. Also 8 acres of free

Thomas Lyncolne, lying in Swanton land in Hingham in a field called

the said Ann to maynetaine and bringe upp the said Henrie Lincolne my sonne unto litterature and good education. Provided always that yf the said Ann shall marrie and take another

Rookwood

husband, she

shall then be discharged

of the custodie of the said

Henrie, and shall yerely paye into the hands of

my

loving friend,

John

Bird, gent.,

my

wife's brother,

and of Richard Small of Swan-

ton Morley, the

sum of 20 markes for the maintenance of the said Henry. Mention of William Bailie, my brother-in-law. To Henry
Lincolne,

my son, at his age of 21, all the aforesaid lands, etc.; in Ann Lyncolne and Elizabeth Lyncolne, my daughters, and in default unto Richard Lyncolne, my son. To my daughters Anne and Elizabeth Lyncolne, each fourscore pounds. To my grandchild Richard Lincolne, 5/. To Sarah wife of Henry Birde, 5/. To my kinsman Leonard Bunn, if. To godchildren William Small and Hillarie Bailie, 2/ apiece. To godchildren Richard Parham and Bridget Bilbie, the same. To Charles Couldham and William Bullman, 6/ apiece. To Anne Lincoln and Elizabeth Lincoln, four acres
default unto

of copyhold land
Skarff.

Swanton Morley, lately purchased of Robert in Great Witchingham purchased of Margerie Dunham, widow, sometymes my wyfe. Names Edward and Henry Bird, my wife's brothers. To kinswoman Marie Bunne, 1I. Residuary legatee and sole Executrix, my wife Ann. Supervisors John Birde, Richard Small, and William Bailie. Witnesses: Marmaduke Ladlaye, Henry Birde, and Thomas Heroke. Codicil dated 2 February, 16 18-19, bequeathing further sums to his daughters Ann and Elizabeth. Witnesses George Couldham and Thomas Hewke. Proved 24 February, 1620-21, by the relict, Ann
in

Also copyhold

Lincoln.
\_Arch. Norfolk,

Book 17, 1557-58, /. 265.]

To

of Hyngham. Dated 10 October, 1556. Hingham churchyard. To Elsabeth my wife, my houses and lands in Hingham and Woodrising for life. To my son Robert Bawden and heirs, my tenements in Hingham and all the Will of
be buried in
lands in Woodrising.

Hugh Bawdinge

To my

son William Bawden, 6. 13.

4.

To

APPENDIX
my
den,

153

son Valenten Bawden, 6. 13. 4. To my daughter Cicely Baw^^Tio. To my daughter Rose Bawden, ^10. To my daughter

AHs Bawden,
remain to
Elsabeth.
to remain to

WilHam.

my son Robert die under age, said lands to my son William die under age, said lands Valentine. Executrix and residuary legatee: my wife
;^io. If

If

Supervisor: John

Richard Weston, Richard Hubberd,

June, 1558, by Executrix.
[^Cons.

Bawden. Witnesses: John Portman, Thomas Fytlyng. Proved 13

Norwich, Vol. 1566-7, /a. 248.]

Will of Richard Remchinge of Carbrooke, yeoman. Dated \i

March, 1566-7. To my son Edward Remchinge, ^20 at 11. To my son Henry Remchinge, ^^ao in various payments till he is 21. To my son Richard Remchinge, ^30 to be paid to the person to whom he the said Richard is apprenticed. To my son Thomas, ;^30 at 22. To my daughter Elizabeth Remchinge, ^^20 at 21 or marriage.' To my daughter Anne Remchinge, ^^20 at 21 or marriage. To my daughter Mary Remchinge, ^^20 at 21 or marriage. To my sister Agnes Plaforde, c^. To my wife Elizabeth, my lands and tenements
in

Carbrooke or elsewhere which

had of the grant and

feoff-

ment of William Hubberd of Carbrooke for the non-payment of a certain sum of money. Residuary legatee and Executrix, my wife Elizabeth. Witnesses Jherome Spynge, Thomas Skott, Thomas Moore, Edward Toogood, and Henry Montynge. Proved 9 May,
:

1567, by the Executrix.

[P. C. C.

SCOTT, fo.

29.]

Dated 14 April, 1595. I Elizabethe Remchinge of Wymondham in the countie of Norff widowe beyng weake in bodye but of whole and perfect memory (god be praysed therfore) do make and

This Elizabeth was afterward the wife of Richard Lincoln and mother of Edward, although

the latter, in his

Answer

in the

Chancery
is

Suit, says that his father

married Elizabeth, daughter

as a
in

of Edward Remching. This

obviously a mistake, since

Edward Remching,

minor

in

1567, could not possibly have been the father of a daughter of marriageable age
year in which Richard Lincoln was married.
beth, daughter of
feoffees

1574, the

The Chancery

Proceeding should read

"

Eliza-

Richard

Remchinge.'''

Edward Remching,

the brother, was one of the

in

under the marriage settlement, and no doubt the lawyer who drew the Answer

the Chancery Proceeding confused

him with Richard, Elizabeth's deceased

father.

The

will

of Elizabeth Remching, Richard Remching' s widow, shows that Elizabeth, the daughter of

Edward Remching, was

living

and unmarried in 1595.

154
ordavne
ffirst
I will
I

APPENDIX
this

my

last will

and testamt

in

commend my

soule into the hands of god

manner and forme folowinge my maker .... and

that

my

bodie shalbe buryed in the churche of the towne of Car-

brooke .... in the grave wherein my late husband Richard RemCHiNGE was layed Item I giue to the parishners of the sayed towne of Carbrooke my greate Bible to remayne there in the churche for
euer

Item
I

giue to the poore people of Carbrooke t\ventie shillinges

Item Item

giue to

John Tryndle minister of Ovington tenne

and bequeathe
at the

shillinges

bequeathe to

Mr Welles minister of Wymondham tenne shilfortie shillinges to

linges Allso I giue

be bestowed in
for

making vp and
a well to be

finishing a convenient wall

and other necessaryes

I

made

Springe called Becketts well beyng

next the myll in

at the

Abbey Barne Yardes and

to

Wymondham

bequeathe

Mr

ffurneys precher at Set

Item I giue to Mr Item I giue to John Kett my sonne in lawe my graye nagge which he vse to ryde on and one siluer spoone Item I giue to Mary my daughter wife of the sayed John Kett my playne old greate cofer with one worsted gowne of my late husbandes which lyeth in the same Item I giue vnto the sayed Mary one payer of sheetes .... one fyne smocke late my sister Coldams which she gaue vnto me and one cupshillinges

Andrewes parishe in Norwiche tenne Nutte of Norwiche precher tenne shil-

linges

board which standeth in the hall of the hovse of the saysd John Kett Item I giue vnto where he nowe dwelleth in Wymondham. Sarah Kett one of the daughters of the sayed Mary Kett one saye
.

gowne with

a ueluet cape

one booke called Beza

I

his

testament and

twentie shillinges in

money Item of my sayed daughter Mary Kett

sheetes

giue vnto

Mary

Kett one other

her daughters one payer of course

.... one

litle

prayer booke and twentie shillinges in

money
sayed

Item

giue vnto Elizabeth one other of the daughters of

my

daughter

Kett one other payer of course sheetes .... one litle prayer booke and twentie shillinges in money Item I giue vnto Judith one other of the daughters of my sayed daughter Mary Kett one other payer of course sheetes .... one litle prayer booke and

Mary

twentie shillinges in

money Item

giue vnto Susan an other of the

daughters of

my

sayed daughter
litle

Mary one

other payer of course

sheetes .... one

prayer booke and twentie shillinges in

money
sayed

Item

giue vnto Priscilla an other of the daughters of

my

daughter

Mary one other payer of course

sheetes

.... one litle prayer

APPENDIX
booke and twentie
shillinges in

155
I

money Item

giue vnto Lidea an

other of the daughters of

my sayed daughter Mary

money Item
I

one other payer of

litle

course sheetes one posuet brighte within and without one

prayer

booke and twentie

shillinges in

giue vnto euery one

of the sayed children of

my

sayed daughter aboue the sayed parcells

before giuen one pewter disshe and one siluer spoone Item I giue

vnto
stvffe

my

daughter in lawe Elizabeth Remchinge

his wife

my

sonne Edward
is

Remchinge
one

my gowne

which cam from London which

of

silke

grogorane

kirtle

one stammell pettycoate with a red

all

silke frynge all

my

wearinge lynnen and

the other lynnen which

haue besydes whereof my mynde ys that parte be distributed to Elizabeth Remchinge and

Mary Remchinge daughters

of my sayed sonne

Edward Item I giue vnto Edmond Remchinge sonne vnto my sayed sonne Edward one goblett with a couer bothe parcell guilte which was
.... my greate copper cawdron one greate brasse pott with marke of a key on the syde thereof which was my fathers .... and all my bookes whatsoeuer not bequeathed Item all the residue of my pewter I giue to the children of my sayed sonne Edward Item I giue vnto Richard Remchinge my grandchilde and sonne vnto the sayed Edward the featherbed which I lie on ... and one white couerItem I giue vnto Thomas Remchinge one other lett with braunches

my fathers

the

of the sayed Edward

parlor where
I lie

his

sonnes

my my

bedstead which standeth ouer the

Item whereas Richard Remchinge

vse the

my

sonne hath

receyued of one John Reston to

somme
I

of fortie poundes

....
vnto

my mynde
money
all

ys that the sayed Richard

to

the sayed

myne
I

executor.

.... Item

shall

fourthwithpaye
freelie forgiue
all

do

my sonnes and to my
me Item

sonne

in lawe

John Kett

svch debtes

as they do owe

giue moreouer vnto euery one of my sonne Edward his children one siluer spoone The Residue of all my goodes I giue to my sayed sonne Edward and Elizabeth his wife and I make the sayed Edward my executor chardginge him to performethis my testament and last will accordinge to my true meaninge as he will awnswere the contrary at the generall daye of Judgment And I do make Thomas Leverington gentleman my supravisor herof to whome for his paynes I giue tenne shillinges in gould. Elizabeth Remchinge. 'T^fj/z^ai Thoma Weld the marke of Richard Cadwold John Kett. Proved 24 May, 1595, by John Theaker, notary public, proctor for

Edward Remchinge, son and

executor.

156
[C(j/7.

APPENDIX
Norwich,
l^ol.

i6\g,fo. 204.]

Will of
Jas.
I.

Edward Remchinge
and heir
all

of Thetford.

Dated 4 Nov., 16

To

be buried in St. Cuthbert's church, Thetford.

To Edmond

Remchinge my son
tion that he

my
I

messuages, tenements, orchards,

with their appurtenances, wherein

now

dwell in Thetford, on condi-

pay

of Elizabeth

my daughter Mary within my wife 10, my daughter

one year

after the decease

Bridget within two years

after the decease

of said Elizabeth ,iOy and

my

daughter Martha

within three years after the decease of said Elizabeth ;^io.

To my

son

Thomas Remchinge, gown. To John Wardroper my kinsman,

and executrix, my wife Elizabeth. WitEden, Robert Reder. Proved 4 May, 161 9, by the

clothing. Residuary legatee

nesses: Charles
executrix.

[P. C. C. Pecke,fo. 153.]

Will of Robert Pecke, Minister of the word of

CO.

God at Hingham,

Norfolk, dated 24 July, 1651. I give to Thomas, my son, and Samuel, my son, and to their heirs for ever, my messuage wherein I
dwell situate in

now
also

inclose

now divided

called the

Hingham, with Lady

all

thereto belonging; also one

close, containing

about

8 acres;

one pightell

at the

end thereof containing 1

acres, for the

pay-

ment of my
ceased, 20
//

legacies.
at his

To

Robert Pecke, son of

my

son Robert de-

age of 23.

deceased, \oli at his age of 22.

of the said Robert deceased,

of

To John Pecke, son of the said Robert To Benjamin Pecke, youngest son loli at his age of 22, To the children
Mason
of Sea-

Anne Mason, my

daughter, wife of Captain John

brooke, on the river Connecticot in

equally

among them, and

to be sent

New England, 40 // to be divided to my son John Mason to dispose

//

To my son Joseph, 14 yearly, during his life, to be in the hands of my sons Thomas and Samuel as it shall arise out of my houses &c., and I commit my said son Joseph to their care. To a piece at their ages the children of Thomas and Samuel, my sons, 5 of 2 1. Tomy now wife Martha Pecke, 40//. To the poor of Hingham, Exors: Thomas and Samuel Pecke, to whom also I leave the 5 residue of my goods for the payment of my debts. If I die in Hingham I desire to be buried in the churchyard, near to Anne my wife deceased. Signed: Robert Pecke. No witnesses. Proved 10 April, 1658,
of
it

for their use.

//

li.

by Samuel Pecke, one of the executors named, with power reserved.

IV

REGISTERS OF HINGHAM, NORFOLK

1600
1600
1601

to

645

'

Richard son of Edward Lincoln bapt. 20 September

Annes, daughter of

Hugh

Lincoln, bapt. 15

March

William Lincoln buried \date faded~\ June Robert, son of George Lincoln, bapt. 27 September
Robert Lincoln and Annes Bore
[?]

married 18 October

1603

marr: 7 November Alice, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 19 February

Robert Lincoln and Annes

Harman

1605

Judith, daughter of

Hugh

Lincoln, bapt. 18 August

Richard Lincoln and Alice

Howse

marr: 20 October
bapt. 13 April

1606

Sarah, daughter of

Edward Lincoln,

Anthonie, son of George Lincoln, bapt. 17 August William, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 1 November

John, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 14 buried 7 Dec.

November and
i

1607

Mary, daughter of Richard Lincoln,

21 January following

bapt.

November

Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 20 Dec. and buried

1608

Richard, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 13

Abigail, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 20

November November

1610

John, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 20 May Anna, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 12 August
Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 17 February

161

John, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 15 March William Godfreye and Ann Lincolne marr 2 November
:

1612
1

6 13

Grace, daughter of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 14 June Peter, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 31 July

1614

Margaret, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 12 June

Robert, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 2 October

All dates are Old Style.

158
1

APPENDIX
Alice Lincoln buried 19 July

6 14

Robert, son of Richard Lincoln, buried 5 October

161 5

Ann, daughter of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 22 October Robert, son of Edward Lincoln, bapt. 19 November
Margaret, daughter of Robert Lincoln, buried
1

July

16 16
1

Margaret, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 3 March Richard Lincoln buried 21 October

6 17

Mary, daughter of Richard Lincoln,

bapt. 26 July
i

Katherine, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt.

February

61 8

John Lincoln buried 23 February Mary, daughter of Richard Lincoln,

bapt.

