Near Springfield in Washington County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Nancy Hanks and Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln was born on January 7, 1778, in Rockingham County, Virginia, to Captain Abraham and Bathsheba Lincoln. He was the youngest of three sons and the fourth of five children. The Lincoln family migrated from eastern Virginia to Jefferson County, Virginia, in 1782. Four years later, Captain Abraham was killed by Native Americans on the family farm.
Thomas, a carpenter and farmer by trade, courted and married Nancy Hanks on Beech Fork in Washington County, Kentucky, on June 12, 1806. Together they had three children, Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, Jr. Thomas and his family continued their migration westward in 1816, first to Indiana and finally to Macon County, Illinois. A year following Nancy Lincoln’s death in October 1818, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, an Elizabethtown, Kentucky, widow. Upon reaching Illinois, Thomas lived the remainder of his life in Coles County, Illinois, until his death in 1851.
Nancy Hanks Lincoln
Nancy Hanks was probably born around 1783, in Virginia, to James and Lucy Shipley Hanks. Little is known about the Hanks ancestry, because of the repetitive use of common names from generation to generation. At the time of her marriage to Thomas Lincoln, she was living at the Washington County farm of her uncle, Richard Berry. Following her marriage to Thomas and the birth of her three children, including future president Abraham Lincoln, the family moved to Indiana in 1816.
Nancy contracted milk sickness, caused by drinking the milk of cows that had consumed the poisonous white snakeroot plant. She called her two oldest children, Sarah and Abraham, to her bedside and “told them to be good and kind to their father – to one another and to the world.” She died on October 5, 1818.
(sidebar)
Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail
1809 Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky.
1816 Lincoln family moved from Kentucky.
1841 Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in Louisville, Kentucky.
1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky.
1847 The Lincoln family visited Lexington, Kentucky, en route to Abraham’s only term in Congress.
1860 Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States in November.
1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
www.kylincolntrail.com www.heritage.ky.gov www.kylincolntrail.org www.history.ky.gov www.transportation.ky.gov
A project of the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission produced by the Kentucky Heritage Council in partnership with the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Erected by Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Women. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1944.
Location. 37° 45.639′ N, 85° 12.896′ W. Marker is near Springfield, Kentucky, in Washington County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Beechland Road (Kentucky Route 438) and Lincoln Park Road (Kentucky Route 528), on the left when traveling east. Located in Lincoln Homestead State Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5079 Lincoln Park Road, Springfield KY 40069, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Marriage of Nancy & Thomas Lincoln (here, next to this marker); Lincoln Cabin (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named The Lincoln Cabin (a few steps from this marker); The Lincolns Move West (within shouting distance of this marker); The Berry Cabin (within shouting distance of this marker); The Nancy Hanks Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Lincoln Homestead State Park (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Lincoln Homestead State Park (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Springfield.
More about this marker. In the center is a photograph of Thomas Lincoln. Photograph courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Museum of Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee.
In the center is a portrait of Nancy Hanks. Courtesy of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial; portrait by Lloyd Ostendorf, copyright 1963, used by permission.
Also see . . . Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail. (Submitted on August 21, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 20, 2019. It was originally submitted on August 21, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,057 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 21, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.