People have made a career of trying to determine exactly who Nancy Hanks' parents were. There is also doubt about the ancestry of Bedford County Hanks family. However it is virtually certain that they are all descended from Thomas Hanks of Stowe, England, and it's probable that Benjamin Hanks' children are Abe Lincoln's 5th cousins. Listed below is one possible scenario. Please email me if you would like more details or if you are interested in Rebecca "Polly" Barton's ancestry.

Thomas Hanks
b. about 1600, Stowe-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England
d. after April 8, 1674, Gloucester Co, Va
son of Thomas - Robert Hanks (brother of William "The Carpenter" Hanks)
b. June 15, 1661, Gloucester Co, Va
grandson of Thomas - Peter Hanks (1st cousin of William Hanks II)
b. about 1681, Rappahannock River, Va
d. April 10, 1733, St. Anne's Parish, Anne Arundel Co, Md
g-grandson of Thomas - William "The Quaker" Hanks (2nd cousin of Richard Hanks)
b. July 25, 1707, Anne Arundel Co, Md
d. about 1770, Loudoun Co, Va
gg-grandson of Thomas - William Hanks (3rd cousin of Abraham Hanks)
b. April 27, 1739, St. Anne's Parish, Anne Arundel Co, Md
d. July 15, 1814, Providence Township, Bedford Co, Pa
ggg-grandson of Thomas - Benjamin Hanks (4th cousin of Nancy Hanks)
b. January 14, 1779, Loudoun Co, Va
d. October 28, 1822, Bedford Co, Pa
gggg-granddaughter of Thomas - Candace Hanks (5th cousin of Abraham Lincoln)
b. May 6, 1811, Brush Creek Township, Bedford Co, Pa
d. May 22, 1886, Clearville, Bedford Co, Pa
brd. 1886, Shreve Chapel Cemetery, Clearville, Bedford Co, Pa

son of Thomas - William "The Carpenter" Hanks
b. February 1, 1655, North Farnham Parish, Richmond Co, Va
d. February 7, 1704, Richmond Co, Va
grandson of Thomas - William Hanks II
b. February 7, 1679, North Farnham Parish, Richmond Co, Va
d. May 1, 1732, Richmond Co, Va
g-grandson of Thomas - Richard Hanks
b. August 14, 1723, Richmond Co, Va
d. 1789, Rowan Co, NC
gg-grandson of Thomas - Abraham Hanks
b. 1744, Richmond Co, Va
d. 1793, Carroll Co, Va
brd. Quaker Cemetery, Pipers Gap, Carroll Co, Va
ggg-grandson of Thomas - Nancy Hanks
b. February 5, 1784, Carroll Co, Va
d. October 8, 1818, Spencer Co, In
gggg-grandson of Thomas - Abraham Lincoln
b. February 12, 1809
d. April 14, 1865, Washington, DC