Post a query (or information from any one of the above categories) on any HANKS name or related family. Please give dates, and locations they lived. Try to give as much information as possible.
The Hanks family reportedly is an ancient family that was located in England from the earliest times. Their ancestral home is Malmesbury, England, where a number of Hanks family members are buried in the church yard there.
Some variant spellings include Hank, Hanke, Hankey, Hancks, Hanckes, Hankins, Henke, etc.
An interesting note I should add is that when I was growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, during the 1960s and 1970s, directly across the street from me lived Mr. and Mrs. James C. "J. C." Hanks. One of their sons was also named James Hanks, and I attended high school with James’ son, Barry Hanks. I had a lot of admiration for Barry’s grandparents who maintained a very nice home and yard. Since moving to Missouri I have made contact with this nice family through the assistance of Gary Scott of Washington, D.C., who is Barry’s first cousin. There is a very distant connection between my family and theirs. They are descendants of George Hanks (1778-1826) of Anderson District, South Carolina, son of Luke Hanks II. Both families trace back to Thomas Hanks of Gloucester, Virginia.
Also of interest is that living directly next door to J. C. Hanks was a family named HANKINS. Their children were Broad, Lois, and Bruce. These kids were just a few years older than me, but they moved away to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the early 1970s. I have seen reference to an Abraham HANKINS in Maury Co., Tennessee, whom I believe should really be Abraham HANKS. My ancestor in Maury Co., Tennessee was Moses HANKS, who was a brother of this Abraham HANKS/HANKINS. I do believe the names HANKS and HANKINS can be interchangeable back in pioneer days. So I grew up with HANKS and HANKINS families living just across the street from me.
Since moving to Southwest Missouri in 1980, I made contact with Virginia (Bilyeu) Rollings, Robert W. "Bob" Bare, Dorrel T. Hanks, and others who descend from Rev. Thomas Hanks of Christian County, Missouri. This Rev. Thomas Hanks was a son of Rev. Elijah Hanks and a grandson of Moses Hanks, so there is a close connection there. There are lots and lots of Hanks families and descendants living near Ozark, Christian County, Missouri and in Springfield, Missouri, where I live. Dorrel T. Hanks is a well-known real estate company owner in Ozark and Springfield. Dennis Hanks is a car dealership owner in Ozark, Missouri, and the list of well-known Hankses in Southwest Missouri goes on and on.
One interesting thing I learned about Rev. Thomas Hanks is that in the 1880s when the Baldknobbers were prevalent in Southwest Missouri (this was a local vigilante group similar to the Ku Klux Klan), 3 of them were arrested, tried and hanged at Ozark, Missouri. After a visit from "Father Tom" as many called him, one of the baldknobbers repented of his sins, accepted Christ as his Savior, and requested to be baptized. Rev. Thomas Hanks baptized him in a bathtub in the Ozark city jail. The next day all 3 of the criminals were hanged on the town square. This is quite an interesting bit of local history that our Hanks family took part in. "Father Tom" baptized quite a few believers in Bull Creek in Southwest Missouri during his long ministry as a Baptist preacher. Rev. Tommy Bilyeu (brother of Virginia Rollings) is a well-known Baptist minister in recent times who also played music with the Baldknobbers music show in Branson, and there are several other ministers among the Hanks descendants in Southwest Missouri.
Another famous relative is Tom Hanks, a well-known actor and Academy Award winner. He decided to pursue acting after reading and watching a performance of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh. He has performed in a number of Walt Disney movies including "BIG" and is Woody’s voice in the movie "Toy Story."
Another interesting part of the HANKS family heritage is the fact that through Moses Hanks our family is related to President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln’s mother was Nancy HANKS Lincoln. According to Adin Baber and other Hanks family researchers, Nancy was the daughter of Abraham Hanks. Abraham Hanks was the brother of Moses Hanks, my ancestor. Much has been written about the Hanks lineage of President Abraham Lincoln. Some researchers claim Nancy’s father was Joseph Hanks (who was another brother of Moses Hanks—so the connection is still there). Others says Nancy was the illegitimate daughter of Lucy Hanks and a granddaughter of Joseph Hanks or else the daughter of a James Hanks who died young (married to a Lucy) and granddaughter of Joseph Hanks (the blood connection is still there).
