# Talk:Camille Cosby

Were Camille's ancestors slaves on plantations owned by ancestors of actor Tom Hanks?  Marc S.  206.192.35.125 (talk) 16:09, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

I noticed this was already addressed in the article, and I deleted this talk post two minutes after creating it.  You anal idiot editors need to get a clue.   you reversed my deletion.  look at the post times!!!  I deleted it two minutes after creating it.  I tried to edit myself, but you idiot editors dont have a clue, sometimes.   Marc S.  206.192.35.125 (talk) 12:37, 9 July 2015 (UTC)
Nancy Hanks Lincoln has no living descendants.  Her daughter Sarah died in childbirth having her first child and the child died with her.  Her youngest child Thomas died in infancy.  Her son Abraham's last living descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, died in 1985.  Only Abraham's oldest son, Robert, lived to have children.  His children were Mary, Abraham, and Jessie.  Abraham died as a teenager without having children.  Mary had one son, Lincoln Isham, who died without having children.  Jessie had two children, Mary Beckwith and Robert Beckwith, both of whom died without having children.  It is not possible that Camille Hanks Cosby is a descendant of Nancy Hanks Lincoln.

No one is suggesting that Camille Cosby's father was a descendant of Lincoln. Being someone's cousin simply means that you have a shared ancestor.
For context, John Kingsley (1665-1733) and Sarah Sabin (1667-1710) are not only my 7th great-grandparents, but Taylor Swift's 7th great-grandparents. As such, she's my 9th cousin. But mathematically, everyone has 1022 biological 7th great-grandparents. Taylor and I only share 1/1022 of a "blood relationship." In 1670, there were only 111,935 people living in the US, so it's not a terribly unique claim to make.
But Taylor is not my ancestor, and I'm not her's. She is three years younger than I am. Being cousins and being descendants are completely different matters.  --  Zanimum (talk) 23:26, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Worth mentioning her nomination for the Black Reel Awards of 2000 (Black Reel Award for Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series)? ---Another Believer (Talk) 14:15, 1 May 2020 (UTC)

 Done @Another Believer: thanks for the suggestion! --Kbabej (talk) 00:42, 7 May 2020 (UTC)
Kbabej, Sure thing! I'd add a citation to the end of the sentence, just in case. ---Another Believer (Talk) 19:43, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
Another Believer, I actually couldn't find one! --Kbabej (talk) 21:55, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Ignoring the confusion above about the difference between "descendant" and "cousin", there is an issue remaining with the claim.
While Camilla's father Guy Hanks appears on the census as a Black man, his father Alexander is listed as "mulatto". So far so good, that means that one of his parents could be white, and thus we can possibly connect ourselves up with Nancy Lincoln's folks at some point.
The trouble being, one early biographer of Lincoln described Nancy Lincoln, nee Hanks' genealogy as being "Dim as the dream of a shifting mirage ... her face and figure waver through the mists of time and rumor." There is no definitive documentary evidence, according to the article Nancy Hanks Lincoln heritage.
One of the people on that page likely also appears on Camille's family tree. But unless new evidence emerges, 202 years after Nancy Lincoln's death, it's purely speculative.  --  Zanimum (talk) 23:38, 16 June 2020 (UTC)
Oh, I should note, there's a viable path in this Reddit thread, where I asked if anyone could prove the connection, but without seeing the name of the common ancestor, it's stuck being a nice story.  --  Zanimum (talk) 23:45, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Given that information, perhaps that info should be removed. And looking at the source for the Tom Hanks claim, that line should be removed. I can't imagine Moviefone is an RS. --Kbabej (talk) 02:33, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
The dubious claims have been removed. --Kbabej (talk) 03:10, 17 June 2020 (UTC)