The Descendants of

Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman

Y-DNA Evidence

The primary purpose of DNA testing of current living descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, is to help prove a paper trail consisting of family records and public documents indicating descendancy from this individual.  Paper trails for some descendants may not be definitive because certain records may be unavailable, incomplete, or even inaccurate, or there may be unknown paternity or adoption issues somewhere along an individual's lineage.

In addition, the DNA testing answers other questions.  Many Lincoln descendants wonder if they are related to Abraham Lincoln.  The DNA tests have been invaluable in answering that question.

The 5 Lincoln Families of Hingham, Massachusetts

Much credit in sorting out the various Lincoln families of Hingham, Massachusetts belongs to Bob Lincoln, a descendant of Thomas Lincoln, the miller.  His extensive efforts have helped define the separate five paternal families from this area, and in so doing, have allowed current Lincoln descendants to answer the question of their relationship to the family of Abraham Lincoln.  The five paternal Lincoln families represented by males who emmigrated from Norfolk county England in the 1630's are:

  • Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman (and brother Stephen)
  • Sergeant Daniel Lincoln
  • Samuel Lincoln (and brothers Thomas and Daniel)
  • Thomas Lincoln, the miller
  • Thomas Lincoln, the cooper

The below table displays the Y-DNA test results of living descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, and the figure at right shows graphically the relationship of the participants.  Participants #1 and #2 descend from one son of Thomas Lincoln - Joshua Lincoln - and their paper ancestry trail leading to Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, is pretty solid.  Participant #3 descends from another son of Thomas Lincoln - Caleb Lincoln - and his paper ancestry trail to Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, is very solid.  All three participants are 11th-generation descendants.  All three participants submitted to a 37-marker Y-DNA test through Family Tree DNA.  The results show that between the participants, there are at most 3 mismatches out of the 37 markers used for testing (one mismatch between participants #1 and #2, two mismatches between participants #2 and #3, and three mismatches between #1 and #3), indicating that one mismatch of the markers occurs about once every five generations.  This degree of intra-family variability (i.e., number of mismatches out of 37 Y-DNA markers) is also seen in the other Lincoln families.  Incidentally, the Y-DNA results from a living descendant of Stephen Lincoln (brother to Thomas, the husbandman) also closely match the three participants, and this also helps prove that Stephen and Thomas were indeed brothers back during the colonial times of Hingham, Massachusetts, as indicated in the will of Stephen Lincoln.

I state the ancestry paper trail of participants #1 and #2 to Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, is "pretty solid".  For the third generation descendant, Solomon Lincoln who married Hannah Stetson, there is no known paper document that states his father is Joshua Lincoln (son of Thomas the husbandman).  There is paper documentation that Solomon Lincoln, who married Elizabeth Franklin in Scituate, Massachusetts after Hannah died, is the son of Joshua Lincoln, son of Thomas.  But there is no other known Solomon Lincoln in Scituate, Massachusetts of an appropriate age at that time that could have married Hannah Stetson.  And the Solomon Lincoln known to descend (by book documentation) from Thomas the husbandman didn't marry Elizabeth Franklin until two years after Hannah died.  Thus, from paper documentation, it is only highly probable that the Solomon Lincoln who married Hannah Stetson is the same Solomon who married Elizabeth Franklin (and who is the Solomon Lincoln descended from Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman).  There are similar minor "doubts" regarding Solomon's son Isaac, and Isaac's son John Lincoln.  However, the Y-DNA test results eliminate all doubt regarding this ancestry, since the ancestry paper trail of participant #3 (descended from Caleb Lincoln, another son of Thomas, the husbandman) is very solid, and the Y-DNA test results show a very good match between the three participants.

From the results of the Family Tree DNA Lincoln Project, there are mismatches of about 30 markers (out of 37 Y-DNA markers) between the living descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the miller, and Thomas Lincoln, the cooper.  They are truly distinct families.  And there are around 30/37 mismatches between each of these families and the other three Lincoln families.  The families of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, and Sergeant Daniel Lincoln are fairly close (3 - 7 mismathes out of 37 markers).  Living descendants of Samuel Lincoln (President Abraham Lincoln's family) show mismatches of around 10 - 15 markers (out of the 37 markers) relative to the descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, or Sergeant Daniel Lincoln.  Thus, the five paternal families are genetically distinct, at least recently (meaning within at least the last one thousand years).

President Abraham Lincoln descended from Samuel Lincoln.  From the Y-DNA test results of all the five Hingham families, it can be stated confidently that the living descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, are not recently related to Abraham Lincoln.  One would have to go back before the year 500 AD to find a common ancestor.

    Participant Test Results
Marker # DYS # #1 #2 #3
1 393 13 13 13
2 390 23 23 23
3 19 14 14 14
4 391 11 11 11
5 385a 11 11 11
6 385b 14 14 14
7 426 12 12 12
8 388 12 12 12
9 439 13 12 12
10 389-1 13 13 13
11 392 13 13 13
12 392-2 29 29 29
13 458 18 18 18
14 459a 9 9 9
15 459b 10 10 10
16 455 11 11 11
17 454 11 11 11
18 447 25 25 25
19 437 15 15 15
20 448 19 19 19
21 449 30 30 30
22 464a 15 15 15
23 464b 16 16 16
24 464c 18 18 18
25 464d 18 18 18
26 460 11 11 11
27 GATA H4 11 11 11
28 YCA II a 19 19 19
29 YCA II b 24 24 24
30 456 16 16 17
31 607 15 15 15
32 576 17 17 17
33 570 18 18 18
34 CDY a 34 34 34
35 CDY b 40 40 39
36 442 12 12 12
37 438 12 12 12

The close match of the above three participants establishes the following three points:

  1. The ancestry paper trail of the three participants to Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, is validated.
  2. There are no paternity or adoption issues between these three 11th generation descendants and Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman.
  3. The 37-marker Y-DNA "blueprint" for male descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman is established.  Lincoln males wondering if they are related to Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, can get tested and compare their results to the above values.  [Note:  a living descendant of Stephen Lincoln, the brother of Thomas Lincoln, the husbandman, has been tested and closely matches the above three participants.]

 

Links

Family Tree DNA Lincoln Project

Bob Lincoln, descendant of Thomas Lincoln, the Miller

Family Tree DNA

Y-DNA Testing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationship of Y-DNA Participants

Relationship of Y-DNA Participants