30

May

Thomas
1619

Balding and Alice Lincolne married 14 August

Daniel, son of

Edward

Lincoln, bapt. 28

March

Pieke, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 2

May

1620

Abigail, daughter of Robert Lincoln, buried 7 June Robert, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 27 August

Adam, son of Richard

Lincoln, bapt. 28 January

Robert, son of Robert Lincoln, buried 25

November

1621

Richard Lincoln buried 23 December William, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 10 January
Samuel, son of Edward Lincoln, bapt. 24 August
Margaret, daughter of Richard Lincoln of Norwoode, bapt.
16 February

1622

1623

Robert, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 28 June

1624
1625

Robert Lincoln buried

2 April

Amye, daughter of Edward

Lincoln, bapt. 11

December

Ann, daughter of Robert Lincoln,

bapt. 19 February

Richard Lincolne and Frances Reynolds married 14 August

Elizabeth, wife of Richard Lincoln, butcher, buried 3

May

Margery Lincoln, widow, buried 7 June Edinye Lincoln, widow, buried 22 July Amy, wife of Hugh Lincoln, buried 9 September Hugh Lincoln buried 21 September
1626
Richard, son of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 9 April

William Lincolne and Elizabeth Wellam marr: 14 September James Baldinge and Alice Lincolne marr 23 January
:

Amy,

daughter of Edward Lincoln, buried 17 June Agnes Lincoln, widow, buried 1 1 July

APPENDIX
1627 1628

159

1630
163
1

Arthur Cogman and Dorothy Lincolne marr: 6 November Richard, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 13 April George, son of Robert Lincoln, bapt. i August William Lincolne and Susan Wryghte marr 30 January
:

Susan, daughter of William Lincolne, bapt. 26

May

1632
1633

John Lincolne and Alice Staveleye marr: 11 October John, son of John Lincoln, bapt. 27 May
Bridget, daughter of Robert Lincoln, bapt. 7 September

1634 1635 1636

1637

Robert, son of John and Alice Lincoln, bapt. 26 October

Edward Lincolne and Mary Porter marr

Richard, son of Richard and

19

May

1638
1639

March August marr: Lincolne Elizabeth & 31 Woodcock John Henry Barnewell & Ann Lincolne marr: 18 October Dorothy, daughter of John & Alice Lincoln, bapt. 23 No-

Mary

Lincoln, bapt. 4

vember
Susan, daughter of Robert

&

Ann

Lincoln, bapt. 17

No-

vember
Richard Lincoln, butcher, buried 15 October Frances Lincoln, widow, buried 28 October

Edward
1640
1

Lincoln, the elder, buried

1 1

February

Susan, daughter of John

Daniel, son of Robert

&

Alice Lincoln, bapt. 31 January

Richard Lincoln, brewer, buried 15 August

641

&

Martha Lincoln,

bapt. 5

September

1642
1643

Susan Lincoln buried 15 April \JVhole year missing]

Rebecca, daughter of Edward Lincoln, bapt. 28

May

Mary
1644
1645

&

Rebecca, daughters of

Edward

Lincoln, buried 12

July

Ann, wife of Robert Lincoln, buried 28 December Mary, daughter of Edward Lincoln, bapt. 5 January Richard, son of Pyke Lincoln, bapt. 9 March (1644-5) ^"<^ buried 27 March Mary, daughter of Richard Lincoln, bapt. 1 8 December

V
REGISTERS OF

SWANTON MORLEY, NORFOLK

1548
to

1675

BAPTISMS
1569
1

57

Margaret Lyncolne bap: 19 March Bridget Lyncolne bap: 26 Aug:

Cecilia Lincolne bap: 19 Oct:

1572

1576
1578

1580
158
1

Thos: son of John Lincolne, bap: 27 June Will: son of John Lincolne, bap: 15 Dec: Robt: son of John Lincolne, bap: 17 Nov: Franciscus, filia [sic] John Lincolne, bap: 4 Feb:
Anna, dau: of John Lincolne, bap: 5 Oct: Rich: son of John Lincolne, bap: 21 Feb: Cath: dau: of John Lincolne, bap: i Sept: Susan, dau: of John Lincolne, bap: 29 March Xpoferus, spurius Marie Lincolne, bap: 21 March
John, son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 26 February Ann, dau: of Rich: Lincolne, bap: 6 May

1583

1585 1588

1590
1595 1597

1599

1600 1602
1603

Edmund, son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 10 June Thos: son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 28 Dec: Will: son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 28 Sept:
Eliz: dau: of Rich: Lincolne, bap: [no date] of

Nov:

1605 1606

Robt: son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 19 Feb: Henry, son of Rich: Lincolne, bap: 23 June
Rich: son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 2 Feb:

1610 1612
16
1

Ann,

1633

Thos: Lincolne, bap: i June Thos: Lincolne, bap: 5 July Henry, son of Thos: Lincolne, bap: 26 Dec: Ann, dau: of Eliz: Lincolne, bap: 9 July
dau. of
Alice, dau: of

APPENDIX
1637
Rich Lincolne, son of Rich
: :

i6i

Lincolne

& Mag

his wife,

1640

bap: 27 [?] Jan: Will: son of Rich: Lincolne

&

Margaret

his wife, bap. 16

June Henry, son of Henry Lincolne

&

Mary

his wife,

bap: 18

Aug:
1 1

64 1

Rich: son of
:

Henry
:

Lincolne, bap: 2
:

Nov:

642

Anne, dau of Henry Lincolne, bap

:

1643

1645 1646
1647 1648

March Thos son of Rich Lincolne, bap: [o date] April Mary, dau: of Henry Lincolne, bap: 21 Dec:
[no date] of

John, son of Rich

Lincolne, bap: 18 April

Rich: son of Henry Lincolne, bap: 3 May Dorothea, dau: of Henry Lincolne, bap: 17 Feb:

1650 1652

Thos: son of Henry Lincolne, bap: 19 Oct:

Will: son of Rich: Lincolne Joseph, son of

&

Jane

his wife,

bap: 19 Oct:

Henry Lincolne

&

Mary

his wife,

bap: 14

Oct:
1

1660 66 1
67 1

Charles, son of Rich: Lincolne, bap: 23 Sept:

Eli: dau: of Thos: Lincolne

1669
1

Mary, dau: of Henry Lincolne, bap: 17 Nov: & Marg: his wife, bap: 14 Feb:
Margaret, dau
\_or
:

of

Thos Lincolne
:

& Margaret his wife, bap

his wife,

1673 1675

17 Rich: son of Thos: Lincolne

27, almost illegible]

& &

Margaret
Margaret

bap: 26

Feb:
Rich: son of Thos: Lincolne
his wife,

bap: 15

Jan:

MARRIAGES.
1665

1538-1675

Thos

Lincolne

&

Margaret Howlet were married 10 Oct

BURIALS: 1538-1675
1557 1558

John Lincolne buried

March

1559 1570 1589

Will: Lincolne buried 27 Nov: Henry Lincolne buried 25 Sept:

Margaret Lincolne buried 9 April

Will: Lincolne buried 17 Sept:
Eliz: wife of

1590

John Lincolne, buried 28 March

i62
1593 1607 1608

APPENDIX
Eliz: Lincolne, widow, buried 3

Dec:

Rich: son of Thos: Lincolne, buried 11

Eliz: dau: of

May

1614
1

6 16

Thos: Lincolne, buried 12 April Thos: Lincolne, buried 17 Dec: Henry, son of Thos: Lincolne, buried 15 Aug:
Robert Lincolne buried 6 Feb:

1630
1636
1643

Anne

Lincolne, wife of Rich: Lincolne, buried 30 Dec; Anne, dau: of Henry Lincolne, buried a8 April

1645

1649

Rich: son of Henry Lincolne, buried 29 June Will: Lincolne, son of Rich: Lincolne, buried 5 July Margaret, wife of Rich: Lincolne, buried 11 Feb:

1660
1662

Rich: Lincolne was buried 11 Jan:

Eliz
5
:

dau: of Henry Lincolne

[?]

\_MS. almost

illegible]

buried

June Henry, son of the widow Lincolne

1664
1667
1

[?]

[very

illegible']

buried

27 June Mary, dau: of Henry Lincolne, buried 7 Sept: Mary, wife of Henry Lincolne, buried 5 Jan:

Henry

Lincolne, Sen', buried 22 July

[?]
,

67

Jane Linckold

dau

of Thos

Ly ncold

[?]

buried

Dec

1672

Margaret Lincolne, soluta, buried 28 July

VI

CARBROOKE PARISH REGISTER

BAPTISMS: 1541-1600
1549

Anne Rimshing daughter of Richard Rimshing,

tember.

23 Sep-

1550
55 1

Marye Rimshinge daughter of Richard Rymshinge, 14 November, Richard Rimshinge son of Richard Rimshing gent, 28 August.

1553

1555

Thomas Rimshinge son of Richard Rimshinge, 11 Thomas Knight son of Robert Knight, 5 January.

January.

1574 1579 1580 158a

Henrye Linckone son of Richard Lincolne, 1 November. Mary Rimshing daughter of Edward Rimshing, 11 July. Edmond Rimshinge son of Edward Rimshinge, 19 June. Richard Rimshinge son of Edward Rimshinge, 20 January.

MARRIAGES:
1599

1539-1600

John

IMurrell and

Agnes Lynkon, 25 November.

BURIALS: 1539-1600
1

55

Thomas Knight son

of Robert Knighte, 12 March.

1553 1556

1567 1579 1 584

5j,*5j;

Johane Knight daughter of Robert Knight, 28 January. Thomas Knight son of Robert Knight, 17 September. Richard Remching was buried the 24th daie of Marche.

Mary Remsching
Elizabeth

buried the 5th of August.

Remching daughter of Richard Remching, 24 April.

widow of
in

Elizabeth Remching,
late

Richard,

who

died 1595 and in her will desired

to

be buried with her

husband

Carbrooke Church, does not appear to have been

buried there.

i64

APPENDIX
PASS INTO

A REGISTER OF PERSONS ABOUT TO

FOREIGN PARTS
IS (ate Papers
in Public

Record

Office. "^

These people went

of Ipswich

to

New

England: with William: Andrewes:

of the John: and Dor ot hey : of Ipswich and with William Andrewes his sone. M'. of the Rose: of Yarmouth. {The examination o/" i^)rancis: Lawes: bo'n in NorApril)

M'
.
.

wich in No'ff and their liuingWeauear/aged

nd Wife/ageed/49 yeares/With one Child Marey: and 1 sarauants, Samuell: Lincorne: aged 18' yeares/and Anne: Smith: aged 19 yeares ar desirous to passe for New England to inhabitt///
Liddea
:

his

'

Sic in the record, but, unless he

were three years old

at the

time of his baptism (which

is

possible),

he was only

fifteen at the

time of the emigration.

VII

ACCOUNT OF BAPTISMAL FONT FROM HINGHAM CHURCH

Trinity Parish, Vicarage of the Chapel of the Intercession, Audubon Park, New York City.

Dear

Sir,

Mr. Bartow has sent your

I

letter to

me and

hasten

to send the enclosed account.

am

very glad that you have seen

is

the beautiful church in Cohasset where

inquired, and
I

the font about which

you

thank you very much for your kind words concerning the building, of which all of us who had a share in rearing it are perhaps pardonably proud, and I am therefore greatly pleased to know

that

you

will

say something of the font in your Lincoln

is

article.
it is

Hingham Church
large
It

one of the most beautiful

in

Norfolk;

seating 800, with a splendid Chancel 50 or

more

feet deep.

was evidently monastic, but escaped any serious damage. Cromleft

windows and much carved work including the font, enough so that it has been possible to restore things correctly. Dr. Wodehouse, the former Rector, a man of taste and large means, did much good work, and so has the present Rector. But with changing times Hingham does not always find it easy to keep up this most interesting and to Americans Historic Church. I was greatly interested in an effort which Dr. Upcher hopes to make to restore some beautiful carved stone sedilia on the south side of the Chancel. It would cost |iooo to do it. Could n't we help that along and perhaps make it a monument to Lincoln in the place of his family origin ? I should gladly act as Treasurer and would give my share to such a fund. Will you tell me if the matter appeals to you? If in any way I can further aid you, will you give me the pleasure
well broke the

but

of doing so?

Very

sincerely yours,

{Signed)
Dec. 16, 1907.

Milo H. Gates,

Vicar in Trinity Parish.

Mr.
J.

Henry

Lea.

i66

APPENDIX
ENCLOSURE
were building the church
I

When we

at

Cohasset, originally the

in the

first

Precinct of Hingham, Mass.,

was desirous to have

in

new church
the

something from the old church

early settlers of

Hingham, England, because

Hingham

in

old town or the surrounding

New England were either from the region. And more especially because
come from Hingham, England,
from IpsI

my own
to

ancestor, Stephen Gates, had

in

Hingham, Mass.,

1638

in the ship " Diligent," sailing

wich, England, and by a curious coincidence

had been
this

called

from
Rev.

Ipswich,

New

England, to be Rector of Cohasset, originally part of

I

Hingham,
A. C.

just ten generations later.

wrote of

to the

Upcher, Rector of Hingham, and he and his vestry very kindly gave me what remained of the original font of the Hingham church, in which, as I found, many of my ancestors and of the early
settlers

W.

of Hingham, Mass., were baptised. After some study we re-

solved to restore the font, leaving the pedestal untouched, to what was
its

original form.

drawing was made by Mr. Bertram G. Goodhue

& Ferguson of Boston, and in pieces of old Caen stone of about the age of the pedestal (the font is fourteenthcentury work). The work was executed by John Evans & Co. of Boston; so that the font in my Cohasset church is no doubt as like
of Cram, Goodhue
as possible to that in

which Abraham Lincoln's ancestors were

visiting

chris-

tened.
I

had the pleasure of

Hingham
I

last

summer and being

old St. Andrew's
little;

the guest of

Mr. Upcher and of preaching

church and the town have
all,

in

Church.

The

should think changed

faithfully preserved

the church not at

having been most

intellectual

by Dr.

Upcher, who

is

most

man

as well as a fine type of the

English university clergyman.

from a monograph on son, M. A.

St.

While there I copied the enclosed Andrew's Church by J. Barham John-

FROM
" Happily, a part of
large

J.

BARHAM JOHNSON,

M. A.

its

shaft has escaped destruction, sufficiently

its

and with

sufficient

of

enrichment remaining to enable an

architect to reproduce

it.

It

was enriched by deeply sunk canopied

and crotcheted niches, under which were formerly statues on pedes-

APPENDIX
tals.

167
Its

There were crotcheted pinnacles

at the angles.

bowl had
It

panels enriched with tracery or possibly foliage ornaments.

was
font

not usual in the fourteenth century to introduce figures.

The

was raised on three

of the lowest step
Translated,

steps,
this

to right or right to left:

and probably there was incised on the rises Greek anagram, which reads either from left 'NI^ON ANOMHMA MH MONAN O^IN.'
transgressions and not

'Wash (away) my

my

face only.'

