[1] Black comedian Dick Gregory in his column Global Watch has falsely claimed John Hanson was black, and continues to repeat this falsehood. The claim is not based on any scholarship. Hanson is descended from the English, with some French Huguenot background. Another John Hanson did arrive in America as a white indentured servant. This servitude was for a fixed period in order to pay for his transit, and did not have anything to do with African-American slavery.
Father: Samuel Hanson (b. 1684, d. 1740)
Mother: Elizabeth Story (b. 1689, d. 1764)
Wife: Jane Contee (b. 1728, m. 1744, d. 21-Mar-1812, four daughters, five sons)
Daughter: Catherine (b. 1744, d. 1767)
Daughter: Jane (b. 1747, d. 1781)
Son: Peter (b. 1748, d. 1776 killed in action at Fort Washington)
Son: Alexander (judge, b. 1749, d. 1806)
Son: John (twin, b. 1751, d. 1753)
Daughter: Elizabeth (twin. b. 1751, d. 1753)
Daughter: Grace (b. 1762, d. 1763)
Son: John (b. 1753, d. 1760)
Son: Samuel (physician, b. 1756, d. 1781)
Maryland State Senate (1757-73)
Delegate to the Continental Congress Maryland (1780-82)
National Statuary Hall (1903)
Born: 