Mrs. Hitchock begins her account to the Hanks family, with Benjamin Hanks, and wife Abigail, who reached Massachusetts, in 1699. One of their children, William being recorded, and not mentioned again There are many such cases, in this period, where the child is dead. Mrs. Hitchcock believes, with no evidence, that he moved to Virginia and became the father of the Virginia and Kentucky Hanks familes. If this were true, she could be related to Abrham Lincoln. Next are the sons, Abraham, Richard, John, Joseph, who all move to Amelia Co., but JJohn. She lists all the property, starting in 1740. Many property deeds still exist in this era, but not one can be found to verify her story. Mr. Lea quickly discovered in 1740 these sons would have been from age 15 to an infant. nancy hanks was born in 1784, making this Hanks she chooses as her father in the upper 60's, in age! She has Robert Shipley's daughters married to Capt. Abraham Lincoln, Richard Berry,
Robert Mitchell, and Thomas Sparrow. They all have documented marriages to women that are not Shipleys Richard's wife was Rachel, Lincoln's wife Bathsheba, Sparrow was married to Elizabeth Hanks, And there is a whole bunch more of wrong names, like Nancy shipley Hanks married to Levi Hall. She was Nancy Hanks, mother of Dennis Hanks. The documented facts prove that her book has an impossible lineage.
