a. Even though the stone itself, and his wife's obituary, say that James Hanks died in 1856, there is voluminous documentary evidence that he actually died about early January 1852 -- possibly 8 Jan 1852, if the 8 Jan date one sometimes sees is correct. (The Macon County records of the administration of his estate by his son Isaac Hanks, which are microfilmed and available on Ancestry.com, show pretty definitively that he was recently dead as of 20 January 1852. Isaac Hanks filed an administrator's bond on 20 Jan 1852. The estate was inventoried and appraised on 21 Jan 1852. There was an estate sale on 17 Feb 1852. In the early part of the file his daughter Nancy is listed as the widow of Abraham Miller; in the later part of the file, she is listed as the wife of Andrew S. Muirheid, whom she is known to have married 27 May 1852.) I will upload some documents from this file for you to consider.
b. Additionally, I wonder if the middle initial "L" can be properly attributed to this James Hanks. His brother, John Hanks (1802-1889), the rail splitting associate of Lincoln's, I think had a son named James Lewis Hanks. But here I think it may be a mistaken retrojection by the people who commissioned the replacement marker.
Thanks for reading!
Very respectfully,
Matthew H. Seeger
Contributor: Anonymous (46848506)
a. Even though the stone itself, and his wife's obituary, say that James Hanks died in 1856, there is voluminous documentary evidence that he actually died about early January 1852 -- possibly 8 Jan 1852, if the 8 Jan date one sometimes sees is correct. (The Macon County records of the administration of his estate by his son Isaac Hanks, which are microfilmed and available on Ancestry.com, show pretty definitively that he was recently dead as of 20 January 1852. Isaac Hanks filed an administrator's bond on 20 Jan 1852. The estate was inventoried and appraised on 21 Jan 1852. There was an estate sale on 17 Feb 1852. In the early part of the file his daughter Nancy is listed as the widow of Abraham Miller; in the later part of the file, she is listed as the wife of Andrew S. Muirheid, whom she is known to have married 27 May 1852.) I will upload some documents from this file for you to consider.
b. Additionally, I wonder if the middle initial "L" can be properly attributed to this James Hanks. His brother, John Hanks (1802-1889), the rail splitting associate of Lincoln's, I think had a son named James Lewis Hanks. But here I think it may be a mistaken retrojection by the people who commissioned the replacement marker.
Thanks for reading!
Very respectfully,
Matthew H. Seeger
Contributor: Anonymous (46848506)
Family Members
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Isaac Hanks
1819–1866
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Nancy Hanks Miller Muirheid
1821–1906
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Elizabeth Hanks Heckel
1822–1892
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John Lewis Hanks
1824–1831
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Mary Hanks
1824–1843
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Lucinda Jane Hanks Wood
1832–1919
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William Benjamin Hanks
1834–1892
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Andrew Jackson Hanks
1835–1918
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Sarah Margaret Hanks Calhoun
1838–1875
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Rebecca Ellen "Nellie" Hanks Tyler
1843–1927
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Susan Malinda Hanks
1844–1845
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Martha Emeline "Mattie" Hanks Bridges
1848–1939