VIII

WILLS (AMERICAN)
\_Registered Philadelphia, Book E, page 370.]

in the County of PhilaDated 11 February, 1735. ^''O- 7 J""^> ^736To son Mordecai Linkon half of my land in Amity. To son Thomas Linkon the other half with this proviso that if my present wife Mary should prove with Child at my decease and bring forth a son, the said land shall be divided into three parts: Mordecai to have the lowermost or S. E. part, Thomas the middle, and the posthumes the upper part. To daughters Hannah and Mary a certain piece of land at Matjaponia,' already settled on them by deed of gift. To son John Lincon a piece of land in the Jerseys containing 300 acres. To two daughters Ann and Sarah 100 acres at Matjaponia in the Jerseys which my executor is to sell and divide the money between them. To

Will of MoRDECAi LiNCON of Amity

delphia, being sick.

wife

Mary

the residue of estate with privilege of a

home

till

children
to be

are of age to enable her to bring

up

all

my

children,

and she

executrix. Friends

and neighbors Jonathan Robeson and George

Robeson, Solomon Coles

Boone

to be Trustees. Witnesses: Israel

[affirmed)^

John

Bell {sworn).
[Registered Philadelphia, Book G, page 194.]

Will of

Abraham Lincon

of Springfield, Blacksmith, being

sick.

Dated 15 April 1745. Proved and appurtenances (part of plantation whereon I now dwell) on N. E. side of road to Chester, but if he die under age the same to go to son
29 April, 1745.

To

son John the land

Abraham.

To

son Jacob residue of plantation on

S.

W.

side of road,

he to build a brick house for son John within ten years, 1 7 feet square, etc. To son Mordecai, if he returns to this province within 7 years,
the messuage or

Tenement which

purchased of William Clayer

to

in Philadelphia city, otherwise the

same

son Isaac, he paying to

Mordecai

if

he should afterward return ^5.

'

To

daughter Rebecca

Machaponix.

APPENDIX
Sarah certain furniture.

169

my other messuage adjoining the first, purchased of Humphrey Class and John Claytor, if she die the same to go to son Isaac. To daughter
Abraham ^36 lent him some time Residue after maintaining son John till 14 years of age, to be divided between Abraham and Isaac. Friends Robert Taylor of
son
since.

To

Marple and Joshua Thompson of Ridley to be Executors. Witnesses: Benanuel Lownes, John Morton, Iza: Pearson. Inventory made 30
April, 1745, by

John Davis and John Hall 2^g" 16"

filed 7

10.

Accounts

June, 1746.

Advance on

sale

^23 "10 5^.

1

Paid to Isaac Lincon " "Abraham Lincon

18 "19 "6

129" 7 "3 5^
goods

" "

" Sarah Lincon

in

22"i4"o
^"ii"oyi.

" Isaac Lincon balance

[Registered Philadelphia, Book X-^, page 313.]

James Carter of Abington, gentleman. Dated 22 July, 1793. Proved 15 Aug., 1795. Eldest daughter Hester Parry, youngest daughter Elizabeth Carter, sister Sarah Ferril, godson Carter Parry, brother William, friend Garret Dungan, friend John McGraudy,
son in law Rowland Parry, sole Executor.

Witnesses Jas. Glen,

Thomas

Livezey.
\_Registered Philadelphia, Book

T^, page 127.]

Joseph Rush of Philadelphia. Dated i May, 1796. Proved 16 January, 1799. Wife Elizabeth Rush. nine children namely Elizabeth Allen, Mary Tatem, William Rush, Catherine Cochrin,

My

Susanna Rush, Benjamin Rush, Esther Rush, Sarah Rush, and James Rush. Executors Wife Elizabeth, friends James Irwin &
:

Capt. Robt. Bethell.

DELAWARE COUNTY PROBATE RECORDS

Moses Lincoln:
II

administration of estate granted to Jacob Lincoln

Sureties.

March, 1835. George and Michael Lincoln,

Net

estate

^1372.66.

Michael Lincoln administration of

:

estate granted to

Jacob Lincoln

6 January, 1848. George Lincoln and Robert Plumstead, Sureties.

yo

APPENDIX
estate granted to Elizabeth P.

William Lincoln: administration of

Lincoln, 23 October, 1856.

Dated 2-21-1848. Proved 5 December, 1848. To wife Eliza & son William all money in hand or due me at my death. To son William the Plantation in Upper Darby on which he resides containing 21 acres & my lot in Darby
Will of Jacob Lincoln of Darby.

bought of David Levis containing 18 acres. To wife the Plantation we live on in Derby containing 24 acres, during her life & afterward
to son William, remainder to William.

Executors: wife Eliza

S.

& son

William. Witnesses: John Jackson, Geo.

Truman.

IX

PENNSYLVANIA RECORDS
SWEDES' CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA
John Linkhorn and Elizabeth O'Neal 8 October 1781' John Hart and Elizabeth Lincoln 7 July 1791 Jacob Lincoln and Mary Taylor ii April 1792 Moses Lincoln and Barbara Kinch 19 March 1795

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

James Carter and Rebecca Lincoln 7 March 1763

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

Daniel Lincoln and
ST.

Mary Medley 6mo

2nd. 1742^

MICHAEL'S AND ZION CHURCH,

PHILADELPHIA
1

77 1.

Samuel Pastorius married Sarah Lincon November 28

1

TIT

T T-. ^ ^ rWilliam Lincoln, Delaware County Coi V Elizabeth P. Phipps, Doe Run
I

Married by '
at

-^

Tas.

Doe Run

Haslet, Esq. m ' 16 December

1845

CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

CHRISTENINGS
1735

August 3

1749

Mordecai, son of Abraham Rebecca Lincoln aged 15 months. February 1 1 John son of John and Catherine Lincoln born Dec. 17 1749.
>

&

See also N. T. Gen. and Biog. Record for 1872,

See N. T. Gen.

p. 71,

and

Biog. Record, April, 1872, p. 69, also 148.

172

APPENDIX
MARRIAGES
December 31
Isaac Lincoln and

1746 1750
1763 1806

Mary Shute

September 19 Joseph Rush and Rebecca Lincoln July 17 James Gregory and Margaret Lincoln May 19 Benjamin Lincoln and Ann Cowan

KINGSSESSING SWEDES'

CHURCH REGISTERS, PHILADELPHIA COUNTY

RECORDS DATE FROM
1750

BAPTISMS
Catarina Linkhorn at Kinsessing, born 16 June, bapt. 30 June 1751,
father

Jacob Linkhorn, mother Anne Linkhorn

Godfather

Olive Parlin, Godmother

Mary Rambo.

Anna Linckhorn born 8 August, bapt. 23 September 1753, father Abram Linckhorn, mother Ann Linckhorn; Godfathers Moses Cox, Abraham Jonse,'' Godmothers Susanna Smith, Brigitta
Camel.

John son of Jacob and Ann Linkhorn, born i February 1756, bapt. 28 March 1756. Sureties John Justice, Robert Fawseth and
Elizabeth Justice.

Rebecca Lincoln born

parents Jacob and

11

December 1757,
Lincoln.

bapt. 27

Anne

Sureties

March 1758, Andrew Bonde,

Mons Rambo and Catherine Cammel. Mary daughter of Jacob and Ann Linkhorn, born
2

17 August, bapt.

October 1763. Sureties John Walton, Ludwig Stump, Margeth Campbel and Ann Yockom.
Jacob son of Jacob and
1766.
Sureties

Ann

Linkhorn, born

April, bapt. 15

May

David Robinson and Elizabeth O'Neal.

MARRIAGES
Thomas Linnon
coln of
\jic~\

and

Ann Rhodes by

Licence 24

May

1753.

Compare with the Abraham Jones of Hull whose daughter Sarah married Mordecai LinHingham, Mass., before 1686. It seems possible that this was a descendant of one
p. 89.

of Sarah Jones's brothers visiting his relatives in Pennsylvania. See Cognate Families,

APPENDIX
BURIAL
Jacob Lincoln departed
32-

173

GROUND

this life 5 June 1769 aged 44 years. Barbara Lincoln, wife of Moses Lincoln died 28 February 1804 aged

Ann

Lincoln died

February 18 19 aged 94, wife of Jacob.

9 years
1 1

Moses Lincoln died 12 February 1835 ^g^d 79. Moses Maris Lincoln died 11 January 1839 aged
10 days.

months

Jacob Lincoln died 18 November 1848 aged 53. Michael Lincoln died 16 October 1844, aged 43 years 4 months 24
days.

Abram

Lincoln died 19 October 181 1 aged 60, also Elizabeth, daughter of Abram and Elizabeth Lincoln aged 20 months.

Elizabeth Lincoln died 14 February 1855 aged 83.

"PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE" FOR YEAR

March
16, 1758,
late the estate

1758

No. 1525, James Coultas, Sheriff, sells property of Isaac Lincoln in the Northern Liberties.
1758.

October
coln,

5,

Among
:

the representatives in the

Assembly
Lin-

either elected or already in

For Berks Co.

inter alia

Thomas

Benjamin Boone.'

Philip Price of Kingssessing in his account

book

2-1 5-1 787,

Fre-

mentions Rebecca Linkhorn and her

quently mentions Jacob Linkhorn.

sister

Ann Bowman.

From

notes of

Wm.

John Potts of Camden, N.

J., to Gilbert

Cope (1889 and 1892).

X
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
FROM A BOOK
IN POSSESSION OF

HARRISON
IN

H.

LINCOLN

THE HANDWRITING OF JAMES BOONE

born i8 October 1736, 7
p.

Abraham Lincoln
ary 1806

m., died 31

Janu-

Anne Boone

married 10 July 1760 born 3 April 1737, 5 p. m., died 4 April 1807 Mary born 15 September 1761 Martha born 25 January 1763

Mordecai born
James born
days
5

11

May

January 1765, died la September 1822 1767, died i860 aged 93 years 7 months 6

Anna

born 19 April 1769

died 19 July 1775

Rachel born 24 March 1771, Phebe born 22 January 1773

Anne born 19 October 1774 Thomas born 12 March 1777,

John born

died 29

December 1863

21 October 1779, died 4 April 1864

Mordecai Lincoln son of Abraham and Anne

married 5

May

1812, 8

p.

m.
at

Julian Mayberry born Allentown

February 1780, died 6 March 1858

Rachel born

May

18 13

Ann

August 18 14, died 4 August 18 14 Abraham M. born i August 18 14, died 8 August 1815 Margaret born 21 July 18 17, died 13 August 1815 {error\
born
i

Margaret
7

born 12

May

1820, marr.

Bartholomew Barto

December 1841

APPENDIX
Julian

175
George

Mayberry may have been

a widow, dau. of

& Mar-

garet Boone.

Thomas Lincoln

son of

Abraham and Anne

married

Alice Dehaven \_daughter\ of Abraham born 25 June 1770, died 29 December 1836 Their daughter Martha marr. Joseph Kaub, died 12 October 1858, aged 46 years 10 months 20 days. Grave is 6th in 5th
row, Exeter.

John D. Lincoln

[soti]

of

Thomas and Alice

died June 1895

married 24 January 1837 Sarah Gilbert daughter of Henry born 4 Jan. 18 11, died 15 April

1895

Amelia born 28 March 1838 Alfred born 21 April 1839 Harrison H. born 28 July 1840 Elizabeth born 20 November 1841 John born 7 March 1843 Richard born 5 December 1844 Martha born 12 December 1846

Anna

born 16 February 1849 Mary born 24 April 1852

16 February 1855
at Birdsboro'

Oscar born

David

J.

Lincoln son of James died 10 April 1886

aged 70
died 18 August 1795 53rd.

George Hughes

Martha widow Mary

of do. died 28

May

1798 56th (dau. of James and

Boone)

Robert Henton died 11 November 1815 Charity widow of do. died 4 November 1821 James Lewis Sr died 11 April 1815 Samuel Robeson \_son\ of Moses died 11 October 1821 Matthew Brooke died 15 October 1821 Thomas Lee died 20 October 1830 Mary wife of do. died 19 August 1823 84th (dau. James and
:

Mary

Boone)

176

APPENDIX

FRIENDS' MEETING, EXETER, PENN., RECORDS

Marriage of William Boone and Sarah Lincoln reported orderly

3-26-1748.

Ann
Ann

Lincoln, formerly Boone, makes acknowledgment for marriage

out 8-27-1761

Lincoln

(relict

of

Abraham
this life

Lincoln) and Daughter of James

Boone, Departed

Aged 6^

years,

1 1

on the 4th. day of the 4th. Mo. 1807, mo., 21 d., 14 h. 10 m., and was interred at
ye 2d. of the week. (Born 2-3-1737.)

Exeter on the

6th.,
i

Abraham Lincoln

died

mo. 31, 1806

in his 70th. year.

William Boone, son of George and Deborah, was born 9-1 8-1 724. William Boone, wife Sarah and children Mordecai, William, Mary,
George, Thomas, Jeremiah and Hezekiah,
certificate to Fairfax

4-5

[?]

-1769-

TALLMAN FAMILY
Ann

BIBLE

FROM MISS MARY JOSEPHINE ROE OF GILBERT, OHIO

Lincoln, daughter of Mordecai Lincoln, was born
.'

March

1725 and died 22 December William Tallman who was born

She married 20 October 174-,

and died 13 February 1791

Children of

in

in Rhode Island 25 March 1720, Rockingham County, Virginia.

William and Ann (Lincoln) Tallman

,

Patience bo. 5 Oct.

died 23 February 1761

Benjamin bo. 9 Jan. 17 Mary bo. 22 May 1747, died aged 4 years Sarah bo. 19 Dec. 1749, died 6 Aug. 1770

10 May Hannah Anna bo. July

William bo,

Thomas bo. Mary bo. 11 Thomas bo.

Sept. 17 May 1753 , died 15 Feb. 175-, died aged 4 years 12 May 1757, died aged 6 weeks
Sept.
, ,

died aged

1 1

months

Ann

bo.

died aged 18 months

,

bo.

Sept.

died aged 3 weeks

176-, died aged 15 months

Missing dates are worn ofF the margin of Tallman Family Bible.

APPENDIX
was born
mar. 9

177

Benjamin Tallman, son of William and Ann (Lincoln) Tallman,

in Penna., 9 Jan. 1745, and died in Ohio, 4 June 1 820. He Nov. 1764, in Penna., Dinah Boone, dau. of Benj: and Susannah Boone who was born in Penna., 10 May 1749 and died in

Ohio, 25 July 1824

Children of Benjamin and

Dinah (Boone) Tallman

William bo. 27 Jan. 1766, died 1850 Patience bo. 20 Oct. 1767, died 21 July 18 16 Sarah bo. 11 Apr. 1769, died 3 June 1844 James bo. 8 Apr. 1771, died 1846 Samuel bo. 18 Nov. 1772

Thomas
Annah Annah Nancy

bo. 8 July 1774, died aged 20 years

Benjamin bo. 20
bo. 9

May 1776, died same month May 1777, died 5 Sept. 1778

bo. 15 Dec. 1778, died aged 88

20 May 178 1, died aged 45 Susannah bo. 6 Feb. 1783, died aged 42 Mary bo. 20 Nov. 1784, died 1849
bo.

John

Benjamin bo. 10 Nov. 1786, died about 1833 bo. 10 Aug. 1788, died 1857

CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, TAX

1720
1720
72 1
Oct. 21.

