Provided by Julie Rasmussen.

Excerpts from "Carroll Co., VA", by John Perry Alderman, page 282-3, 1765-1815

"Joshua Hanks was one of the remarkable men of his day. He was from an old family which had lived for years in the northern neck of Virginia and had migrated to North Carolina. His parents were Richard and Mary (Hinds) Hanks who had left Richmond County, Virginia about 1753 and settled in Amelia County, Virginia and then in Rowan County, North Carolina. Joshua was probably born in Amelia County in 1760. Some of his descendants have thought that he took part in the Revolution in North Carolina before he moved to Virginia.."
"The tradition also exists that he was closely related to Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln...it is pretty much agreed that she also descended from the Hankses of the northern neck..."
"Joshua married Ruth Bryant in Surry County, North Carolina on Aug. 16, 1784. She was the daughter of a John Bryant who soon settled on Meadow Creek...Grayson County. Joshua was on Coal Creek in 1784, the year of his marriage, for that year he entered 350 acres of land adjoining William Reddick and Solomon Cox (Montgomery, Entry A-161). He later expanded his claim to include 430 acres and it was for this tract that he had his survey and grant. He was listed twice on the muster rolls of Flower Swift's militia company."
"He was a leader all his life. He became a Justice on the Grayson Court in 1797 and held his seat for decades. In 1806 he was Sheriff of Grayson County (at a salary of $25.00 per year) and by 1803 he was captain in the militia."
"He was still active in 1842 when Carroll County was formed, being one of the original Carroll Justices - at the age of 82. His grandson later wrote that Joshua could not write his name when he married, but that he learned while sitting on the court.
"His wife died in 1840 and Joshua..died in 1854..."
15 or 17 children:
1. William Hanks, d. 1868, married 4 times; 2. [Thomas] Zachariah Hanks, m. Susan Rector (1810, Wake, NC]; 3. Mary Hanks, m. Peter Cooley in 1806; 4.Nancy Hanks, m.George Moore in 1808; Lydia Hanks, m. James Moore in 1811; 6.Rebecca Hanks, m. Simeon Carrico in 1813; Patience Hanks, m. William Davis; 8. Ruth Hanks, m. John Vaughn in 1815; 9. Thomas Hanks, m. Jane Moore in 1819; 10. John Hanks, m. Delia Carrico; 11. Rhoda Hanks, m. Enoch Moore in 1819; 12. Richard Hanks, m. Tamer Bryant; 13. Thursa Hanks, m. Henry Mallory in 1826; 14 Joshua Hanks, Jr. m. Rosamond Carrico; 15. Susanna Hanks, m. John L. Mooney; 16. James Hanks(?); 17. David Hanks(?)