DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A family reunion 115 years in the making. Descendants of Abraham Lincoln get together in Decatur every year to celebrate their lineage from Lincoln's mother- Nancy Hanks.
"115 years for one family to keep having a reunion I mean that is something," Nancy Waters told WAND News.
There may be too many greats to count, but the Hanks are directly descendants of Lincoln's family.
"Its just part of me, but you know- I always tell everybody who I'm related to," Rita Dugan explained.
Pamela Hanks organizes the annual gathering at Lincoln Trail Homestead, the park commemorating Lincoln's first home in Illinois.
"To know that you have been in this area for over 115 years. I still live on the piece of property that was originally settled by the Hanks'," Pamela Hanks told WAND News.
Many have been attending the reunion for decades.
"When I was maybe a year old, or a little younger, I got a little kids book about Abraham Lincoln at the Hanks reunion because I was the youngest one there," Nancy Hanks said.
She isn't the youngest any longer, but she looks forward to sharing the genealogy with some of the family's newest members each year.
"You can tell people you're related- but then when you can actually see the documentation, that's the proof you know, that's the proof of it and it really is interesting," Charlotte Hanks explained.
These sisters and aunts are now the keepers of The Book, the detailed account of how exactly they are related to old Abe- and the photos recording more than a century of Hanks.
"Whether you get along with everybody, whether you don't get along with everybody- that history is what makes everybody who they are," Pamela Hanks explained.
Family members come from as far as Georgia, South Carolina and Delaware for the annual reunion.
They encourage everyone to visit the Lincoln Homestead Park and learn more about the history of the area.
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