LISTS

150 acres surveyed for Mordecai Lincoln on French Creek,

Mordecay Lincoln near ye Branches of the

and Brandywine Mordecay Linerwood, Skoolkill Mordecai Lincoln, Nantmeal

ffrench

Creek

Tax 3/
5/ 2/6

1722

1724 1725
1729

1730
1732

1734
1735

Mordecay Lincoln, Coventry Mordecay Lincoln, Coventry Abraham Lincon Springfield " Abraham Lincon " Abraham Lincon " Abraham Lincon " Abraham Lincon

4/4
3/ 14/
12/

10/
/ 8/

178
1737 1739 1740

APPENDIX
Abraham Lincon Springfield " Abraham Lingkorn " Abraham Lincoln

Tax 7/6
" "

7/10
7/6

RECORDS OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Michael Lincoln

& ux.

Rebecca of Darby, 14 Dec. 1843 convey to

certain trustees for

Methodist Church purposes

^ acre

of land,

part of premises

David Thomas
[?

&

wife

Hannah

granted for

School

purposes 4-2-1735

1835]

&

conveyed by School

Directors to Lincoln 4-1 2-1 843.

Jacob Lincoln

ux. Eliza and Michael Lincoln & ux. Rebecca of George Lincoln July 1, 1835. Heirs & legal representatives of Moses Lincoln, deed., for Messuage & 12 acres in Darby, the same conveyed by Isaac Lloyd & ux. Ann, and Hugh Lloyd & ux. Susanna to Moses Lincoln Dec. i, 1786.

&

Darby

to

William Lincoln
Smith, April

& ux.
2,

Elizabeth P. of

1849, ^^

messuage

& 21

Upper Darby to Robert M. acres in Upper Darby.

Mar. 27,

David Beaumont
1846,

&

ux. Abigail to Jacob Lincoln

who

devised same to his son William.

Azariah Dickinson, Jerman Dickinson,

Priscilla,

Thomas

Lincoln

&

ux.

Aug.

17,

Joseph Taylor & ux. Margaret to Joseph Lincoln 1 801. Recites Lewis Jerman & ux. Mary to Margareta

died intest., Dickinson Oct. 16, 1769 for 3 acres in Radnor leaving issue viz Azariah & Jerman Dickinson, Priscilla wife of
:

&

Thomas
The

Lincoln, Margaret wife of Joseph Taylor

wife of Joseph Lincoln, conveys said land containing

sd.

children, viz:

Joseph Lincoln died intest. leaving widow Margaret wife of Major McVeagh, Mary wife of

& Elizabeth 3^ acres. Elizabeth &

Jeremiah Stephens, John

Elizabeth Lincoln, Major

&

Abel Lincoln.

Stephens

&

ux.

McVeagh' & ux. Margaret, and Jeremiah Mary of Chester Co. and John Lincoln & ux. named

Francina K. and Abel Lincoln of Cecil County, Maryland, to

Ann
acres.

Siter

of Radnor, June 18, 1825 for the above

Father of

3^

Wayne McVeagh

(?).

APPENDIX
coln,

179

In Orphans' Court, Sept. 24, 1856, Petition of Elizabeth P. Lin-

widow

& administratrix of William

Lincoln, sets forth that said

Wm.

Lincoln died intestate, leaving no issue and as next of kin his

mother Eliza Lincoln, now wife of Anthony J. Jordan, George Lincoln, an uncle, and the children of Michael Lincoln, a deceased uncle,
viz:

Isaac

&

Jacob Lincoln, Anna Eliza, wife of Daniel Trites,

etc.

Rebecca, wife of James Hutchinson, and Elizabeth Lincoln a minor

under 21

asks for order of sale,

LEASE AND RELEASE

January 15 and 16, 1729-30.

Tho-

mas Williams of Freehold, New Jersey, Monmouth County, yeoman, to Abraham Lincon of Springfield in the County of Chester, in Pennsylvania, yeoman, of 300 acres in Springfield for ;^320
(now Delaware County,
Pa.).

\Recorded 11 August, 1785, Book Z,

This was purchased by Williams 17 and 18 November, 1729, from

heirs

of Isaac Taylor.

\_Book

Zypage ^ZS-]

Abraham Lincoln
then to son

devised the land to son

latter did inherit

John and
young and

if

he died

Abraham. The

and devised

to daughters

Rebecca and Hester, of

to

whom

the latter died

the other

married James Carter of Philadelphia, merchant,

who

sold 143 acres

Abraham

Garrett in 1772.

[Book X,page 114.]

1

[Note from Gilbert Cope dated

2-4-1 886.]

of

James Carter and- City of Phlla., merchant, & Rebecca his wife to Abraham Garrett of Goshen, yeoman. Recites title from Robert Taylor to son Isaac, whose heirs sell to Thomas Williams, who sells to Abraham Lincon of Springfield the
13 April, 1772,
said
if

DEED

300

acres.

Abraham

devised a part of said land to son John, but

it

the latter died in his minority,

was to go to Abraham, another

son.

Johndid dieand Abraham inherited,who, by will dated 17 February,

1747, directed that the plantation should be equally divided between his two children, Rebecca Lincon and Hester Lincon, when they be-

came of

age.

(Will registered at Philadelphia.) Hester died in her

minority and without issue and her share descended to Rebecca.

i8o
James Carter and

APPENDIX
wife Rebecca for

^600 convey

the land, 143

J/^

acres 26 perches, in Springfield.

\_Book

X, page 114.]

\ Filed in

Dept. of Internal Affairs of Penn. at Harrison burg.'^

Know
of

all

men by

these presents that

Mordecai Lincoln of Cov-

entry in the County of Chester, for and in consideration of the

sum

X5

^^^-y "^^

forever quitclaim to William Branson, Merchant,

of Philadelphia,
part of the one

his heirs

and assigns, one

full

and undivided third

hundred and

six acres of land,

according to articles of

agreement made between Samuel Nutt of the one part and the said

Mordecai Lincoln of the other part, together with all and singular Mynes and Minerals, Forges, Buildings, Houses, Lands and Improvements whatsoever thereunto belonging. Dated 14 December,
the

1725. Signed, sealed and delivered

{Signed)
in presence of

Mordecai Lincoln

[6'f<3/]

Jn Robeson
Jane Speary

[Recorded at Trenton, N. J.]

DEED

of

Abraham

Lincoln, blacksmith, of

Monmouth County,
to

Province of

New

Jersey, dated

20 February, 1737, conveys

County aforesaid, being the same granted to him from Safety Boyden by Deed 11 February, 1722, and also 200 acres conveyed to him from Abraham Vanhorn, 15 March, 1725. The consideration for both lots being ^590 and, every year thereafter, forever, upon the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, one penny of good and lawful money.
acres of land near Crosswick in the
[Phila. Ad. Book

Thomas Williams 240

H, page 73, No. 70.]

Mem": That on the 17th day of February 1770, Administration of the Estate of Joseph Millard deceased, was granted to Mary Millard, Inventory to be Exhibited on or before the 17th day of
March
1

77

1.

next and an account on or before the i8th day of February Given under the Seal of the Register General's Office at

Philadelphia
Pr. Benjamin

Chew

Reg^ Gene''

APPENDIX
[^Phila.

i8i

Deed Book
in the

Dt,, page 136.]

Mary Rodgers

of Exeter

County of Philadelphia, executrix

of Mordecai Lincon her deceased husband, appoints her son-in-law

William Tallman of Amity Township her attorney to sell 100 acres on Matjaponia in East Jersey. Acknowledged before George Boone
Jan. 17, 1742.
{Signed)
Witness Roger Rogers

Mary

Rogers.

[Phila.

Deed Book D3, page 146.]

DEED
Phila.

WilHam Talman and County, to James Abraham

of

wife

of Perth

Anne, of Amity Township, Amboy, for ^1^40, 100

acres land at

Macheponix, County of Middlesex, East Jersey. William and Ann Talman. {Signed)

XI

DEEDS
[^Reading, Book i, page 535].'

This Indenture made the 29th day of March

in the year

of our

Lord 1773 between Mordecai Lincoln of Exeter Township in Berks County and Province of Pennsylvania, Yeoman, and Mary his wife of the one part & Mary Rogers of the town of Reading in the County and Province aforesaid, widow, of the other part. Whereas by certain Indentures of lease and release dated the 19 and ao days of February 1 7 1 8, made between Tobias Collet, Citizen and Haberdasher of London, Daniel Quain of London and Henry Goldney of London, linen draper, of the one part & Andrew Robeson then of Roxboro in the County of Philadelphia, Yeoman, of the other part. That the said Tobias Collet, Daniel Quain and Henry Goldny for ye consideration
in the said

Indenture mentioned, granted and confirmed unto the said

a certain tract in

Andrew Robeson
County
said

of land lying on the east side of ye

River Schuylkill then

aforesaid
a certain tract of

Philadelphia County but

now

in

Berks

Bounded and described

600
acres

as follows \_description~\

and

two

tracts to

on ye west side of ye Schuylkill be holden by ye said Andrew Robeson his

river, the

heirs
first

and
day

assigns

under the yearly quit rent of one beaver skin on the

at large

of March as by ye said recorded Indenture in

118

may

appear

And

the said

Book ff. Vol. 4 page Andrew Robeson being

so seized of the said premises dyed, did by his last will and testament

bearing date the

day of

Anno

17 19, give unto his third

eldest son

son Jonathan Robeson the above described 1000 acres of land with
the appurtenances and
at law

Whereas Andrew Robeson

and

heir

of said

Andrew Robeson
seal

the testator and by a

Deed

Poll under

his

hand and

duly executed for ye consideration therein men-

tioned did grant release quit claim and confirm to the said Jonathan

to

Robeson all the said 1000 acres of land with the appurtenances to hold him the said Jonathan Robeson his heirs and assigns forever, as by the said recited Deed, dated ye loth day of January 1726, may appear. And whereas by certain Indentures of Lease and Release
'

Extracted by Rev.

J.

M.

Early of Reading.

APPENDIX
Tripartite

183
his wife

made between Jonathan Robeson and Elizabeth

of the one part, Mordecai Lincoln of the second part (the said Jonathan Robeson having some time before sold the above described tract of 1000 acres of land to ye said Mordecai Lincoln, father to
decai Lincoln, party hereto, but no writing was

Mor-

made

to him, the said

Jonathan Robeson,
third part.

to

convey the same) and Thomas Millard of the

& Elizabeth his wife and Mordecai Lincoln the father by the said Indenture dated ye 6 and 7 days of October 1729, for the consideration therein mentioned
The
said

Jonathan Robeson

did grant and confirm the said 1000 acres of land to the said

Thomas

Millard in Fee.

And

the said

Thomas

Millard

&

Barbara his wife

by Indentures of Lease and Release bearing date the 9 and 10 of May 1730, did grant and confirm the same 1000 acres of land and premises unto the said Mordecai Lincoln the Elder in Fee, he being so seized thereof dyed, who by his last Will and Testament dated 22nd. day of February 1735 did give and bequeath unto his son Mordecai Lincoln, party hereto, one third part of said 1000 acres of
A. D.
off" the east end or side of the said described 1000 which hath since been amicably done, to hold to him the said Mordecai Lincoln, his heirs and assigns forever, as in and by the

land to be struck

acres of land

said in part recited

Will registered

in the Register's Office at Philadel-

phia June
appear.
coln and

7, A. D.

Now

this

may at large 73 1, Indenture witnesseth that the said Mordecai Linreference being thereunto had as

Mary

his wife for

and

in consideration in

of the

Lawful money of Pennsylvania to them

hand paid by the

sum of ^50 said Mary

and con-

Rogers the receipt whereof

firm unto the said

etc. etc.

bargain

sell alien release

Mary Rogers and

her heirs and assigns a certain piece

or part of the above mentioned third part of the above described 1000
acres

a corner in a line of said

bounded and described as follows Beginning at a post set for Mordecai Lincoln's land and a line of land of

the late

Thomas
etc.

Lincoln, but

acre of land with outhouse

now Michael Ziester's, containing one and outbuildings improvements water-

courses

unto the said

{Signed)

Mary Rogers her heirs and assigns etc. Mordecai Lincoln [.J^^/] Mary Lincoln her mark

The

year and day

first

above written

in the presence

of

Rebecca Nagel

Henry

Christ.

84
Before

APPENDIX
me
the subscriber, one of the Justices of the Peace in and

County, on the 29 day of March 1773 came the within named Mordecai Lincoln and Mary his wife and acknowledged the
for the said

within Indenture.
{Signed)

Henry

Christ.

In immediate connection follows

this

^40
to

Indentured to
Rogers,

Thomas
i8th 1774.

Lincoln in payment of

Mary

Compared

May May

4th. 1774.

fVitnesses

William Tallum and H. Christ.

Then follows

this:

This Indenture made the 3rd day of May 1779 between Mary Rogers administratrix of all and singular the goods and chattels rights and credits which were of Thomas Lincoln late of the town of Reading in the

County of Berks, yeoman deceased,

of the other part

at

the time of his death,

who

died intestate, of the one part and

place. Esquire,

Whereas Mordecai Lincoln and

their

Henry Vanderslice of the same

hands and
seals

Mary

his wife

by Indenture under

Dated March

29 1773 reciting etc, did confirm unto the said Mary Rogers or her heirs and assigns a certain piece or parcel of land situate in the Township of Exeter in the

County of Berks

aforesaid,

scribed as follows [same as in first deed~\

bounded and deWhereas the said Mary

Rogers by Indenture dated

Lincoln
(in his life

Upon

4th 1774, did grant etc. to Thomas i, page S3 S^ Re'^ding.~\ her Petition an order of sale granted June 10, 1776 "for paytime) [Recorded in Book
debts, maintenance

May

ment of

&

education of the younger children of

said intestate granted to sell at public

vendue"

Sold

the same to

Henry
to

Vanderslice for

lawful

money of Pennsylvania. Reported

past subject to a yearly quit-

Court and confirmed April

first

ist. last

rent as mentioned in the

Deed
{Signed)

Mary Rogers

Sealed and delivered in the presence

of

Wit.

Colinson Read
May
4,

Henry

Christ

J.

P.

Acknowledged

1779
8,

Recorded and compared July

1779

Know
lawful

all men that I Henry money of Pennsylvania

Vanderslice in consideration of ^^50 to me paid by Mary Rogers grant

APPENDIX
to her, her heirs

185
May
4th

and assigns

etc.

the one acre etc. dated

1779.
{Signed)
Wit.:

Henry

Henry

Vanderslice.

Christ

Collinson

Read
4th 1779
8,
\']1<^.

