Southwest Sierra #101 – The Search for Abraham Lincoln’s DNA Profile

It isn’t surprising that a lot of research has been done on Abraham Lincoln’s ancestry. A group of researchers, including a geneticist, has created a website: geneticlincoln.com. Most of the information that follows is from this site. The site lists many source documents along with information from recent mtDNA sequencing. I quickly learned that what I’d been taught about Lincoln’s mother’s origins was not true. Evidently, in the past, a lot of effort went into hiding the fact that Nancy Hanks and her sister Sarah were illegitimate daughters of Lucy Hanks. “Hanks” was Nancy’s mother’s maiden name, and her father (Abe’s maternal grandfather) remains unknown. Based on the timing of various court filings in Mercer County, Kentucky, Lucy Hanks was pregnant with Henry Sparrow’s first child when she and Mr. Sparrow married in 1790. The marriage put an end to “fornication” charges against Lucy! Henry and Lucy’s marriage produced three daughters (Nancy’s half-sisters).

The Sparrow family line continues, but there are no known direct descendants of Abraham Lincoln living today. His paternal line died out with the death of his grandson Abraham Lincoln II in 1890, and the family line died out with the death of his great-grandson Robert Todd Beckwith in 1985.

MtDNA sequencing on known descendants of Lucy (Hanks) and Henry Sparrow has revealed the Hanks’ maternal line to be in the rare ancient haplogroup Xlc. This has made it easier for researchers to put certain matrilineal relationship claims to rest. If Mary E.’s statement is true that “his mother Nancy Hanks was a daughter of my great-great aunt” (see SS#100), AND it was strictly through the maternal line as seems to be implied, then my father’s sisters would have the same haplogroup. Aunt Irene is no longer with us, but she has surviving daughters and granddaughters. Dad’s sister Polly has expressed an interest in having her DNA done, but as far as I know, none of them has. Birth certificates were optional in Kentucky in the late 1700s, and this has made genealogical research more difficult. Neither Nancy Hanks nor her sister Sarah was issued a birth certificate. I do not, at this time, have a family tree that links to the Hanks, so it seems highly unlikely that a DNA connection would be found. (If any of these female relations get tested in the future, I’ll let my readers know.)

With recent advances in mtDNA sequencing, there is an ongoing search for relics that might contain a sample of Lincoln’s DNA, which would reveal the family line of his maternal grandfather. There was much excitement in 2020 with the discovery of a blood-stained piece of curtain from the theater box where he was assassinated. The provenance of the relicchecked out, and a viable DNA sample was acquired. The mtDNA did not match what is known of Lincoln’s DNA, but it was an identical match for one of his guards, Major Henry Reed Rathbone. This verified both the authenticity of the relic and the accuracy of the DNA test. Amazing.

I suppose if you go back far enough, we are all related. I took a biology class at Sierra College a few years ago and was surprised to learn how much the Tree of Life has changed since my high school days (early 1980s). The tree has been amended thanks to the application of DNA technology used to trace the evolution of species.

One thing that I learned in my biology class and that really struck a chord was why Latin is used for scientific names. Latin is considered a “dead” language, and that is why it is used. The definition of a dead language is one that does not change. A language dies when it is no longer used in everyday life. Living language, language that is used, changes constantly. Is “proper” grammar nothing more than an attempt to murder English?

Mary E.’s letter is a good example of how language and meanings change. When speaking of a possible relationship to Abe Lincoln she states: “if he was in the fifth generation, if he had been a dishonorable man we would not say a word or Claim Relation.” I don’t know what the “fifth generation” is, but the connotation is negative. Google “Fifth Generation” and you get Artificial Intelligence! AI is the fifth-generation computer language. I tried searching biblical sites and my own bible but only found Mahalelel who is the 5th Generation from Adam, and who, according to Genesis lived 895 years. There is no negative reference to him. If any of my readers know what Mary E. meant by “The fifth generation,” please educate me.