Some of the early Hankses and other early family members belonged to the Broad Run Baptist Church in Fauquier County, Virginia, which was constituted December 3, 1762. I am assuming that this church was associated with the Primitive Baptist or "hardshell" Baptist faith, since that was the faith of the earliest Dodsons (who intermarried with the Hankses) that I am aware of (although undoubtedly the very earliest Hankses in Virginia must have belonged to the Anglican Church, which was the recognized church of the early colonists). This material is fascinating reading and gives insights into the lives of the members. Many times letters are issued to members transferring or "removing" to new and distant locations. The reader may also be entertained by the "successes" and "failures" of human nature reflected in the church’s dealings with its communicants.
p>
One thing I discovered is that there is a reference to the baptism of a Nancy Hanks on June 13, 1778; however, after further checking, I find that this Nancy Hanks could not have been the mother of President Abraham Lincoln. His mother was born on the 5 February 1784 in Campbell County, Virginia. This Nancy Hanks was born much earlier.
I have made a page which includes transcriptions of the minutes of this church.
You may also be interested in this site: "Will the real Nancy Hanks Lincoln please stand up?" This source lists 46 Nancy Hankses born in America between 1780 and 1866:
Also be sure to view my NANCY HANKS REFERENCES Page for primary sources which mention Nancy Hanks, mother of President Lincoln.
Here is my HANKS lineage as far as I know:
If you have queries concerning the Hanks surname, you may post these at the Hanks Family Genealogy List that I started in February 1997. Hanks Genealogy List is a part of the Rootsweb e-mail discussion lists. It offers free queries and discussion on the Hanks surname and variant spellings.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected]
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: [email protected]
Archived postings to the Hanks e-mail list can be found on the WEB at:
There is also a separate HANKE E-Mail Discussion List on Rootsweb.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected]
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: [email protected]
Archived postings to the Hanke e-mail list can be found on the WEB at:
There is also a separate HANKINS E-Mail Discussion List which was started by Allen Richmond [email protected].
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected]
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: [email protected]
Archived postings to the Hankins e-mail list can be found on the WEB at:
Post a query (or information from any one of the above categories) on any HANKS name or related family. Please give dates, and locations they lived. Try to give as much information as possible.
An online genealogy forum for posting queries has also been set up specifically for the HANKS family on GenForum. It can be found at the following address:
An online genealogy forum for posting queries has also been set up specifically for the HANKINS family on GenForum. It can be found at the following address:
***Note***During the Fall of 1998, GenForum combined with Family Tree Maker, which means that all queries and information posted to that site becomes the property of Family Tree Maker. This is still a good site to look up information and get contact names for the HANKS lines you are searching, but be advised that if you now post a new query or a response to something on that site, chances are that sometime in the future Family Tree Maker will include that information on a CD-ROM which they will sell for profit to anyone who is interested. I do not like the idea of someone else using my hard researched information and ideas and selling them for a profit without my knowledge. This same practice is evident on all of the Family Tree Maker pages which are found on the internet, if you will read the disclaimer notices on those pages. I recommend the Family Tree Maker pages as good look up pages, but I don’t recommend posting information there. Similar things can be said for Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com which are connected to each other and seek to make a profit from genealogical materials on the internet.
Sierra Brewi’s Genealogy Page. (Has genealogy on Boynton, Howell, Drew, Morgan, West, Notter, HANKS, Lincoln, Boone, Putnam, and related families). This same information can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/~family_treez. E-mail Sierra at: [email protected] or [email protected]
Wayne Stafford’s Home Page (He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, National Huguenot Society, and the Anderson County Genealogical Society; the site includes ancestral charts for both him and his wife.)
