Lincoln family

The Lincoln family is an American family of English origin whose documented history connects an English lineage from Hingham, Norfolk, with colonial settlement in New England and later political prominence in the United States. The family is especially associated with Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, but its broader history includes lawyers, military officers, governors, cabinet officials, and other public figures. The American line is generally traced to Samuel Lincoln, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 aboard the John & Dorothy from Great Yarmouth. Samuel is commonly treated as the patriarch of the American Lincoln family. His migration formed part of the wider movement of English families to New England during the colonial period. Earlier generations were connected with Hingham, Norfolk, where Edward Lincoln, Samuel's father, lived and died in the seventeenth century. The English ancestry is complicated by disputed inheritance matters involving Richard Lincoln's will and the distribution of family property, circumstances that helped prompt members of the family to leave England. Over subsequent generations, different Lincoln branches became established in Massachusetts and other parts of the United States. Levi Lincoln Sr. served as the fourth United States attorney general and was also active in Massachusetts public life. His son, Levi Lincoln Jr., became governor of Massachusetts. Enoch Lincoln, another member of the wider family, served as governor of Maine. Benjamin Lincoln, a Continental Army general during the American Revolutionary War and a later federal and Massachusetts officeholder, belonged to an early American Lincoln line but is not known to have been a direct relative of President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 near Hodgenville, Kentucky, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. He became a lawyer, legislator, and national political leader before serving as president from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He married Mary Ann Todd, and they had four sons: Robert Todd, Edward, William, and Thomas. Only Robert Todd Lincoln survived beyond the age of eighteen, making him the principal link between Abraham Lincoln's immediate family and later generations. Robert Todd Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan, daughter of Senator James Harlan. They had three children: Mary, known as Mamie; Abraham Lincoln II, known as Jack; and Jessie Harlan Lincoln. The next generation included Lincoln Isham, the son of Mamie, and Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the children of Jessie. Lincoln Isham had no children. Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, a gentleman farmer, was regarded as the last undisputed, legally recognized, and known descendant of Abraham Lincoln. He died on December 24, 1985, without acknowledged children. His sister, Mary Lincoln Beckwith, had died in 1975 without children, and the presidential branch of the family has consequently generally been considered extinct since Beckwith's death. The Lincoln name also appears among more distant relations and people connected through marriage. Blanche Lincoln, the former United States senator from Arkansas, married Steve Lincoln, who is described as a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln. Genealogical accounts also describe family connections between Abraham Lincoln and actors George Clooney and Tom Hanks at remote degrees of relationship. These associations do not represent continuation of Abraham Lincoln's direct line, but they illustrate the wider network of relatives linked to the Lincoln name. Because the Lincoln family is a historical kinship network rather than a commercial enterprise, it has no headquarters, corporate ownership, product portfolio, listed securities, or conventional operating markets. Its significance is genealogical and historical, centered on the family's English roots, migration to North America, participation in American public life, and the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and his descendants.

The Lincoln family's recorded American history begins with Samuel Lincoln, who arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 from Hingham, Norfolk, England. He traveled aboard the John & Dorothy from Great Yarmouth and is conventionally identified as the founder or patriarch of the family's American branch. His migration followed earlier family circumstances in England involving inheritance disputes after the death of Richard Lincoln. Edward Lincoln, Samuel's father, remained in Hingham, Norfolk, and died there in 1640. The family expanded through several American generations and produced individuals active in military and public affairs. Benjamin Lincoln served as a Continental Army general during the American Revolutionary War and later became the first United States secretary of war and the second lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Although his ancestry was connected to early Lincoln settlers in Hingham, he is not established as a direct relative of President Abraham Lincoln. Other prominent members included Levi Lincoln Sr., the fourth United States attorney general, his son Levi Lincoln Jr., governor of Massachusetts, and Enoch Lincoln, governor of Maine. Abraham Lincoln represented the family's most consequential political branch. Born in Kentucky in 1809 to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, he developed a career as a lawyer and politician before becoming the sixteenth president of the United States. His presidency, from 1861 to 1865, coincided with the American Civil War and ended with his assassination. Abraham and Mary Ann Todd Lincoln had four sons: Robert Todd, Edward, William, and Thomas. Robert Todd was the only son to survive into adulthood. Robert Todd Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan, whose father was Senator James Harlan. Their children were Mary Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln II, and Jessie Harlan Lincoln. Mary Lincoln, known as Mamie, married Charles Bradford Isham and had one son, Lincoln Isham. Jessie Harlan Lincoln married three times and had two children with her first husband, Warren Wallace Beckwith: Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith. The direct presidential line ended in the twentieth century. Lincoln Isham had no children. Mary Lincoln Beckwith died in 1975 without children, and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith died on December 24, 1985, without acknowledged children. He is therefore generally described as the last undisputed, legally recognized, and known descendant of Abraham Lincoln. The president's direct family branch has been considered extinct since that death. The wider Lincoln family includes distant relatives and collateral connections. Blanche Lincoln, a former United States senator from Arkansas, married Steve Lincoln, who is identified as a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln. Genealogical descriptions also connect Abraham Lincoln with George Clooney and Tom Hanks at remote degrees of kinship. These relationships belong to the broader family network and do not alter the conclusion that Abraham Lincoln's direct, acknowledged line ended with Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith.

• 1985

  Death of Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith died without acknowledged children and became regarded as the last undisputed known descendant of Abraham Lincoln.

• 1975

  Death of Mary Lincoln Beckwith

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Mary Lincoln Beckwith, a great-granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln, died without children.

• 1865

  End of Abraham Lincoln's presidency

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Lincoln's presidency ended with his assassination during his second term.

• 1861

  Abraham Lincoln becomes president

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Lincoln began his term as the sixteenth president of the United States.

• 1809

  Birth of Abraham Lincoln

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Lincoln was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks.

• 1637

  Samuel Lincoln reaches Massachusetts

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Samuel Lincoln emigrated from Hingham, Norfolk, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony aboard the John & Dorothy, beginning the documented American line.

• 1575

  Birth period of Edward Lincoln

  [1]Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edward Lincoln, identified as an ancestor of the American branch, was born around this period in England.

A historical American family lineage associated with English colonial ancestry, public service, and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

1. 1Lincoln familyen.wikipedia.org