... There is long standing controversy regarding Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln's heritage. Nancy was the wife of Thomas Lincoln and mother of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln. ...
... A recent mitochondrial DNA test of descendants of daughters of Joseph Hanks, daughters of Lucy Hanks Sparrow, and two Shipley sisters show a match between Hanks and Sparrow and no match to the Shipleys, making it certain Nancy Hanks is the illegitimate daughter of Lucy Hanks, and that Lucy is the daughter of Ann "Nanny" Lee Hanks. ...