and Ancestors of Charles Wayne Stafford. (He descends through John Bird Woolverton, b. 1780 Henry Co., VA, d. 1863 Anderson Co., TX; md. Anna Jane HANKS, b. 1785 VA, d. 1863 Anderson Co., TX. From Anna Jane HANKS the lineage goes back through Moses Hanks son of Luke Hanks), both maintained by Wayne Stafford at: [email protected]
Bonnie Woolverton’s Web Page (Includes personal information about Bonnie; her many genealogical and professional affiliations; her family tree which includes surnames of Woolverton, Faires, HANKS (2 lines), Hudson (2 lines), Ritchey, Scarbrough, Tisdale, Tucker, and Webb; and her genealogical publications which includes information on Tennessee Colony and Anderson County, Texas where her line of Woolvertons and Hankses settled while Texas was still a Republic.)
and Bonnie Woolverton’s Pedigree Chart #1. (Includes Woolverton lineage back to John Nelson Woolverton, b. 1834 Maury Co., TN, d. 1872 Anderson Co., TX; md. Albina Mary Harris, b. 1840 Maury Co., TN, d. 1908 Tennessee Colony, TX)
and Bonnie Woolverton’s Pedigree Chart #2. (Includes Woolverton/Hanks lineage back to Moses Hanks son of Luke Hanks), all maintained by Bonnie Woolverton at: [email protected]
Jim Phelps’ Hanks Family Genealogy. (He is a descendant of Stephen England Hanks; son of George Hanks who md. Sibby Harper; son of Abraham Hanks md. Sarah Harper.) E-mail Jim at: [email protected]
The Hall Genealogy. (Has links to Sarah Hanks b. c1765 Grayson Co., VA md. 1839 to Lewis Sturgill, b. 1765). E-mail L. Hall at: [email protected]
Thelma L. Windham’s Joseph Hanks / Nancy Hanks Genealogy. E-mail Thelma at: [email protected]
Christopher Child’s Web Page on The Maternal Lineage of Abraham Lincoln.
Ideas of the Past. (Has links to various theories on the parentage of Nancy Hanks LIncoln.)
Mother of the President, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, 1784-1818. (Raymond Martin Bell & Christopher Challender Child’s theory that Nancy was a daughter James Hanks & Lucey Shipley & granddaughter of Joseph Hanks & Ann Lee.)
Paul H. Verduin’s theory that Nancy was a daughter of Lucey & granddaughter of Joseph Hanks.
David S. Keiser’s theory that Nancy was a daughter of Thomas Hanks & granddaughter of Joseph Hanks.
David Andrew Sturgill’s theory that Nancy was a daughter of Abraham Hanks & Sarah Harper.
There is also a family newsletter/bulletin called the HANKS HISTORICAL REVIEW, which is published 3 times a year by its capable editors, Barbara and Bob Baber. Cost is $12.00 per year and includes historical information, queries, and announcements on Hanks families in the U.S. You may contact Barbara Baber for futher information.
If you are interested in books that deal with the Hanks family, here are some that are still in print:
Also, Nancy Baber McNeill, daughter of Adin Baber, has revised and updated her father’s most complete book on the Hankses which was privately published in 1965 and was 409 pages. The revised book was published in the fall of 2004. Adin Baber’s book was THE HANKS FAMILY OF VIRGINIA AND WESTWARD.
He also wrote THE HANKS FAMILY LEGACY, 1643-1889, in 1962 and NANCY HANKS: THE DESTINED MOTHER OF A PRESIDENT, in 1963, which are both available through interlibrary loan.
Adin Baber’s, The Hanks Family of Virginia and Westward. 2nd Edition has been revised and updated by his daughter, Nancy Baber McNeill and Louis Franklin Hanks (2004). This valuable resource book for Hanks researchers has been out of print for quite some time. Now you can add this much expanded revised edition of this scarce 1965 genealogy of the Hanks family to your own personal library. The original book had 3,000 names, and the revised edition has approximately 16,000 names.
The book was originally distributed by: The Arthur H. Clark Co. of Spokane, WA which no longer carries the book. To obtain the book, contact Nancy Baber McNeill’s son, John M. Kern:
John M. Kern, Trustee
Nancy Baber McNeill Trust
229 Alder St.
Pacific Grove CA 93950.
The price is $90.00 and includes postage. Please send all inquiries regarding the book (only a few copies are still available of the revised version) to John M. Kern at
Last updated August 20, 2011.
Back to Glenn Gohr’s Genealogy Page