My Family's Lincoln Connection (Mystery Solved!)
I have to mark time on this day! I have, at last, figured out an enduring mystery on my mom's side of the family. I can't tell you what a thrill it is to finally solve this crazy, convoluted story!
In the last couple of days, I have uncovered new information on my maternal great-great-great and great-great-great-great grandparents. I am finding much of my mom's ancestry can be traced back to Ireland. I am more Irish than I previously believed. More on that in a later post.
Today was a great victory for Sam the Sleuth. My Campbell and Walker cousins will enjoy this too, because (obviously) this pertains to them as well.
You see, for as long as I can remember, my mom and dad told me that we were related to Abraham Lincoln. They weren't quite sure how, but they thought Nancy Hanks (Lincoln's mother) had a connection to our family.
So today I decided, using the relatively limited resources at my disposal, if I could figure out that connection (if, in fact, there was any).
Well, it turns out my parents were absolutely correct. Perhaps not quite as they had thought -- there is no blood relation -- but there is still a definite connection to Abraham Lincoln.
I can verify that the following story is 100% accurate and I have cross-referenced everything to assure its validity, including double checking an account written by Carl Sandburg, the famous poet and author, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography on Abraham Lincoln (I like to put my history degree to use from time to time just to convince myself I didn't waste four years of my life).
Bear with me here because it could get confusing...
On 12 February 1809 near Hodgenville, Kentucky, 25 year old Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln went into labor with her second child. Her husband, Thomas went to get the local midwife, a woman named Mary Enlow.
When Thomas got to the road, he saw Mary's 16 year old son, Abraham Enlow. He told Abraham to get his mother because Nancy had gone into labor and the baby was coming soon.
Abraham Enlow could not find his mother, but thinking quickly, he brought his 20 year old sister, Peggy Walters, to the Lincoln cabin instead. After some difficulty, Nancy Lincoln delivered a baby boy and a relieved Thomas Lincoln named the child "Abraham" after the young man who kept his cool and helped in the time of need.
Now, Abraham Enlow had an uncle (his father's brother) named Jesse Enlow (born in Maryland, 1769). Years later, Jesse's great grandson, Francis W. Enlow, married a woman named Alta May Anthony on 3 April 1893.
Alta's father was George Anthony, who was the son of Hiram Anthony and Jerusha Slater (if the name Jerusha looks familiar, that is my grandmother's middle name, undoubtedly named after her).
Hiram and Jerusha Anthony are my great-great-great grandparents.
Hiram and Jerusha had seven children, including a daughter named Sarah Adeline Anthony, born 26 January 1850.
Sarah married David B. McGowan (about 1870) and on 14 September 1874, they had a daughter named Margaret.
Margaret is my mom's grandmother.
So in review....
Abraham Lincoln was named after Abraham Enlow, who was my fifth cousin Alta's husband's great grandfather's nephew.
Clear as mud, right?
But there you have it. The old family legend is true. It is a crazy road, but the Walker/Campbell cousins do have a connection to Abraham Lincoln.
In the last couple of days, I have uncovered new information on my maternal great-great-great and great-great-great-great grandparents. I am finding much of my mom's ancestry can be traced back to Ireland. I am more Irish than I previously believed. More on that in a later post.
Today was a great victory for Sam the Sleuth. My Campbell and Walker cousins will enjoy this too, because (obviously) this pertains to them as well.
You see, for as long as I can remember, my mom and dad told me that we were related to Abraham Lincoln. They weren't quite sure how, but they thought Nancy Hanks (Lincoln's mother) had a connection to our family.
So today I decided, using the relatively limited resources at my disposal, if I could figure out that connection (if, in fact, there was any).
Well, it turns out my parents were absolutely correct. Perhaps not quite as they had thought -- there is no blood relation -- but there is still a definite connection to Abraham Lincoln.
I can verify that the following story is 100% accurate and I have cross-referenced everything to assure its validity, including double checking an account written by Carl Sandburg, the famous poet and author, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography on Abraham Lincoln (I like to put my history degree to use from time to time just to convince myself I didn't waste four years of my life).
Bear with me here because it could get confusing...
 |
| Thomas Lincoln |
On 12 February 1809 near Hodgenville, Kentucky, 25 year old Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln went into labor with her second child. Her husband, Thomas went to get the local midwife, a woman named Mary Enlow.
When Thomas got to the road, he saw Mary's 16 year old son, Abraham Enlow. He told Abraham to get his mother because Nancy had gone into labor and the baby was coming soon.
Abraham Enlow could not find his mother, but thinking quickly, he brought his 20 year old sister, Peggy Walters, to the Lincoln cabin instead. After some difficulty, Nancy Lincoln delivered a baby boy and a relieved Thomas Lincoln named the child "Abraham" after the young man who kept his cool and helped in the time of need.
Now, Abraham Enlow had an uncle (his father's brother) named Jesse Enlow (born in Maryland, 1769). Years later, Jesse's great grandson, Francis W. Enlow, married a woman named Alta May Anthony on 3 April 1893.
Alta's father was George Anthony, who was the son of Hiram Anthony and Jerusha Slater (if the name Jerusha looks familiar, that is my grandmother's middle name, undoubtedly named after her).
Hiram and Jerusha Anthony are my great-great-great grandparents.
Hiram and Jerusha had seven children, including a daughter named Sarah Adeline Anthony, born 26 January 1850.
Sarah married David B. McGowan (about 1870) and on 14 September 1874, they had a daughter named Margaret.
Margaret is my mom's grandmother.
 |
| Taken in front of the McGowan home in Berne, Minnesota. David and Sarah McGowan, my great-great grandparents, are seated. |
So in review....
Abraham Lincoln was named after Abraham Enlow, who was my fifth cousin Alta's husband's great grandfather's nephew.
Clear as mud, right?
But there you have it. The old family legend is true. It is a crazy road, but the Walker/Campbell cousins do have a connection to Abraham Lincoln.
