Records on Hanks family currently missing from ACPL. Any insights? These have likely been reviewed/copied by multiple Hanks/Lincoln researchers.

I would try posting this on the Hanks and the Lincoln surname message boards at Ancestry.com. I would also search for specific ancestors at FamilySearch.org in the TREES section and then contact the users who added those ancestors' information. You can click on "Chat" for specific users, although some are private. FamilySearch.org is free with registration.

These strategies are more likely to find researchers on those lines, who may be able to help you with your search.

Thanks, these are great tips!

You're very welcome! Best of luck with your search!

Hello NathanP,

Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

Aiden Baber married Lincoln’s granddaughter and became a historian of the Hanks Family genealogy.  It appears that this letter is from him and looks to have been written while he was visiting Indianapolis (see hotel header).  The letter referenced is indicated to be within the Lincoln Collection.  This collection is housed between https://www.lincolncollection.org/search/results/?q=Adin+Baber&item=102107 and https://www.acpl.lib.in.us/lincoln-collection.  We recommend that you reach out to them for this information.  

We hope this information has been helpful!

Hello! I appreciate the thoughtful reply! I could be mistaken, but at the time Baber wrote that letter he would have been visiting the legacy Lincoln Financial collection which is now managed by the Indiana State Museum and ACPL. I should have been more clear in my post, but ACPL stewards of this collection did multiple searches for the letter referenced in Baber’s correspondence. Please correct me if I’m mistaken!

Im casting a wide net (here and elsewhere) to perhaps get lucky and connect with a Hanks/Lincoln researcher who may have a copy before it was “lost”. In parallel I’m getting remote support for targeted searches within the Baber Collection in Illinois. He was quite the researcher, and I speculate at minimum he copied the letter in full - he seemed excited about this find in his correspondence with Arthur Morgan  

I’m new here, so appreciate any thoughts on how to best connect with the right people while acknowledging it may be a long shot.