Genealogy Jottings

As I track my family back in time, I have found an interesting search aid. My family often lived near the Lincoln family, yes “that” Lincoln.

I first realized this when I began looking at 19th-century Coles County, Illinois records. The Reeds moved there in 1830, and Abraham Lincoln’s parents came shortly after. Next, I began looking at early 19th-century records for the Louisville, KY area. The Reeds went there after the Revolutionary War, and sure enough, Lincoln’s family was living in the area, too. There, his grandfather, Abraham Lincoln (or Linkum) was slain by Indians as his six-year-old son Thomas (father of the President) look on. Earlier generations of Lincolns lived in Hingham, Massachusetts where they were neighbors of another branch of my family, the Dunbars.

Although I have never found a family connection to the Lincolns, I have found research to be a little easier because of the proximity of the families. Presidential families are heavily researched, and I have benefited from the availability of records in areas where the Lincolns lived. It helps when others have unearthed and published important records.