Nielsen Hayden genealogy
Richard Berry, Jr.
1769 - 1843 (74 years)-
Name Richard Berry [1, 2] Suffix Jr. Birth 1769 [3] Gender Male Death 1843 Calloway County, Missouri 
[3] Person ID I37150 Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others Last Modified 2 Jan 2022
Father Richard Berry, Sr. d. Between 19 Aug 1797 and 4 Dec 1798, Washington County, Kentucky Mother Rachel Shipley d. Aft 19 Aug 1797 Family ID F21854 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Mary "Polly" Ewing, b. 1774 d. 3 Dec 1829, Calloway County, Missouri (Age 55 years) Marriage 22 Oct 1794 Mercer County, Kentucky [3] Children 1. Elizabeth Ewing Berry 2. Caleb Ewing Berry Family ID F21853 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 2 Jan 2022
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Notes - Nancy Hanks and Thomas Lincoln, parents of Abraham Lincoln, were married in Richard and Mary (Ewing) Berry's house on 12 June 1806 in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Jesse Head. Richard Berry, Jr. signed their marriage bond as "gardin" (i.e., guardian) to Nancy Hanks. This has been cited in support of the theory that Nancy Hanks was a daughter of James and Lucy (Shipley) Hanks, the latter a sister of Richard Berry's mother Rachel (Shipley) Berry. Others, including those who argue that Nancy was an illegitimate daughter of Lucy Hanks who married Henry Sparrow in Mercer County in 1790, believe that Richard Berry, Jr. described himself on the bond as "guardian" merely as a courtesy in the absence of a father for Nancy Hanks. Historian Louis Warren says "The title had no legal significance, Berry having never been so appointed, and Nancy Hanks was then of age. But of him to call himself 'guardian' was a courtesy customary under such circumstances."
According to Alicia Towster (citation details below), in the 1820s they and at least some of their children migrated to Callaway County, Missouri.
- Nancy Hanks and Thomas Lincoln, parents of Abraham Lincoln, were married in Richard and Mary (Ewing) Berry's house on 12 June 1806 in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Jesse Head. Richard Berry, Jr. signed their marriage bond as "gardin" (i.e., guardian) to Nancy Hanks. This has been cited in support of the theory that Nancy Hanks was a daughter of James and Lucy (Shipley) Hanks, the latter a sister of Richard Berry's mother Rachel (Shipley) Berry. Others, including those who argue that Nancy was an illegitimate daughter of Lucy Hanks who married Henry Sparrow in Mercer County in 1790, believe that Richard Berry, Jr. described himself on the bond as "guardian" merely as a courtesy in the absence of a father for Nancy Hanks. Historian Louis Warren says "The title had no legal significance, Berry having never been so appointed, and Nancy Hanks was then of age. But of him to call himself 'guardian' was a courtesy customary under such circumstances."
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Sources - [S6185] Abstract of Early Kentucky Wills and Inventories by J. Estelle Stewart King. Originally published 1933; reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1969.
- [S6186] Lincoln Homestead State Historic Site Historic Pocket Brochure text.
- [S6184] Alicia (Ewing) Towster, "Charles and Robert Ewing: Part II -- Charles Ewing." Ewing Family Journal 20:20, Nov 2014.
- [S6185] Abstract of Early Kentucky Wills and Inventories by J. Estelle Stewart King. Originally published 1933; reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1969.