History of Macon County, Illinois.  With Illustrations Descriptive Of
Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and
Pioneers.  Published by Brink, McDonough & Co., Phildelphia, 1880.
Reproduced through efforts of The Decatur Genealogical Society, 1972.
pp. 204-205. [Nelson County].

JOHN HANKS, whose name will go down in history as an early associate of
Abraham Lincoln, was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, three miles from
Bardstown, on the 9th of February, 1802.  His father, William Hanks, was
a Virginian who came to Kentucky at an early day, and settled on the
Kentucky river, in Mercer County.  His mother's name was Elizabeth Hall.
The family lived in Hardin and Breckinridge counties, Ky., till the
subject of this sketch was seven years of age, and then moved to Grayson
county.  He first became acquainted with Lincoln in Hardin county.  Mr.
Hanks was a first cousin to Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks.  In the year
1822, when he was twenty years old, he went on a visit to Spencer
county, Indiana.  He was there two years, and made his home with the
Lincolns, who had removed from Kentucky to that state.  Abraham Lincoln
was seven years younger than himself, and they worked together for two
years, making rails, grubbing land, and performing the other labor
required in the development of a farm in a new country.  Mr. Hanks
bought a piece of land next to the Lincoln farm, which he improved, and
then went back to Kentucky.  He afterwards made several trips, twelve
in all, down the Ohio and Missippi rivers to New Orleans.  The only means
of disposing of surplus farm products in those days was by floating
them, on flat-boats, down to New Orleans, where a ready market was
found.  In the year 1826 he married Susan Wilson, a native of Grayson
county, Kentucky.
        In the fall of 1828 he moved to Illinois, and settled on the farm
which he now owns in Hickory Point township, four miles northwest of
Decatur.  On his way from Kentucky to Illinois he passed through Spencer
county, Indiana, and stopped for a while with the Lincoln family, and
Thomas Lincoln, Abe's father, told Hanks to write back when he got to
Illinois, and inform them what kind of a country he found, and if it was
better than Indiana the Lincoln family would remove to Illinois also.
Mr. Hanks wrote back, accordingly, soon after he settled in Macon
County, that he liked the country, and considered it superior to that
part of Indiana in which they lived.  Consequently, Thomas Lincoln moved
with his family to Macon county, in March, 1830.  When he first came to
Macon county, Mr. Hanks had cut enough logs for a house on the Sangamon
river, but on account of not being able to get any prairie broke, had
settled instead in Hickory Point township.  On the arrival of Thomas
Lincoln, he told him he might have the logs to build a cabin if he liked
the location.  The offer was accepted, and young Abe Lincoln hauled the
logs together with a yoke of oxen, and a cabin was built near the
Sangamon, in Harristown township, in which the Lincoln family lived
while they resided in Macon county.  In the summer of 1830, he went down
to help the Lincolns fence a tract of land, and he and Abe cut and split
enough rails to fence fifteen acres.  From this lot of rails was taken
those displayed at the Chicago convention, in 1860. In the spring of
1831, he and Lincoln built a flat-boat at Sangamon town, five miles from
Springfield.  They went there in March, cut the timber, built the boat,
and in May floated it out of the Sangamon.  At St. Louis, Mr. Hanks left
the board to come home and see his family, and left Lincoln and the rest
of the crew to navigate it down the Mississippi to New Orleans.
        In 1832 Mr. Hanks was in the Black Hawk war, having enlisted in a
company commanded by Isaac C. Pugh.  He came back to Macon county, and
was engaged in farming till 1850, and then went to California.  He was
occupied three years in mining within sixty or seventy miles of
Sacramento, and came back in 1853.  On the breaking out of the war of
the rebellion he volunteered, and enlisted in Co. A., of the 21st
Illinois regiment. This was the regiment as colonel in command of which
Gen. U. S. Grant entered the war.  Mr. Hanks was fifty-nine years old
when he enlisted.  He served over two years as wagon master.  While
Grant had command of his regiment he had charge of his staff team.  He
served in Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and
Mississippi.  Becoming incapacitated from duty by the rheumatism, he was
honorably discharged at Winchester, Tennessee, after two years' service.
        Since the war, Mr. Hanks has been three times to California and
Oregon, and altogether has seen a considerable portion of this country.
He has never held office, nor has cared to occupy any public position.
After Lincoln had been elected president he invited him to dinner at
Springfield, and offered to do anything in his power for his old
comrade, but he declined to accept any office, preferring to remain at
home with his family.  Before the war he was a democrat, but always
supported Lincoln when he was a candidate for any office, and since the
rebellion has been a strong republican.  His wife died in March, 1863.
He has had eight children, of whom six are now living.  William resides
near Monticello, in Piatt county.  James Lewis lives in Lake County,
Oregon.  Jane married Alexander T. Medlin, and is now dead.  John Felix
died at the age of twenty-one.  Emily is the wife of Elijah Loomis of
Hickory Point township. Grayson lives in north-west Missouri.  Mary
Ellen married John Manning, and now lives in Humboldt county,
California, and Levi Hanks, the youngest son, lives near Moawequa.

Grant Hall Hanks Lincoln Loomis Manning Medlin Pugh Wilson
=
AL AR Bardstown-Nelson-KY Breckinridge-KY Grayson-KY Hardin-KY Humboldt-
CA Lake-OR Mercer-KY Macon-IL Moawequa-IL Monticello-Piatt-IL MS VA
New_Orleans-LA Sacramento-CA Spencer-IN Springfield-IL St._Louis-MO
Winchester-TN

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/nelson/hanks.j.txt