Lincoln connections traced by bar staff members

Members of the Illinois State Bar Association staff were excited to learn that Nancy Vonnahmen, who coordinates advertising for ISBA publications, is related to Tom Hanks.

But it turns out not to be Tom Hanks, the popular actor, who is her relative. That distinction belongs to Thomas Hanks, the great uncle of Abraham Lincoln.

The lineage can be traced to Luke Hanks, who was born in 1685 and had two sons: Abraham and Thomas. Abraham Hanks was the father of Nancy Hanks, who became the mother of Abraham Lincoln.

And Thomas Hanks, the uncle of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, is the great, great, great, great grandfather of our own Nancy – Nancy Vonnahmen.

Other ISBA staffers were quick to share recollections of their connections to Abraham Lincoln as the bicentennial of his birth approaches next February.

Rose Northrup, the great grandmother of ISBA general counsel Charles J. Northrup, once played with Tad Lincoln. She also sat often on the lap of lawyer Lincoln when he was home from riding the judicial circuit.

Mary Monahan, production coordinator for the ISBA Bar News, is descended from a woman who once sewed for Mary Todd Lincoln.

Janice Ishmael, assistant to the director of publications, is related to one of the individuals who escorted the body of Abraham Lincoln back to Springfield in 1865.

Janet Sosin, director of bar services, has a niece who is married to a descendant of one of Abraham Lincoln’s grandfathers.

Floyd and Winifred Barringer, the parents of Douglas M. Barringer, director of administrative services, devoted considerable time and effort to the preservation of Lincoln-era properties in Springfield.

Their antique furniture collection, which includes a cupboard with pegs carved by Abraham Lincoln, has been on display in the Elijah Iles House, the city’s oldest home.

The Iles House, which the Barringers owned from 1968 to 1983, is just one of the historic Springfield homes they were credited with saving

Lincoln discussed in ISBA proceedings

Throughout the 131-year history of the Illinois State Bar Association, the life and legends of Abraham Lincoln were recalled in speeches made during bar meetings and special events.

Some of the archived speeches were made by individuals who actually saw, heard or knew the Springfield lawyer in the years before his election as president.

Perhaps the oldest account was a long oration by Isaac Newton Arnold, who served in Congress while Lincoln was president. He spoke during an ISBA meeting in Springfield on Jan. 7, 1881.

In the June 1840 term of federal court in Springfield, Arnold said he was “proud to find my own humble name on the record among these great lawyers and advocates.” He listed Lincoln, Logan, Davis, Trumbull and several others.

Arnold’s entire speech is among those that have been identified by the ISBA Committee on Law Related Education for the Public and are accessible at www.isba.org/lre/isba&lincoln/.

Lincoln documents sought for scanning

Daniel W. Stowell, director and editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, is anxious to hear from people, law firms, county and court offices, and government agencies that may have authentic documents related to the 16th president.

Stowell isn’t soliciting donated papers or offering to purchase them. He just wants to carefully scan them and add the images to an extensive, growing collection.

To obtain more information or to discuss possession of a specific document, e-mail dstowell@papersofabrahamlincoln.org.