Acknowledged

May

Recorded and compared July

This indenture made the seventh day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy three Between John Lincoln of the County of Augusta and Colony of Virginia of the one Part and Abraham Lincoln of the County of Augusta and Colony aforesaid of the other part witnesseth that the said John Lincoln for
and
in consideration

of the

sum of five

Shillings Current

Money

of

hand paid by the said Abraham Lincoln at or before the Sealing and Delivering of these Presents the Receipt whereof he doth hereby Acknowledge hath Granted Bargained and Sold and By these Presents doth Grant Bargain and Sell unto the said Abraham Lincoln and to his heirs one Certain Tract or Parcel of land
Virginia to

him

in

Containing two Hundred and ten acres Lying and being in the County of Augusta on linvel's Creek Being Part of 1200 acres

Granted to Mckay Duff Green

&

Hite by Patent bearing date the

a6th day of March 1739 and was by them Conveyed to Robert MacKay by deed of lease and release bearing date the 19th and 20th days of June 1746 and Recorded in the County Court of Augusta and was by the said Robert

Mckay Devised to Zachariah Mckay Moses Mckay Robert Mckay and James Mckay by his last

Will and Testament dated the 7th day of October 1746 and Recorded in the County Court of Augusta, And Six Hundred acres part
of the Twelve hundred acres was conveyed by the said Zachariah

and James McKay unto the John Lincoln by deeds of lease and release bearing date the 21st and 22nd days of June 1768 and Recorded in the County Court of Augusta and bounded as follows, to wit: Beginning at a white oak in the line of the Original Grant on the west side of Linvel's Creek & a line of the same south 31 degrees and 81 poles to two Black
said

McKay Moses McKay Robt McKay

oaks south 65 p. East 384 Poles to the Creek Near a Sycamore thorn by said Creek thence down with the same North 10 east 17 Poles North 60 east 30 poles to a walnut corner of Isaac Lin-

&

&

86

APPENDIX

coin's North 54 west 240 Poles to two small black oaks thence North 31 east 16 poles to a white oak and Black oaks on the old line with the same North 65 p West 130 Poles to the beginning Corner and

houses Buildings and orchard ways Waters Water-Courses Profits Commodities Hereditaments and Appurtenances whatsoever to the said Premises hereby granted or any part thereof Belonging or in any wise appertaining and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders Rents Issues and Profits thereof To have and to hold the
all

lands hereby conveyed and

all

and singular other the Premises hereby

Granted with the Appurtenances unto the said Abraham Lincoln, his Executors, Administrators and Assigns from the day before the
date hereof for and during the full

Term and Time

of one whole

year from thence next ensuing fully to be Compleat and ended Yielding and Paying therefor the rent of

next

if

the

Same

Shall be lawfully

One Pepper Corn on Lady Day Demanded to the Intent and Pur-

pose that by Virtue of these Presents and of the Statute for Transferring Uses into Possession the Said Abraham Lincoln may be in
Actual Possession of the Premises and be thereby enabled to Accept and take a Grant and Release of the reversion and Inheritence thereof to him and his heirs. In witness whereof the said John Lincoln hath hereunto set his hand and Seal the day and year first above written.

John Lincoln
Signed sealed and delivered in the
presence of
Josiah

[6''^/]

^"

ReBECKAH
his

R LinCOLN
^"^

[6*^^/]

Davidson

Cornelius

Briant

mark
her

Ann B

Briant

mark

This was followed, 12 August, 1773, by Deed of Release from same John and Rebecca to Abraham Lincoln, as above.

COUNTY COURT OF AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA

DEED of John Lincoln of Augusta County, Virginia, to Abraham Lincoln of 210 acres of land for five shillings current money
of Virginia, dated 7 August, 1773.

APPENDIX
dated 11 August, 1773.

187

LEASE from John Lincoln of Augusta County to Isaac Lincoln of same for 215 acres of land for five shillings current money,

DEED
to

of

John Lincoln and Rebecca

his wife,

of land sold

Abraham

Lincoln, (as above,) dated 12 August, 1773.

RELEASE
The
ones

from John Lincoln and Rebecca

his wife,

of land

to Isaac Lincoln, (as above,) dated 12

above Deeds,
all

August, 1773.
Court, were noted
as

that could be

found

in this

above by Miss

Frances Trumbull Lea from the Original Records.

;

The

dates as given are the correct

compare Century Mag., March, 1887,

vol. xxxiii, pp.

810-81

1.

Extracted 19 July, 1908.

DEED OF ABRAHAM AND BATHSHEBA LINCOLN

This Indenture made the Eightenth day of Feberuary in the Year of our Lord one thousand and seven hundred and Eighty Between Abraham Lincoln of the County of Rockingham and State of Virginia and Bershaba his wife of the one part and Abraham Brannem Henry [sic] Michal Shanks and John Reuf of the County and
State aforesaid of the other part

witnesseth

that for

and

in consid-

sum of five Thousand Pounds current money of Virginia in hand paid unto the said Abm Lincoln By the said Abm Bran man Henry [sic] Michal Shanks and Jo -h n -R euf [sic] at or before
eration of the
-

the sealing and Delivery of these presents the Receipt whereof they

doth hereby acknowledge and thereof doth Release acquit and Discharge the said Abm Bfaajsan- Michal Shanks and John R.cuf his heirs and assigns by these presents he the said Abm Lincoln hath
-

granted Bargained sold Aliened and Confirmed and by these presents

doth Bargain
-aft

sell alien

and Confirm unto the

and assigns
fifty

said

Bran s man Shanks

-

d Reuf and

theire heirs

for ever

on

certain Tract of land

containing two hundred and

acres granted to

acres

McKay Duff Green

sixe dayes of

Being apart of twele hundred and Hite By patent bearing

Date the twenty

to

Robert

McKay

March 1739 and by them conveyed by Deed of Lease and Release bearing date the

Nineteenth and twentieth Dayes of June 1 746 and by the said Robert

88
McKay

APPENDIX
Devised to the aforesaid Zachariah

McKay
Robert

McKay Moses McKay

to

and the aforesaid McKayes conveyed

John Lin-

coln six hundred acres of the aforsaid land by Deed of Lease and Release bearing Date the twenty second day of June 1768 and John Lincoln conveyed apart of this within mentioned two hundred and
to Abraham Lincoln and Tunis Vanpelt Thos. Bryan and Holton Muncey conveyed the rest the said land to Abram Lincoln lying and being on the North side of Linvils Creek Beginning at a locust stake and walnut stump on the North side of Linvils Creek thence along the old line South thirty seven Degrees West seventy eight Poles to a black oak corner to Tunis Vanpelt North fifty five and a half Degrees West one hundred and twenty four poles to a white oak on said line: South forty two Degrees West one hundred and four Poles to a whit oak South East thirty Poles to a white oak and two sapplins North seventy six Degrees East seventy six Poles near to a white oak South twenty five Degrees East forty one Poles to a locust stake North thirty six Degrees East fifty Eight Poles to two smal Hickorys South fifty five yi Degrees East one Hundred and Thirty six poles to the Creek near sycamore and thorn thence down the Creek the several courses to a walnut to his br Isaacs line North fifty four Degrees West two hundred and forty poles to two small white oak North thirty one Degrees East sixteen poles to a black oak saplin on the old line with all the Houses Buildings Orchards Ways Water Water courses Profits commodities hereditaments and appurtenances whatsoever to
fifty acres

the said Premises hereby granted or in any part thereof Belonging or

in

any wise appertaining and the Reversion and Reversions Remainder

and Remainders Rents Issues

ever of him the said
ises

&

Profits thereof

and

also all the

Estate Right Title use Trust Property or claim or

Demand

whatso-

PremDeeds evidences and Writings Touching or in any wise concerning the same to have and to hold the land hereby conveyed and all and singular other the premises hereby Bargained and sold and every part and parcel thereof with their and Every of their appurtenances unto the said Abm Branman -c-p.^ [j/V] Michal Shanks and John Reuf their heirs and assigns for ever to the only proper use and Behoof of them the said ^reneman Michal Shanks and Reuf
to the said

Abraham Lincoln of In and

and

all

and of

his heirs

and assigns forever and the said Abraham Lincoln

APPENDIX
and Bashaba
his weif for

189
his weife at the
is

themselves theire Heirs and Assigns by

seized of a

these Presents

Abm

Lincoln and

time of the sealing and Delivery of these Presents

and Indefeasable Estate of inheritance In fee simple of and In the said premises Hereby Granted and he Hath good Power and lawful and absolute right and authority to grant and convey the same to the said Abm Braneman Michael Shanks Henr^i

good sure

perfect

Shank-s- and John P^euf in manner and form aforesaid and that the
premises now are and so for ever here after shall remain and be free and Clear of and from all former and other Gifts Grants Bargains Sales rights and titles of Dowers Dower Judgments executions Titles Troubles charges and Incumbrances whatsoever made done Committed or suffered by the said Abm Lincoln and Bathsheba his wife or any other person or persons whatsoever the assessments hereafter to grow due and payable to the Collector for the time being for the use of the Commonwealth of Virginia for and in respect of the said Premises only Excepted and for prized and the said Abm Lincoln and Bathsheba his wife and there Heirs all and singular the Premises hereby granted with the appurtenances unto the said Abm. Braneman Michal Shanks and John Reuf His heirs and assigns against them the said Abm Lincoln and Bathshaba his wife and their heirs and all and every other Person Persons whatsoever shall and will Warrant and
for

Ever Defend by these Presents and Lastly

his wife

that the said

Abm

Lincoln and Bathshabe

and there

heirs

and Every other

Person or Persons and theire Heirs any thing having and claiming
In the Premises herein before mentioned or intended to be hereby
Bargained and sold shall and
in the
will

from time to time and

at all times

hearafter at the reasonable Request

and

at

the proper cost and charges

-

Law

of them the said Brenemai^ Shanks and Reuf his heirs

or Promise to be

or assigns

make do and Execute

all

made done and

act

Executed

and every such further and other Reasonable

and

Conveyances and assurances for thare further Better and more Effectual Conveying and assuring the Premises aforesaid with their and every of their appurtenances unto the said
acts thing or things

A bra h a m B ra m-m an-H e n

-

ry

Michal Shanks and John P^euf

as

his \_altered

from

by the said Abraham Lincoln his heirs or assigns or their Counsels Learned In the Law shall be Reasonable advised Devised or Required. In Witness Whereof the said
their~\

Heirs and assigns

igo

APPENDIX
his wife
first

Abraham Lincoln and Bathsheba hands and seals the Day & Year

Hath Hereunto

set theire

above written

Abrm Lincoln
BaTSAB LiNCON
Signed and Delivered
In Presence of
Charles Mair

[6"^^/]
[6'ffl/]

Solomon Mathews
George Chrisman

Court held for Rockingham County the 26th day of June This Deed of Bargain & Sale from Abraham Lincoln & Ber1780. wife to Michal Shanks was proved by the Oath of Charles his sheba

At

Maier
Court

& George Chrisman & by the Solemn Affermation of Salomon

the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded by the
Pet'

Mathews

Hog

C.

R. C.

Rockingham County to wit: The Commonwealth of Virginia to Daniel Smith Thomas Hewit and Henry Ewing Gentelmen Greeting Whereas Abram Lincoln and
Barbara his wife by their certain Indenture of Lease and Release
[jzV]

Bargain and Sale bearing date the 18

for the Consederation therein

Day of February 1780 mentioned did give, grant bargain sell

tract

aliene release

& Confirm

unto Michael Shanks a certain

of land

containing 50 acres and whereas Barbara the wife of the sd

Lincoln

is

unable to travel to our sd.

Abraham County Court of Rockingham

said

to be privately

examined apart from her

husband whether she

is

willing to relinquish her right of

Dower

to the land in the said

Deed

mentioned

as the

Law

in that case directs.

Therefore

Know

ye that

we

Danl Smith Tho. Hewet & Henry Ewing to go to the House of the sd. Abraham Lincoln and there to examine the sd. Barbara privately & apart from her said husgive power and authority to

you the

said

band, whether she

land in the said

is

willing to relinquish her right of

Dower

to the

Deed mentioned

& whether

she doth the same of her

own

free will

without any force threats, or compulsion of her said husshe be willing that her acknowledgment shall be recertify the same distinctly County Court of Rockingham and that you

band

& whether

corded with the said Deeds and that you

to the Justices of our said

APPENDIX
Witness Peter

191

have there the said Deed together with this writ, which we send you. Hog Clerk of our sd. Court at the Court ho. the 8th.

Day

of Sept. 1781 in the sixth year of the Commonwealth

Pet'

Hog.

By

Virtue of the within writ to us

Thos. Hewit & Henry Ewing

Dower to the who declared &
same

we did personally on the 24 Day of Septr. 1781 go to the house of the within named Abraham Lincoln and did there privately and apart from her husband Abr Lincoln [j/V] examine Barshaba his
directed wife whether she was willing to relinquish her right of

Land

sold by her said husband to Michael Shanks

freely

acknowledged that she

&

voluntarily relinquished the

without the Force threats or Compulsion of her said husband, and that she desired the said Deeds together with this relinquishment

Dower by her made should be recorded in the County Court of Rockingham All which we do hereby certify to the Justice of the said County Court. Given under our hands & Seals this 24 Day of
of
Septr
1

78

Thos. Hewit

[6"^^/]
[ty^fl/]

Henry Ewin
At
a Court held for
1

ber 178

Rockingham County the 24 Day of SeptemThis Commission with the privy Examination of Bershebe

the wife of

Abraham Lincoln was returned

& ordered
Pet'

to be recorded

by the Court

Hog,

C. R. C.

Copy from

Original Deed.

Teste,

D. H. Lee Martz,
12 August, 1908.

C/eri.

SHIPLEY DEEDS

DEED
wit,

from

"Thomas Dougherty

to " Robert Shipley Jur. of the

of the County of Charlotte" County of Bedford," dated loth

May, 1769,
James
in

witnessed by John Irvin,

Pruit,

Abraham Irvin, Michael Preand Thos. Watkins, and recorded July 27th, 1769,
,

Deed-Book " C," pages 3 50-3 5 1 in the Clerk's Office of the late County Court of Bedford County, conveys " one certain track or

192
parcel of

APPENDIX
Land
situate lying

and being

in the

County of Bedford on

both sides of falling River and on the Lower side of Little falling River and bounded as followeth " [ //^r^ /0//0W the courses and distances\ "containing by estimation two hundred and sixty two acres

be the same more or less."

