The 1850 Fayette County census finds three candidates for William B. Hankins.

William B. Hankins, age 6, in household of Stephen and Nancy Hankins.

William [no middle initial] Hankins, age 19, in household of Richard and Sarah Hankins.

William B. Hankins, age 7, in household of William S. and Cathrine Hankins.

In the 5th Alabama Cav. [Broadfoot's listings], I found W.B. Hankins and William Hawkins. William Hawkins was of an unknown company. I strongly suspect that this is the same person as W.B. Hankins, making it William B. Hankins. A look at the microfilm might clarify this, but finding no company usually indicates that the info came from a source other than a muster roll and may be mis-transcribed.

Theory: William Albert Hankins' middle name was not Albert. Rather, he was called "Burt" or "Bart" and somebody mistakenly thought that was short for Albert. It was really Burton. And, Burton used his middle name to avoid confusion with the other William Hankins living in Fayette County.