Hershey was a Fourth Cousin of Abraham Lincoln

Karen Hershey Morrell, the youngest of the late Robert (Bob) Hershey’s girls wrote the following to us:

I wasn’t sure you had captured this anywhere on the site but I wanted to be sure you knew that my grandfather was related to Abraham Lincoln. In fact, he was a 4th cousin! We are related down the James Lincoln line who was Abe’s uncle. My grandfather Don’s mother was named Sadie Lincoln and she married a Hershey. The couple had 5 sons and one of which was my grandfather Don! I love to share that interesting fact with people! So we are related distantly to Milton Hershey (founder of The Hershey Chocolate Company and the “company town” of Hershey, Pennsylvania) but also to Abraham Lincoln! Here is a picture that my grandfather drew up that shows the lineage and relationship to Abe. (Click on the image for an enlargement.)

Abe Lincoln and HersheysMy father Robert Lincoln Hershey (Bob), and his brothers Ken and Alan would be 5th cousins and my sisters and cousins would be 6th cousins, and my kids are then 7th cousins!  You are correct on the name Lincoln…..my grandpa’s brother.

I also have a first cousin named Tad (Ken Hershey’s oldest son was named after one of Abe’s sons). So there you have it!!!

So you see….my grandpa’s Great Great Granddad was James who was Abe’s uncle. He had a son named Nathan who had a son named William who was my grandpa’s Grandad. His daughter was Sadie who married a Hershey and had my grandpa along with the other 4 boys.

One Reply to “Hershey was a Fourth Cousin of Abraham Lincoln”

  1. Very interesting. My brother and I worked for Ken Hershey for decades. I used to play paddle tennis with both Tad Hershey and his father, Ken. I always wondered if Tad was named after Tad Lincoln but was too shy to ask.

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