Discussion at Wikitree:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-407898
In 1998, Paul H. Verduin - then General Secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Institute of the Mid-Atlantic and a noted authority on President Lincoln's antecedents - pointed out two crucial items concerning Bathsheba Lincoln's maiden name. In a letter dated 13 October 1998, Verduin noted that : (1) the name Herring has not been found on any document relating to Bathsheba; and (2) the "tale was invented in 1908, some 140 years after her marriage to President Lincoln's grandfather, by the daughter of one of the co-authors of the highly flawed study of the Lincoln genealogy which appeared at that time". Verduin wrote further that the daughter "visited Rockingham County that summer and enticed a story from a couple of individuals named Chrisman. The tale had never been heard before [1908], and there's absolutely no evidence for it. I've searched high and low, but haven't found the answer - and it may well be that none is available from any extant records."[2]
The Herring theory has been discussed as follows, all post-1908, the year the name Herring was first put forward ...
Bethsheba Herring was adopted by her uncle Alexander Herring after her natural father Leonard Herring and her mother (name unknown at this time) (of Renowned Swiss Heritage) died in an accident. This is only another speculation put upon the Historical Families of History.[3]
Some excellent theories are presented by Louis Austin Warren in THE LINCOLN KINSMAN.[4]
Roberts says Bathsheba is "said to be Herring," born circa 1750 and died circa 1836.[5]
An article written in 1959 provides circumstantial evidence that the name Bathsheba was unique in Rockingham County and specifically found only within the Herring Family. [6] Note : Given the paucity of 18th-century records, lack of a record of the name Bathsheba in 18th-century families other than Herring is not evidence that no other family used the name. At the same time, however, a query published in a 1913 issue of The Invincible, A Magazine of History mentions "Bathsheba Harrison, born in Rockingham, Va., 1771", wife of William Neill. While this Bathsheba was 25 years too young to be the wife of Abraham Lincoln, she does illustrate that 18th-century Rockingham families other than Herring did use the name Bathsheba.[7]
Again, each of the sources cited above for the surname Herring - [2], [3], [4], [5] - is post-1908, and none of those cites extant, contemporary records. Rather, all are based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence only.
(Capt.) Abraham Lincoln obtained a License to Marry on June 9, 1770, for his marriage. However, it was a license only and the "bride's" name was not on the license itself. [8]
A real investigation of Herring and Lincoln offspring will need to performed to find if Mrs. Lincoln is Bathsheba Herring.
Note: It is well established that Abraham's sister Hannah did marry Bathsheba Herring's cousin-once-removed, John Harrison. Harrison and Lincoln had neighboring farms.
