Martha Lincoln ²¹

  General Notes:

[MyFamily.com, Inc. WFT Vol. 150, Ed. 1, Tree #0018, Date of Import: Dec29, 2004]

Linda Coate Website

This Martha Lincoln is a very illusive person. Her birthdate is listed inan old Forte family bible. It does not give her place of birth orherparents. Her mother's initials are on 4 dessert spoons from Martha'smother as J.E.L. This could be Martha's mother's first and middleinitials or her husband's first and middle initials or a combination ofboth their first names with this last choice being the most likely. Thespoons were last in the care of Hank and Ray Forte. Note that MarthaLincoln's first son was named Jairus Edwin Bunnell. Maybe his middle namecame from the E. initial on these spoons. They also had several spoonsbelonging to Jairus and Martha Bunnell made in 1827 with the inscriptionof J.M.B. on them. The last teaspoon of interest is one that came fromMartha Lincoln Bunnell's collection with the initials L.M. made in 1802.It is unknown whom it stood for. (F-4)

Jim's family tradition says that Martha was related to President Lincoln.Proving her relationship to President Lincoln has been unobtainable tothis point, as even her parents have not been located. Furthermore, inrecent years, it appears that President Lincoln's ancestry has beencovered up by the government and that he wasn't actually a Lincoln atall. If this is the case, then Martha Lincoln is highly unlikely to berelated to President Lincoln.

In an extensive search so far, the only Martha Lincoln's of a similarbirth year that have appeared are: Martha Lincoln, d. of Gideon andMartha Lincoln, born. 17 Aug. 1789 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Mass., andMartha, d. of Hezekia and Eunice Lincoln in Cohasset, Norfolk, Mass. Thelater Martha Lincoln is not our Martha because she was in Massachusettsmarried and having other children at the same time as ours. (F-184) Theclosest match to date was provided by Hans Weeber. There is a MarthaLincoln, b. 1790 to a John and Elizabeth O'Neal Lincoln someplace betweenPhiladelphia Co., PA and Stokes Co., North Carolina. Her siblings wereMary Amelia (Millie) b. 1782, Elizabeth, b. 1782, Thomas b. 1787, NancyCatherine b. 1792 and John Joseph b. 1793. (E) However, descendants ofthis line again know her spouse and children. They do not match ourMartha Lincoln.

Libby and Hal Swenson of California have the Forte family biblesincluding her name. One of their family pedigree charts lists herbirthplaceas Vermont. The source of this information was likely theirgr..andfther, Edward Forte, grandson of Martha Lincoln. Her death placeis listedas having been Harlem or Mount Vernon, New York. There is nodeath record for her in Harlem. No birth record exists for her in Vermonteither, according to a vital records clerk and a doublecheck by anotherLincoln through the entire Vermont vital records collection. (L-15)

As far as her birthplace, upon checking the names of Lincoln familiesthat lived in Vermont in the 1790 census, the following families appearas possible parents to our Martha Lincoln: Benjamin Lincoln of RutlandCo., Poultney Town; Charles of Rutland Co., Castle town; Daniel ofRutland Co, Shrewsbury Town (this is not him as he had a differentdaughter named Pede born in 1790); James and Nehemiah of Windsor Co.,WindsorTown; Hezekiah of Windsor Co., Hartford; John of Bennington Co.,Shaftsbury Town; Jonah of Windham Co., Wilmington Town; or two Samuel'sof Orange Co., Chelsea Town. (F-379, 380, 584) Of course, when comparedto the initials on the spoons, only John of Bennighton and Jonah ofWindham would be possible matches.

I have been corresponding with an Edward Lincoln whose ancestors lived inVermont at one point and who knows how he is related to PresidentLincolnas presented in the traditional ancestry of the President. HisCharlesFisher Lincoln, (1819-1876) lived in Woodstock, Vermont when his son wasborn in 1849. (L-12) It is not known if his father Tisadale (1780-1861)lived there. They descended from a line going back to Thomas, the Miller,who first immigrated to Hingham, Mass. from England. Thefirst ancestorhe has in common with the traditional published lineageof PresidentLincoln is Robert Lincoln, Jr. (-1556) from Hingham, Co. Norfolk,England. (L-1) It should be noted however that there is serious reason todoubt that President Lincoln was a Lincoln at all. Anothercorrespondentto Edward, has an ancestor named James Lincoln who was born in 1803 inVermont. His parents were Joseph and Lucy Benson Lincoln. Several ofJame's children were born in Dorset, Bennington, Vermont starting in 1831(James Holbrook Lincoln). (L-14)

Another lead as to Martha's lineage comes from a scrap book in thepossession of Libby and Hal Swenson. On the page that has articlesrelating to Martha Lincoln, there are also newspaper clippings about aHenry A. Lincoln who was married to a Sophia Fenn residing at 51 LincolnSt.,New Haven, Conn. Henry was a section master on the Share LineRailroad. The year of the clipping was1898 as it was in reference toHenry A. Lincoln being the administrator for Sophia Fenn Lincoln'sestate. (F-321) According to IGI records Henry A. and Sophia Fenn marriedon Dec. 6,1840 in Connecticut. It's his father whom I believe could be abrotherto our Martha Lincoln. (F-230, 474)

Major sources that have been checked include all of the 1988 I.G.I. filesfor the Eastern, Midwestern and Southern states, and all Lincoln Surnamebooks at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, The FamilyHistory Library in Utah, and all libraries in Columbus, Ohio.

Martha married Jairus Bunnell, son of Deacon Israel Bunnell and Jerusha Dowd, on 26 Sep 1810 in Cheshire, New Haven County, CT.²¹ (Jairus Bunnell was born on 21 Jul 1789 in Cheshire, New Haven County, CT ²¹ and died on 10 Mar 1860 in West Haven, New Haven County, CT ²¹.)