DEED
to

from

"Thomas Dougherty

of the County of Charlotte"

"Edward

Shipley of the County of Bedford," dated loth

May,

1769, witnessed by John Irvin,

Abraham

Irvin,

Michael Pruit, James

Pruit, and Thos. Watkins, and recorded July 27th, 1769, in Deed-Book " C," pages 352-353, in the Clerk's Office of the late County Court of Bedford County, Virginia, conveys " one certain track or parcel of

Land

containing by estimation nine hundred acres be the same more

or less Lying and being in the

County of Bedford on both

sides of

Phelps' creek and bounded as foUoweth "

distances^

\Here follow the courses and

from " Robert Shipley Jun. of the County of Bedford " Samuel Walker of the same County," dated 14th August, 1772, to
witnessed by

DEED

"

Thomas Watkins, Samuel Walker, William Walker,

and Samuel Clavtor, and recorded August 24th, 1772, in Deed-Book " D," pages 376, 377, 378, in the Clerk's Office of the late County
Court of Bedford County, Virginia, "in consideration of the sum of
five

Pounds

three shillings and six Pence current

money

of Vir-

ginia," conveys

"one

certain Parcel or

Dividend of Land containing

less lying and beCounty of Bedford on the North branches of falling River " adjoining to the said Walkers lines and is bounded as followeth \_H ere follow the courses and distances^,^' the same being a part of two hundred and sixty two acres granted to Thomas Daugherty by Pattent bearing date at Williamsburgh the fifth day of June one thousand seven hundred and sixty five and by him conveyed to the

Thirty acres by estimation, be the same more or

ing in the

aforesaid

Robert Shipley."
from " Robert Shepley of Bedford County and Collony
Marshall of the County of Charlotte & [Note This Deed is also signed by " Rachel dated 22d August, 1777, witnessed by William Mason,

DEED
Collony

of Virginia" to

"Thomas

aflforesaid "

Shepley"]

APPENDIX
Richard

193

Womack, James
in

Pruett, and William Marshall, and recorded

Deed-Book " F," pages 69-70, in the Clerk's Office of the late County Court of Bedford County, "in consideration of the sum of twenty pounds," conveys "one certain Tract or parcel of Land containing Two hundred and fifty acres situate and lying in the sd. Bedford County on both sides of Phelpeses Creek"
February 23d, 1778,
[General description of the tract given
distances^
in deed, but not the courses

and

DEED
Richard
Terrell,

Bedford and Sarah

Stith,

from "Robert Shipley of Russel parrish and County of his Wife" to "Daniel Mitchel Jun. of the same

Parrish and County," dated 30th day of April, 1771, witnessed

by

Daniel Mitchel, Elisha Pruit, Jno. Rogers and Harry

in

and recorded June 25th, 1771,

i"

Deed-Book "D," pages

86-87,

the Clerk's Office of the late

County Court of Bedford

County,
tain

in the State

of Virginia, "in consideration of the

Thirty eight pounds current

sum of money of Virginia," conveys "one cer-

Track or

parcel of

and

sixty four acres be the

Land containing by estimation one hundred same more or less " [General description

of the tract given in deed, but not the courses and distances^

to.

The foregoing are The records and

correct Abstracts of the

Deeds therein

referred

papers of the late County Court of Bedford

County have been

this 19th

transferred by law to the Office of the Clerk of

the Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia. Given under

my hand

day of September, 1908.

C. C, Keeth,

Deputy Clerk of Bedford Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia.

LETTERS CONCERNING DEEDS

FROM MISS MARY JOSEPHINE ROE
Gilbert, Ohio, September 28, '08.

J.

Henry
Dear

Lea:

Sir,

It occurs to

me

that

you

as genealogist

may

naturally
in

wish to

know my

authority for certain dates and

names added

record of the Lincoln mailed you recently.

94
About

APPENDIX
fourteen years ago
vvas
I

went to Berks County, Pennsylvania.

My

purpose
I

twofold
at

to gather matter for a private family gene-

alogy

was preparing

the time; to locate and visit homestead

farms of

my

great-great-grandfathers, Benjamin

Boone and William

Tallman, also that of Benjamin, son of the latter, and especially to learn year the Tallmans moved to Virginia. In my undertaking I
looked over quite a number of old deeds, several of which were
very curious.

family owning a part of Lincoln lands and living near by very

courteously permitted
certain
1

me

to

examine several which they held.

one of these, made 1769, attracted my attention particularly. only regret I did not make much fuller and verbatim notes from it
of history.

in the interest

My

recollection

is, it

was a quitclaim deed

made by

the children and heirs of Mordecai Lincoln,

whose

will

was

proven 1736, to establish right of posthumous son Abraham through his father's will. It described John, of Rockingham County, Virginia; Thomas, of Manheim, Lancaster County Francis Yarnall, of Read;

ing,

and Mary,

his wife, as

daughter of Mordecai Lincoln, deed.;

as

Joseph Millard, Esq., of Union township,

husband of another

daughter, Hannah, then deceased; also three children of this couple, named respectively Mordecai, Joseph, jr., and Barbara Millard;

William Boone, of Exeter township, and Sarah,

daughter. This paper was quite lengthy and

his wife,

another

did not include son

Mordecai nor daughter

I

Ann
print

Lincoln Tallman.
I

very

much

wish

it

were possible for you to find the old deed

it

have written about, and

entire in

your forthcoming work.

Yours very

truly,

Mary
notes of deed

Josephine Roe.

much abbreviated

Date 1769.

posthumous son Abraham. John Lincoln, yeoman, of Augusta Co. in Va.

Qiiitclaim to

Thomas
yeoman.

Lincoln of

Manheim
in

in the

county of Lancaster, Pa.,

Francis Yarnall of Reading

his wife, she being a

Co. of Berks, yeoman, and

late

Mary

daughter of Mordecai Lincoln,

of Exeter

Township, yeoman, deceased.

APPENDIX

195

Joseph Millard, Esq., Union Township, Berks, husband of Hannah, daughter of Mordecai Lincoln (she deceased). Wm. Boone, Exeter Township, yeoman, and Sarah his wife (I think
in this case described as a daughter of
as sisters are).

Mordecai Lincoln

as distinctly

Mordecai Millard of Union Township, yeoman, a son of Joseph and Hannah Millard above named, and grandson of Mordecai Lincoln; also out of same family Joseph, jr., James, and Barbara.

FROM JAMES STEEN

Eatontown, N.
J.,

August 26, 1908.

Mr.

J.

Henry Lea:

As I wrote you briefly yesterday I have now to report: Dear Sir, That by deed dated November 8, 1748, recorded May i, 1757, John Lincon, "weaver," of the Township of Carnarvin, County of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, son and heir of Mordecai Lincon, deed,

(no mention of

his,

M.

L.'s, dwelling-place), sold to

J., for

William Dye,

yeoman, of Middlesex County, N.

rent

two hundred pounds cur-

money of New

Jersey, at 8 shillings to the ounce,

300

acres

on

Cranbury brook in Middlesex County, N. J. This 300 acres would seem to have been part of 400 acres conveyed Mordecai Lincon by deed of Richard Salter, February 1, 1720, but not recorded till October 9, 1753. The remaining 100 acres would appear to be that conveyed the two daughters Hannah and Mary.

The deed
seem

do not find, and the reason would upon their father's will; Hannah Lincon, having married one Joseph Millard of Amity, conveyed "her moiety" to William Talman (her brother-in-law) by deed of December 15, 1742. This deed I also fail to find of record. It is recited however in a deed from William Talman and Anne, his wife, and Francis Yarnall "Cordwainer" and Mary his wife, all of Amity,
to

them, however,

to be that the grantees relied

in

corded

County of Philadelphia, dated May 10, 1743, but not retill October 17, 1753. This then shows that Ann Lincon Mary Lincon married Francis Yarnell, Talman, married William
the

Hannah Lincon

married Joseph Millard,

all

of Amity.

The

grantee
acres.

in the deed was Samuel Leonard. This also disposes of the 400

But there was another too

acres, also

purchased by Mordecai of

196
Richard Salter ponix
in
in the

APPENDIX
same
locality,

16 May, 1726,

/.

e.

at

Machehis

Middlesex County, N.
sell.

J.

This

it

was that he directed

executrix to

By

deed of January 17, 1742, not recorded until 1766,

"Mary

Rogers" gave power of attorney to William Talman, to sell the said 100 acres for her. This he did by deed dated May 10, 1743, recorded November 16, 1766, to one James Abrahams for forty
pounds, and reciting therein the deed from the executrix to himself he calls her, " Mary, his widow and sole executrix, who now being
the wife of
It

Rodger Rodgers."

thereby sufficiently appears that prior to January 17, 1742,

Mary, the widow of Mordecai Lincon, married Rodger Rodgers. It only remains to add that Macheponix, in Middlesex County, N. J., is near Cranbury and Hightstown, N. J. In fact a large exent
of country
all
is

so designated in the earlier records, being practically

lands bordering

on the Macheponix River or Creek, south of

is

Perth

Amboy. The name

an Indian word, said to mean "bad

soil.

bread," meaning thereby a poor

Yours

truly,

James Steen.

The

first title

to

Mordecai Lincon

is

which was not recorded until long

after its execution

title.

by the following conveyance, and then by a

subsequent purchaser, to complete his record

Richard Salter to Mordecai Lincon. Deed dated February 2, 1720. Recorded October 9, 1753. Consideration 152 pounds. Recorded in Book H2, page 150, East Jersey Deeds, in office of Secretary of State, Trenton, N. J. All those, &c. on Machaponix River and Gravill Conveys :

Brook
I

County of Middlesex, the Bounded on said Matchaponix River on ye South, ye Pine Brook on ye East, by land now or late of William Estill on ye
in the
St

Tract,

West, by land unsurveyed on ye North. Also: Bounded West by Gravill Brook, South by William Estill from ye mouth of Long Meadow run. East and North by land unsurveyed.

Also

all

ye long
last

meadow upon ye long meadow

tract

run,

West by ye

mentioned

and

all

round ye other

bounded sides by

APPENDIX
upland unsurveyed,
allowance being
in all containing four for

197
acres

hundred

more or

less

made

highways and barrens.

This property was afterwards devised by Mordecai Lincoln to his two daughters Hannah and Mary. Hannah married Joseph Millard, and they, by deed of December 15, 1742, conveyed Hannah's moiety to her brother-in-law, William

Talman, the husband of her

of record.

sister

Ann. This deed

have not found

The next conveyance is that of William Talman, yeoman, and Ann NALL, cordwainer, and Mary, his wife, all

his wife,

Francis Yar-

of Amity in the County

of Philadelphia, to Samuel Leonard. Dated May 10, 1743. Recorded October 17, 1753, in Book H2, page 155, Secretary of State's office. Conveys for consideration of Eighty pounds same premises, " all

which said several tracts were taken up and surveyed by John Reid, Jr. and by him conveyed to his father John Reid, Esq., (August 4, 17 1 5) Monmouth County Clerk's Office and by John Reid to Rich-

by Richard Salter to Mordecai Lincon, 1 February, 1720, and by Mordecai Lincon to his daughters, Hannah and Mary (now wives of Joseph Millard and Frances
ard Salter,
27, 17 17, and

November

Yarnell) which

is

likewise fully expressed and given to the

same by

the said Mordecai Lincon by his Last Will and Testament, which
is

recorded in Philadelphia, and one moiety of which was sold by

Joseph Millard and Hannah, his wife, to William Talman by deed of December 15, Anno Domini, 1742. Reference to all the
said

aforesaid deeds," &c.

There was, however, another

to his executrix.
:

tract

of land consisting of one hun-

dred acres, and the same which Mordecai Lincon afterwards devised

The first deed we cite is DUGALL MacCoLLUM tO RiCHARD

Recorded
July 15, 171
lings,

SaLTER,
office.

in
9.

Book D3,page 125, Secretary of State's Recorded November 14, 1766.

currency, one hundred acres.

Dated

ConveySy for the consideration of fifty-four pounds, eighteen shil-

New York

The same
in the

was thereafter conveyed by the following deed

to

Richard Salter

Mordecai

Lincon of the County of Chester,

Province of Pennsylvania.

198
Dated May D3, page 130,
Conveys
:

APPENDIX
26, 1726.
as above.

Recorded November

15, 1766, in

Book

County of Middlesex," &c. marked on four sides standing on the North side of a small slough or run, which is on the North side of a farm formerly William Estill's from thence running North 39 degrees Westerly seventeen chains to Matchaponix River, thence down the same to the mouth of a brook which is one of Robert
"all that tract, &c. in the
at a

Consideration not given.

" Beginning

Black

Oak

tree

Barclay's corners and running from the

tree att the Beginning,

first

mentioned Black Oak

or less to the reere

South 48 degrees Easterly forty chains more lines of said Estill's Farm. Thence along the
a point Easterly to his corner

same North and by East and half

the above
tract

where a small run comes into the brook thence down the brook

to

named

Barclay's corner on Matechponis River, which

less ... as made over to the said Richard Salter by deed of sale from Dugle Mackalom bearing date the fifteenth day of July, Anno

of land by estimation one hundred acres more or

the same was

Domini, 171 9, and not otherwise.

Richard Saltar.
Witnesses

George Morlatt,
Richard Saltar,
Jr.

Ebenezer

Saltar.

Proved April

5,

1727, by Richard Saltar,

Jr.,

before

John Ander-

son of the Governor's Council of

New Jersey.

This was the property which the executrix of Mordecai Lincon's

Will was directed to
follow
:

sell, as

would appear by the two deeds which

in

Mary

Rogers, of Eseter,

the

County of Philadelphia, and

Province of Pennsylvania, the whole and sole executrix of the Last

Will of Mordecai Lincon,

"my

deceased husband," to

William

County aforesaid, my son-in-law. Dated January 17, 1742. Recorded November 28, 1766. Book D3, page 136, East Jersey Deeds, office of Secretary of State, Trenton, N. J. Power of Attorney. Recites husband's Will and the authority to sell, and empowers William Talman to sell, lease and otherwise manage or dispose of certain one hundred acres, on Matchiponix. IFitnesses George Boone and Roger Rogers.

Talman

of Amity

in the

APPENDIX

199
his

Roger Rogers was probably the husband of the grantor and

witnessing would seem to be in the nature of a consent, George

before

Boone was a Justice of Peace and the grantor acknowledged the deed him as such Justice. In virtue of the power given him by the foregoing William Tal-

man conveyed the premises by the following deed: William Tallman to James Abrahams. Deed dated May 10, 1743. Recorded November
D3, page
146. Consideration forty pounds.

16, 1766.

Book

"Tenement and tract of land," one hundred acres at Conveys: Macheponix, and recites as follows " which said tract of land the said Mordecai Lincon, by his last will and testament dated ye 2 2d of February, A. Dom. 1735, which is recorded in Philladelphia, did order to be sold by Mary, his widow and sole executrix, who now being the wife of Rodger Rodgers gave full power to the sd. William Talman to sell and convey ye same in manner and form as aforesd. as by a certain Power of Attorney from said Executrix to ye said William Tal-

man Dated
unto

ye 17th day of January A.

fully be

Dom.

1742, reference there-

May

had and

at large appear."

The

land which
is

John Lincon

as son

and heir-at-law received from

deed:

his father

described in the following

John Lincon, "Weaver" of the Township of

Carnarvin, County

of Lancaster, Pa., son and heir of Mordecai Lincon, deceased, to

William Dye. Dated November

lings to the ounce.

