Editing John Hanson (section)

==Early life==
Hanson was born in [[Port Tobacco Village, Maryland|Port Tobacco Parish]] in [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles County]] in the [[Province of Maryland]] on April 14, 1721. Sources published prior to a 1940 genealogical study{{sfn|Newman|1970}} sometimes listed his birth date as April 13{{sfn|Mereness|1932}} or his year of birth as 1715.{{sfn|Hanson|1876|p=125}} Hanson was born on a [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|plantation]] called "Mulberry Grove" into a wealthy and prominent family.{{sfn|Levering|1976|p=113}} The Hanson Family was of English descent.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_WbVwd_HkUC&q=+hanson+ancestry+england%C2%A0 | title=Charles County Gentry: A Genealogical History of Six Emigrants - Thomas Dent, John Dent, Richard Edelen, John Hanson, George Newman, Humphrey Warren | isbn=978-0-8063-0486-1 | last1=Newman | first1=Harry Wright | date=March 26, 1971 | publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2024}} His parents were Samuel (c. 1685–1740) and Elizabeth (Storey) Hanson (c. 1688–1764).{{sfn|Papenfuse|1979}} Samuel Hanson was a [[Planter class|planter]] who owned more than {{convert|1000|acre|km2}},{{sfn|Stiverson|2000}} and held a variety of political offices, including serving two terms in the [[Maryland General Assembly]].{{sfn|Mereness|1932}}

Hanson's grandfather, also named John, came to Charles County, Maryland, as an [[Indentured servitude|indentured servant]] around 1661.{{sfn|Winquist|Rousselow-Winquist|2006|pp=24–25}} In 1876, a writer named George Hanson placed Hanson in his family tree of Swedish-Americans descended from four Swedish brothers who emigrated to [[New Sweden]] in 1642.{{sfn|Winquist|Rousselow-Winquist|2006|pp=24–25}}{{sfn|Hanson|1876|p=127}} This story was often repeated over the next century, but scholarly research in the late 20th century showed that Hanson was not related to those Swedish-American Hansons.{{sfn|Winquist|Rousselow-Winquist|2006|pp=24–25}}{{sfn|Russel|1988}}

Little is known about Hanson's early life; he was presumably privately tutored as was customary among the wealthy of his time and place.{{sfn|Levering|1976|p=114}} He followed his father's path as a planter, slave owner, and public official. He was often referred to as ''John Hanson, Jr.'', to distinguish him from an older man of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title=John Hanson {{!}} FOSTER History & Collective Memory |url=https://www.fosterhistory.com/l/john-hanson2/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=www.fosterhistory.com |language=en}}</ref>