Abraham Lincoln is the 1st cousin 3x removed of the husband of my 1st great grand aunt

As I expected, and predicted, I have wandered off on a tangent or two as I try to put together my family’s history.  Probably my most interesting tangent so far is the one that led me to the Lincoln family.  It’s not a direct link between me and the 16^th President of the United States, but a wild and crazy path that winds through the Ohio River Valley.

It’s probably not that surprising that a connection was made to Lincolns.  Anyone who grew up in Knox County, Indiana should be more than aware of the fact that Abraham’s family supposedly passed through our community in 1830 as the family moved from Spencer County, Indiana to Illinois.  There’s a historical marker on the Illinois side of the Memorial Bridge stating this very fact.  Not to mention that many an Indiana fourth grader has visited the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Spencer County during a class field trip, including myself.

Abraham’s family tree is fairly well known and can be viewed at Archives.com.  His parents were Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks.  Thomas’s parents were Abraham Lincoln and Bathsheba Herring.  This is what set off the alarms in my head since my Lincoln tangent includes Bathsheba Herring Lincoln.  It’s a rather unusual name and one most won’t easily forget.

So what is the path that goes from me to Mr. Lincoln?  As I mentioned earlier, it’s not a direct path and we have no common blood relatives.  The connection is through a marriage and many purists will discount the claim based solely on that.  Regardless, I think it’s cool that I could even make a connection to anyone, let alone one of the greatest leaders of our country.

Without further adieu, here’s the relationship path:

1. Me
2. my mother – Phyllis Keller DeMoss
3. my grandmother – Dorothy Cardinal Keller
4. my great-grandmother – Ethel Thompson Cardinal
5. my great-great grandparents – Frank & Sarah (Butler) Thompson
6. my great-grand aunt – Edith Thompson Williams
7. my great-grand uncle (Edith’s husband) – Everett Williams
8. Everett’s mother – Mary E Lincoln Williams
9. Everett’s grandfather – Benjamin Lincoln
10. Everett’s great-grandfather – Thomas Lincoln
11. Everett’s great-great-grandfather – Josiah Lincoln
12. Everett’s 3rd great grandparents – Abraham Linkhorn and Bathsheba (Herring) Lincoln (who are also Abraham Lincoln’s grandparents)
13. Abraham’s father – Thomas Lincoln
14. Abraham Lincoln

So there you have it.  My 5 seconds of greatness.