8,

1748. Recorded

May

i,

1757, in

Book H2,
J.

page 437. Consideration 200 pound current money of N.

Conveys land
in the

8 shil-

County of Middlesex.

Beginning where the land formerly Walter Benthal's crosses Cramberry Brook, from thence along said Benthal's line towards the post

road to the land formerly Robert Burnets, and from thence along said

Burnets

line in

breadth so

far that a parallel line to

the foresaid line

of Benthals from the said Burnets

contain

line to said

Cramberry brook do

300

acres, thence

along the course of said Benthal's line to

Cramberry Brook and from thence down the brook to where it began, Bounded West by land formerly Benthals, North by land formerly Robert Burnets, East by land formerly belonging to Herricon and
South by Cramberry Brook.

XII

SURVEY BILLS
The
State Historical Society of Wisconsin,

Madison, August
J.

a,

1908.

Henry
Dear

Lea, Esq.:

Sir,

Yours of the

19th

inst.

reaches this office during the

city.
I

absence of Doctor Thwaites from the

have, however, had a

somewhat hasty search made through the Draper Manuscripts and

find the following references to the Lincoln entries
:

25C36 (Boone's Survey Book), undated, but

be July, 1776: "Lincoln 1000 akers."

context shows

it

to

25C37: "Taken
akers i6ooe."

to

Richmond

Lincoln for warrant of 1000

a treasury

25C38

"Abraham Lincoln

enters

500 acres of Land on

warrant No. 5994 beginning opposite Charles Yanceys uper Line on the South side of the River Runing South 200 poles then up the

River for Quntety

nth Desember

1782."

32 "Ab"" Linkhorn enters 500 a"' of Land on a T. W. N 5994 Beg^ opposite Yancey upper line on the South side of the River Run^ South 200 poles thence up the River for Qt'' a copy T.

25C58,

p.

Marshall S."

25C84, p. 50: "Jainry the 17"" 1783 Hannaniah Lincoln Enters Sgj2j4 acres of Land on two tresury Warrants N" 8323 and 12409 Beginning on Kantuckey River at the Lower Ende of a Large Botom Where CoI Donelson Stopt his Line at a Large Camp and trees Nocked on the River bank Runing north two Miles then Este So far that Right angles to the river and Down the same will include
the Quntity."

26C45
2

" Survayd for Hannanighah Lincoln 1000 acres Begin

at

Shuger

tress

W 400 p

to 2

Shuger

trees

400 p
This
is

to a

White Oke and Hickury

&

400 p to 2 Shuger trees 400 p to the beginning."

apparently under date of April 22, 1785. 26C98 " Begining at Hananighah Lincolns S E Corner at 2
:

Wal-

APPENDIX
nuts Este

20I

ekes

W 400 pos
known
as

400

pos. to a
to a

Linn and hickery

400 pos

to 2

White

White oke

&

to the begining."

All these references are taken from the series in the Draper
scripts

Manu-

Boone Papers.
further service to

If

we can be of

you pray

call

upon

us.

Yours very

truly,

Annie A. Nunns,
Private
secy, to

R. G. Thwaites.

SURVEYOR'S CERTIFICATE FOR

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
[^Recorded in Kentucky Survey Book 4, page 350.]

Surveyed for Abraham Linkhorn 400 acres of Land in Jefferson County by virtue of a Treasury Warrant N 3334 on the Fork of Floyds Fork now called the Long Run beginning about two Miles up the said Fork from the Mouth of a Fork of the same formerly called Fells Fork at a Sugar Tree standing on the side of the same marked 5*8 and extending thence East 300 poles to a Poplar and Sugar Tree North 213^ poles to a Beech and Dogwood West 300 poles to a White Oak and Hickory South 213 ^^ poles to the
Beginning

May

7th.

1785

William Shannon
Exd."

S S

JC

William

May

JC

Anania Lincoln and

Abraham Lincoln
JosiAH Lincoln
Mem.
Chainmen

CC
also recorded in Jefferson

M.^
County Records, Book B,
p.

This Survey was

Cent.
are given as

60

(see facsimile in

Mag., November, 1886, and Nicolay and Hay); but

document
the original entry,

there the
as

Hanananiah Lincoln and Josiah Lincoln, and the Marker

is
it

Abra-

ham

Linkhorn.

As

the above

is

most probably the

correct one.
I

Exd. := Examined, usually precedes the name of the County Surveyor.

CC
M.

= Chainmen. = Marker.

XIII

THE HERRING FAMILY

Harrisonburg, Va., 9-15, 1908.
J.

Henry
Dear

Lea, Esq.:

Sir,

regret to say that

all

our family records and docuthe older

ments, as well

as the

county registers and records, were burned by

in

Gen. Sheridan's troops

family are dead,
I will

June,

'62.'

As

all

members of my
as I can re-

have to give you such information

member from

statements

made by my

grandfather, great-uncle, and

great-aunt, who, in their old age, frequently discussed the family

history and genealogy in

It

my

presence.

seems that the

to sea at

immigrant was John Herring, who ran away the early age of nine, and came to Virginia. He developed
first

into a

man

of considerable energy and

ability,

and by

his influence

secured a grant from George II to a large tract of land in the then

Indian infested and practically unexplored region, since famous as the

Shenandoah Valley. With

took, possession

his family

and

a few fearless followers, he

at

of his grant and reared a fort

Heronford, where

Thomas Herring now lives. He succeeded in defending himself against the Indians in many bloody fights, and reared a large family.
Four of his sons served Horse Harry Lee. After
Bathsheba Herring,
as in the

Revolutionary

War

under Light

that war was ended, Light

Horse Harry
at a time.

frequently visited and hunted with

I

them many weeks

it,

recall

was a daughter of Leonard

Herring, and was born on the old plantation near Bridgewater in

Rockingham County,

Virginia.

She got her name and her Scotch

a Scotch Presbyterian.

blood from her mother,

who was
to

The name

of her mother's family has been forgotten.

On
train

the

march [Harrisonburg

Port Republic, 4 June, 1864]

we overtook and burned a

of wagons which, loaded with material of war, had been driven from Harrisonburg as

we approached that place. Very curiously, the authorities there had thought it best to remove the records and public papers from the various county offices and had them loaded upon these wagons. Of course they were destroyed in the general burning. Hist. 34th Mass.

Regiment, by Gen. William

S.

Lincoln,

p.

298.

APPENDIX
Under
the circumstances of the times, no effort was

203

made for manyAbout twenty-five years ago, Dr, Burk Christman, through some friend who knew the English cousins, made investigations, which satisfied him that the first John Herring was of the noble English family of that name,
years to communicate with the family in England.

one of whom has been Archbishop of Canterbury. Doctor Christman

secured a coat of arms belonging to the English branch.
confess, I regarded the matter as too
I

must

much obscured by

the lapse of

time to deserve of great credit.

Abraham Lincoln, who married Bathsheba Herring, was a poor and rather plain man. Her aristocratic father looked with scorn on the alliance, and gave his daughter the choice of giving up her lover
or being disinherited.

The high-spirited young woman

Her husband was

did not hesitate.

She married the man

of Kentucky
in

she loved and went with him to the savage wilds

afterwards killed by an

1782.

Indian, but one of her sons, a lad of twelve years, killed the Indian

and avenged
spected by

his father's death.

Bathsheba Herring was a

woman

of
re-

fine intelligence
all

and strong

character.

She was greatly loved and

I regret that I

who knew her. am unable to

Very

give

more extended and

accurate in-

formation.
truly yours,

Charles Griffin Herring.

XIV

EPITAPHS IN LINVILL CREEK

CEMETERY, VIRGINIA'
To the Memory of Jacob Lincoln s' who was born on the i8th day of November 175 1 and departed this life on the 20th day of February 1822 Aged 71 years 9 months and 2 days.
Abraham Lincoln Born March 15, Aged 52 years 2 months and 29 days.
Sacred to John Lincoln
1799. Died June 18. 1851

who departed
5

this life

on the 13th day of

July 1818 Aged 35 years and

'

months and 4

days.

By

the courtesy of Professor

Marion D. Learned of University of Pennsylvania.

INDEX

INDEX
Names of
the direct ascendants of President Lincoln are set in small capitals.
set in italic.

Names

having no genealogical connection with the Lincoln family are

collaterals, the
first
list

In respect to

ot

names does

not, except in

some few exceptional

In the

cases,

go beyond the

generation after severance from the direct line.

" Cognate

Families

" only

the

direct ascendants are included.

Alberye, Margaret, married,

first,

Robert Bowne,

Lincoln
29, 30.

ii,

28; second, Roger Wright,

Mrs. Lydia Holmes, wife of John i, 92; ancestry of, 96, 97; 139. Bowne, Obadiah, 139. Bowne, Sarah, married Richard Salter i,
92.

Berry, Mrs. Lucy Shipley, wife of Richard,

85; adopts Nancy Hanks, 106, 125. See also Shipley, Lucy.
Berry, Richard, guardian of

122,

Bowne, William,
family,

father of John

i,

93, 94;

other issue of, 94.

Nancy Hanks, Bowne

93-96.

85, 106, 122, 125.

Bird,

Brumfield, Mrs.

Nancy

Lincoln, wife of

Anne. See Small, Mrs. Anne.

Bird, Edward, 20. Bird, Henry, 20. Bird, John, guardian of

William, 79 note 2, 85. Brumfield, William, 85.

Buffalo, Kentucky, birthplace of the PresiEliza-

Anne and

dent, 86.

beth Lincoln, 15, 20, 22.

Bush, Sarah. See Lincoln, Mrs. Sarah Bush

Lincoln
Johnston.

Boone, Anne, married Abraham

in,

75, 10;. Boone, Daniel, 79, 98, loi, 103, 104.

Boone, Dinah, married Benjamin Tallman,

Carbrooke, England, 39 seqq. Chancery Proceedings, records of, furnish key

to ancestry of Samuel

73 and note 4, 105. Boone, George, trustee under will of

DECAi
II,

Lincoln,
of,
t,c).

3 seqq.

Mor-

Clare,

Maud,

Countess

39.

71, 99.

Clare, Roger, Earl of,

Boone, James, 75. Boone, Mrs. Mary Foulke, wife of James,

75-

Codesmore, Af^wur
Cole, Elizabeth,

o/"

(Rutlandshire), lo.

granddaughter of
i,

Mor-

DECAi Lincoln

65.
married Robert

Boone, Mrs. Sarah Lincoln, wife of William,

74-

Cowper (Cooper), Joan,

Lincoln
i,

31 and note 2.
Lincoln, wife

Boone, William, 74 and note

i,

100, 105.

Crume (Krume), Mrs. Mary

of Ralph, 85.

Boone family, 98-105; points of contact

with Lincoln family, 105. Crume, Ralph, 85. BowNE, Mrs. Ann, wife of William, 94. BowNE, John i, father of Sarah Bowne Dunham, Margery, third wife of Richard Salter, 92, 94; other issue of, 94-96; Lincoln i, 17; death of, 17, 20.
139-

Bowne, John
139-

II,

son of John

i,

91, 94,95,

Friend, Dennis, 108 and note

i,

129 and

note 2.

208
Gannett, Mrs. Mary, second wife of
DECAi Lincoln
i,

INDEX
MorHolbrook, Mary, married Jacob Lincoln
66.
i,

65.

Grigsby, Aaron, 86.

Holmes, Mrs. Catherine, wife of Oba(or Sarah)

of,

Grigsby, Mrs.
sister

Nancy

Lincoln,

of the President, death

86,

26.

Gunthorpe, Mrs. Elizabeth. See Lincoln,

Elizabeth
11.

diah, 94, 96. Holmes, John, 139. Holmes, Jonathan, 139.

Gunthorpe, William, 27.

Gurney.Mrs. Anne. See Lincoln, Anne

Gurney, Robert, 27.

i.

Holmes, Lydia, married John Bowne, 92. Holmes, Obadiah i, father of Lydia Holmes Bowne, 94, 96; other issue of,
97; 39Holmes, Obadiah
11,

139.

Hanke family, Hanks from,

possible descent of Joseph

1 1

Holmes

family,

96-97.

seqq.

Hanks, Dennis. See Friend, Dennis.

Johnston, Charles, 129.

Hanks, Elizabeth. See Sparrow, Elizabeth Johnston, Daniel, 85, 129. Hanks. Johnston, John D., son of second wife of
Hanks, John, son of Joseph
13311,

131, 132,

Thomas Lincoln

iv,

132.

Johnston, Mrs. Sarah Bush. See Lincoln,

i,

Hanks, Joseph
of,

father of

Nancy Hanks
as to
i

Mrs. Sarah Bush Johnston.

Lincoln, 85, 108; doubts

descent Jones,

Abraham,

father

of Sarah Jones
issue of,

112 seqq.

other issue of,

20 1 22.

Lincoln, 65, 89; other

first

90.

Hanks, Joseph

11,

son of Joseph

i,

121, 125. Jones, Mrs. Ann,

wife of

Thomas, 88,

Hanks, Nancy, married Thomas Lincoln 89. IV, 85. And see Lincoln, Mrs. Nancy Jones, Mrs. Ann Lincoln, wife of William,
Hanks. Hanks, Mrs. Nancy Shipley,
Joseph
i,

wife

74of Jones, Mrs.

Elizabeth,

second

wife

of

85, 108,
1

19.
characteristics of,

Thomas, 89.
Jones, Robert, brother of

Hanks

family,

12-122;

138.

Jones, Sarah, married

Thomas, 87, 88. Mordecai Lincoln i,

Herring, Bathsheba, second wife of Abra65. ham Lincoln iv, 79 and note 3. And Jones, Mrs. Sarah Whitman, wife of Abraham, 65, 89, 90. see Lincoln, Mrs. Bathsheba Herring. Herring, John, father of Leonard Her- Jones, Thomas, father of Abraham, 87, 88,
ring, 109.

89.

Herring, Leonard, father of Mrs. Bath- Jones family, 87-90. sheba Herring Lincoln, 79, 1 10.

Herring, Mrs. Leonard, iio.

Herring family, 108,
of,

Kelt, Mrs. Alice, wife of Robert, 56.

112;

characteristics

138.
3 seqq.; semi-depopu-

Kett, John, 42, 43, 45, 46, 59. Kett, Mrs. Mary Remching, wife of John,

Hingham (England),
lated

43. 44Kett, Robert, 47, 50, 51 seqq.; execution

of,

by exodus

to

New England, 8,9;

parish register of, defective, 11, 12, 28,

58.

29.

Kett, Thomas, 46, 47.

Rolls,

Hingham {England) Manor

note.

25 and

Kett, William, 51 seqq.; execution of, 58.

Ketts of Lincolns settled in,

Wymondham,
of,

origin of, 45.

And

Hingham {Mass.), 64;

135 seqq.

see Norfolk Furies,

The.
note.

Kimberley, Earl

zi^

INDEX
Laud, Archbishop, 6-8.
Lawes, Francis, Samuel Lincoln apprenticed to, 4,

209
i

Lincoln, Edward, son of Richard

first

by

his

wife, and father of

Samuel
of,

the emi-

63 and note
i,

2.

grant, II,

12;

litigation
;

with half-

Lincoln,

Abraham
Abraham
67.

son of

Mordecai
Abraham

i,

sisters,

14 seqq.
19
;

disinherited

by
;

his

65, 66, 67, 68.

Lincoln,
11,

father,

20, 22, 23, 25, 26

death

son of

i,

67;

issue of,

of". 27 38, 39. 40, 44; Lincoln, Mrs. Edward, mother of Sam-

Lincoln,

Abraham iii, posthumous son of Mordecai ii, 71, 75; issue of, 75; 76,
iv,

uel, 6
of,

uncertainty concerning identity

II.
i,

105, 137. Lincoln, Abraham

Lincoln, Elizabeth

daughter of

Robert
1

i,

son of John hi, and

and wife of

Hugh
11,

Baldwin,

grandfather of the President, 77, 78 and note 3, 80 seqq.; murder of, 82, 83 and

Lincoln, Elizabeth

daughter of Richard
15 seqq.;

i,

by

his

fourth wife,

17, 18,

note ; 84, 85, 132 note. Lincoln, Abraham v. President of the U.

20, 22, 23, 25; marries William

S.

Gun75.
first

thorpe, 27.

77 note
Lincoln,

3,

78 note

2, 86,

126, 127, 130,

Lincoln, Elizabeth, wife of

Thomas

11,

132. 133-

Lincoln, Mrs. Elizabeth Remching,

de, progenitor of Essex and

Adam

Norfolk (?) Lincolns, 10. Lincoln, Agnes, daughter of Robert

Lincoln,

ii,

29.
i,

i, and grandmother of Samuel, 39, 40, 41, 44, 59. Lincoln, Hannah, daughter of Mordecai ii,

wife of Richard

Anne
25

i,

daughter of Richard
15
seqq.,

marries Joseph Millard, 72

issue of, 72.

first

by
22,
27.

his

fourth wife,
;

18,

20,

Lincoln, Mrs.
of Mordecai

Hannah
ii,

Salter,

wife

23,

marries Robert Gurney,

and great-great-grand-

Lincoln, Anne, daughter of

Mordecai
;

ii,

71
of,

marries William Tallman, 73

issue

mother of the President, 70, 72, 76 ; ancestry of, 90-97. Lincoln, Hannaniah, 74 note 4, 75 note i,

73.

82 and note

2.

Lincoln, Mrs. Anne, wife of

Abraham

11,

Lincoln, Henry, son of

Richard

by

his

67.
Lincoln, Mrs.

fourth wife, and half-brother of

Edward,
;

Anne Boone, Anne Rambo, Anne

17, 18

wife of Abra-

ham
68.

III,

75.
wife of Jacob 11,

of,

16 note 2, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27 28 ; 38.

i,

death

Lincoln, Mrs.

Lincoln, Isaac

son of Mordecai

i,

65, 66.
i,

Lincoln, Isaac

11,

son of

Abraham

67.

Lincoln, Mrs.

(Small), fourth wife of

;

Lincoln,

Isaac

in,

son

of John hi, and

Richard

I,

controversy
seqq.
;

of,

with

grand-uncle of the President, 77, 124.

Lincoln, Jacob
issue of,
i,

Edward Lincoln, i 8

authors' esti-

son of Mordecai

i,

65, 66;

mate of her character and conduct, 18

66.
11,

Lincoln, Jacob 19 ; 23, 24, 26 ; death of, 27. issue of, 68. Lincoln, Mrs. Bathsheba Herring, wife

son of

Abraham
John

i,

67

of

Abraham

iv,

and grandmother of the Lincoln,

Jacob

in,

son of

hi,

and

President, 79,

109 ; 202, 203.

80 and note 2, 83, 85, ancestry of, 1 08-1 12 ; 187-191, Samuel

the emi-

grand-uncle of the President, 77; children of, 77, 78 and note 3 ; 137.
Lincoln, Mrs. Joan,
31-

widow

of Robert

i,

Lincoln, Daniel, brother of

grant, 5, 27, 64,

135.
ii,

Lincoln, Johan de, wife of Adam, id.

Lincoln,

Lincoln, Deborah, daughter of Mordecai

"Sir" John,
10.

rector of

Weeting

72.

(1387),

lO
i,
11,

INDEX
29. son of
Lincoln, Mordecai iv, son of

Lincoln, John Lincoln, John

Mordecai

ii,

Abraham

i,

68.

74

issue of,

74

137.

Lincoln, John
son of
father

hi, called
II,

"

Virginia

John,"

Lincoln, Mordecai v, son of

Abraham

iv,

MoRDECAi

and

great-grand-

and uncle of the President, 82, 83, 84;

issue of,

of the President, 76, 77, 78, 132

84

123,137.

note, 137.

Lincoln, Nancy, daughter of

Abraham

iv,

Lincoln, John iv, son of John in and grand-

and great-aunt of the President, marries

uncle of the President, 77.

Lincoln, Josiah,

son of

Abraham
;

iv

William Brumfield, 85. and Lincoln, Nancy, daughter of

Thomas

iv,

uncle of the President, 82, 83

issue of,

and

sister

of the President, marries Aaron

1

84 and note
29.

6.

Grigsby, 86,

26.
first

Lincoln, Katherine, daughter of

Robert

ii,

Lincoln, Mrs.

Nancy Hanks,

wife of

Thomas
Robert
ii,

iv,

and mother of the President,

Lincoln, Mrs. Margaret Alberye, wife

of
28";
marries

Roger

Wright, 29, 30.

Lincoln, Mrs. Margery

ancestry of, 105-108 ; 112-122 (Hanks); adopted by Mrs. Lucy Berry, 122, 125 ; death

85 and note 2
(Shipley),

Dunham,

third wife

of,

129.

of Richard

i,

17.

Lincoln, Nicholas, rector of Caistor-nextthe-Sea, 9.

Lincoln, Mrs. Martha, wife of Samuel,

64, 87. Lincoln, Mrs. Mary, second wife of
DECAi
11,

Lincoln, Nicholas, of Rollesby, poacher, 9,

Mor-

10.

70

marries Roger Rogers, 70.

Lincoln, Mrs. Rebecca, wife of

Abraham Abraham

i,

See also Rogers, Mrs. Mary.

Lincoln,

67.
ii,

Mary, daughter of Mordecai Mary, daughter of Abraham

Lincoln, Rebecca, daughter of

marries Joseph Rush, 67.

i,

marries Francis Yarnall, 72.

Lincoln,

iv,

and aunt of the President, marries Ralph

Lincoln, Mrs. Rebecca, wife of John hi, 77 and note 2, 78.

Crume, 85.
Lincoln, Mrs.

Lincoln, Richard

i,

grandfather

of Sam-

Mary
i,

Gannett, second wife

of Mordecai
Lincoln, Mrs.

65.
first

uel the emigrant, 11, 14; proceedings in Chancery concerning estate of, 15;
his

Mary Holbrook, Mary

1

wife of

inheritance,

15,

16;

his

four mar-

Jacob

I,

66.
Shipley,
first

riages,

16,

17;

influence of his fourth

;

Lincoln, Mrs.

wife of
;

wife on, and his will,

eldest son

Abraham

iv,

79, 80 and note 4, 84

disinherits 1 8-20 Edward, 19 ; death of, at

;

ancestry of,

05-108.
Shute, wife of Isaac
ii,

Swanton Morley, 22
30, 35, 40. Lincoln, Richard

23, 24, 26,28,

Lincoln, Mrs.

Mary

67.
Lincoln, Mrs.
decai
III,

11,

son 'of Richard

by

Mary Webb,
1,

wife of

Mor-

second wife, 17, 23, 25, 28.

74. son of Samuel, and

Lincoln, Robert

i,

grandfather of Rich-

Lincoln, Mordecai

ard

i,

30, 31, 34. 35.

ii,

great-great-great-grandfather of the Presi-

Lincoln, Robert
1

father of

Richard

i,

dent, 64, 87, 90, 132 note.

1,

14, 16, 28, 29, 35.

Lincoln, Mordecai

ii,

son of

Mordecai

i,

Lincoln, Robert, of Hellington, 34. Lincoln, Rose, the elder, daughter of Rob-

and great-great-grandfather of the

Presi-

dent, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, 76, 93,

ert

I,

31.

132 note.
Lincoln, Mordecai in, son of Abraham
i,

Lincoln,

Rose, the younger,

i,

daughter of

68.

Robert

31.

INDEX
Lincoln, Samuel, THE emigrant, son of Ed-

11

ward, and

great-great-great-great-grand-

Moody, Sir Henry, 93 note 3. Moody, Lady, wife of Sir Henry, 93 and
note 3.

father of the President, born in

Hingham,

Eng., 4; apprenticed in Norwich, 4; goes to America, 4 ; exact age of, uncertain, 4, 5

;

Mott, Gershom, 95, 139.

Norfolk County (England), defective registers of,
1 1

baptism

of, 4,

date of

death
on, 9

of,
;

5;

Rev. R.
of,

Peck's influence
11
;

and note.

parentage

27, 38, 59,

63, 64, 87, 132 note; prominent

descended from, 136-138.
Lincoln, Sarah, daughter of
Lincoln, Sarah,

men

Norfolk Furies, The, 54. Northampton, Marquis of, 53, 54.

Norwich, 4,

5, 8, 9,

10.

Abraham i, 68. daughter of Mordecai 11,

Parish Registers,
in

first

ordered to be kept,
;

marries William Boone, 74, 105.

England,

1 1

note

lack of care in pre-

Lincoln, Mrs. Sarah Bush Johnston, second

wife of

servation of, 12.

Thomas

iv,

and stepmother of
wife of

Peck,

Rev. Robert, baptises Samuel Lin;

the President, 85, 129.

coln, 6
first

and Archbishop Laud's

;

edict

Lincoln, Mrs. Sarah Jones,

of 1634, 6-8

excommunicated, leads
England, 8
;

Mordecai
cob
I,

i,

65, 66; ancestry

of,

87-90.

exodus

to

New

11, 15.

Lincoln, Mrs. Susanna, second wife of Ja-

66.

Rambo, Anne, married Jacob Lincoln

i,

11,

Lincoln,

Thomas Thomas
issue of,

brother of Samuel, 5,

68.

6, 27, 38, 64, 134.

Lincoln,

11,

son of

Mordecai
John
hi,

ii,

75

75

137.
son of

Remching, Anne, 39. Remching, Edward, 40, 41, 42. Remching, Elizabeth, wife of Richard,
41, 42 ; her will, 43, 44. Remching, Elizabeth, first wife of Richard Lincoln i, 16 and note 1.
wife of John Kett, and

Lincoln,

Thomas

iii,

and

great-uncle of the President, 77.

Lincoln,

Thomas

iv,

son of

and father of the President, 80

his

Abraham iv, who was Remching, Mary,

;

mother? 80, 187-191 ; 82, 85 ; death of, 86 and note 2 ; life and character of,

sister

of Elizabeth Remching Lincoln,

46, 59.

123 seqq.

born

in Virginia,

Remching, Richard
4'. 59-

i,

16 and note

i,

39,

123

in

father's

Kentucky, 123 ; witnesses his murder, 123 ; poverty of, 124

;

Remching, Richard
Remchings,
Robeson,

11,

42.

learns carpenter's trade, 124,

125
;

edu-

origin of,

39 seqq.

cation of, 125

to Indiana,
1

marriage
;

of,

125

moves

Jonathan, trustee under will of

29

ston,

Mordecai Lincoln ii, 71 and note i. marries Mrs, Sarah Bush John- Rogers, Mrs. Mary, widow of Mordecai Lincoln ii, and wife of Roger Rogers, 129; religious belief of, 130;
128
death of wife Nancy,
1

moves
Lincoln,

to Illinois,

3
;

his frequent

mi-

70, 71, 72, 74.

Rogers, Roger, 70 and note 4.

grations,

131, 132
v,

death of, 133.

Thomas

infant brother

of the
St.

President, 86.

Mary
coln
II,

Coslany,

Norwich,

tablet in,

o.

Lincoln, William de, 10.

Salter, Hannah, married Mordecai Linde, 10.

Lingcole (Lincoln),

Thomas

70.
i,

Salter, Richard
Millard,

father

of Hannah Salter

Mrs. Hannah Lincoln, wife of

Lincoln, 68,
issue of,

69,

70,

90-92

other

Joseph, 72.

92, 93, 138.

12

INDEX

Tallman, Mrs. Anne Lincoln, wife of WilRichard ii, 139. liam, 73. Salter, Mrs. Sarah Bowne, wife of RichTallman, Benjamin, son of William, 73, ard I, 70, 92, 95.
Salter,

Salter family,
Sheffield,

90-93.

105.

Lord, 54.

Tallman, Mrs. Dinah Boone, wife of Ben73.

Shipley, Lucy, sister of

coln and

jamin, Mary Shipley LinNancy Shipley Hanks, adopts Tallman,

William, 70, 72, 73 and note 2,

Nancy Hanks,
Shipley,
IV,

106, 122.

74-

79.

Mary, married Abraham Lincoln Tower, Mrs. Sarah Lincoln, daughter of Mordecai Lincoln i, 65, 66.

Shipley, Robert, father of

Lincoln, and of

Mary Shipley Nancy Shipley Hanks, "

issue
of,

Virginia

John."

See Lincoln, John hi.

105,
119.

106

other

106-108

Warwick, Earl

Shipley, Mrs. Sarah, wife of Robert, 79,

Webb, Mary,
74-

of, 55, 56, 57. married Mordecai Lincoln

rii,

106.
Shipley family,
Shute,

105-108.
Isaac Lincoln
11,

Whitman, John,
67.

father of Sarah

Whitman

Mary, married

Jones, 89 and note 3.

Small, Mrs.

Lincoln
Anne.

i,

Anne, fourth wife of Richard Whitman, 89. 17. And see Lincoln, Mrs.

Mrs.

Ruth, wife of John,

married

Whitman, Sarah,
Anne
Small, 20.

Abraham Jones,
8.

Small, Richard, son of Mrs.

89.

Sparrow, Mrs. Elizabeth Hanks, wife of

Wren, Matthew, Bishop of Norwich,

Alberye.
berye,

Thomas, and

sister

of

Nancy Hanks Wright, Mrs. Margaret

Margaret,

See Al-

Lincoln, 128, 129.

Sparrow, Thomas,
i

and Lincoln, Mrs.

29.

Margaret Alberye.
Wyndsor, Walter de, 10.

Sunny South, The, 78 note 3, 83 note 4,

84 note

I.

Swanton Morley, 15, 19, 20, 22, 26, 28.

Yarnall, Francis, 72 and note 4.

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