Descriptive Summary
Hanna Family
Hanna Family Papers
1844-1972 (bulk 1844-1902)
Materials are in English.
Col 898
3.21 linear feet (4 document boxes, 1 oversize box)
Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
James Scott Hanna, a South Carolina native, moved to Texas with his family in 1850. Establishing a cotton plantation in Robertson County, Hanna had several business interests, including grocery and commission businesses.
Correspondence, business records, legal documents, and printed material document several members of the Hanna family. Most of the papers are associated with James S. Hanna and his immediate family and include records of his plantation and businesses.
Biographical Note
James Scott Hanna was born in South Carolina on 1819 February 5, moving with his family to Alabama as a child. He married Martha A. E. Cole (1828-1877) in 1845 and moved to Arkansas, relocating from there to Chappell Hill, Texas, in 1850. In 1854 he moved to Robertson County and established his plantation along the Brazos River.
In addition to his plantation, Major Hanna (a title he apparently obtained in Alabama during Indian wars) was involved in several business ventures, including a partnership which contracted to extend the line of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad into Robertson County. He also owned a grocery and commission business in Calvert and Millican in partnership with his son-in-law John Orr from 1867 to 1872. In addition to their plantation home, Hanna and his family lived in Galveston, Bryan, and Millican at various times. Hanna remained active in his business affairs until his death on 1886 April 14.
Hanna and his wife had at least seven children, including Eudora Jane (1848-1855); Emma (1850-1870), who married John Orr in 1868; James Knox Polk (1852-1928), who was actively involved in his father's business activities; Willam David (1855-1856); Mollie W. (1863-1937), who married Eber S. Peters; Mattie (1863-1863); and Heywood Scott (1865-1887).
Eber S. Peters (1852-1910) was born in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to Corsicana, Texas, for health reasons. He married Mollie W. Hanna in 1879 and operated a hardware store in Corsicana until 1885, when he moved to Calvert. He also owned a Calvert newspaper and farmed a portion of the Hanna plantation. He and his wife had at least two children, Eber H. (1880-1950) and Beulah (1891-1974).
Scope and Content Note
Business and personal correspondence, business records, legal documents, and newspapers and other printed material documenting plantation and mercantile activities in the Robertson County, Texas, area are found in the Hanna Family Papers. The bulk of the material dates from 1844-1902.
Organization of Collection
This collection is organized into three series.
- Series 1: James S. Hanna papers
- Subseries 1.1: Business documents
- Sub-subseries 1.1.1: James S. Hanna, Hanna Plantation
- Sub-subseries 1.1.2: Davis, Calvert, Hanna, and Hardy
- Sub-subseries 1.1.3: Hanna and Orr
- Subseries 1.2: Family and personal documents
- Series 2: Eber S. Peters papers
- Series 3: Miscellaneous papers
Access Restrictions
No restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Usage Restrictions
Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Related Material
Slavery/Emancipation Documents, 1827-1875 and undated, Cushing Memorial Library, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
Orr, Huberich and Barton Families Papers (AR.Z.002), Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Texas.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Hanna Family Papers, 1844-1972 (bulk 1844-1902), Col 898, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Acquisition Information
Purchased from Fred White, Jr., 1972 July.
Processing Information
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1991 February.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 December.
Index Terms
Personal Names
Hanna family.
Hanna, James Scott, 1819-1886.
Calvert, Robert, 1802-1867.
Peters, Eber S.
Organizations
Houston & Texas Central Railway Company.
Subjects
Chinese--Texas.
Cotton farmers--Texas.
Cotton growing--Texas.
Plantations--Texas.
Railroads--Texas.
Sharecroppers--Texas.
Locations
Robertson County (Tex.)--History--Sources.
Genres/Formats
Family papers.
Business records.
Correspondence.
Financial records.
Legal documents.
Newspapers.
Printed ephemera.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: James S. Hanna Papers
The first, and most extensive, series consists of documents associated with James S. Hanna and his immediate family. This series has been further divided into business and personal documents. The business papers have been grouped according to the different business enterprises with which Hanna was involved. The most significant of these groups involves Hanna's plantation, his general involvement in farming activities and land transactions, and the operation of his household. Extensive records of accounts with businesses in Calvert and other area communities, Galveston, and Houston document the sale of cotton from the plantation and purchases made by Hanna, his employees, and family. Documents certifying the sale of slaves, livestock, and other items are included. Post Civil War contracts with sharecroppers and laborers include agreements with freedmen and Chinese immigrants. Some records of court cases and lawsuits are part of the collection, covering such issues as inheritance and payment of debts.
Hanna was also a member of a partnership with Robert Calvert, William Davis, and members of the Hardy family, the business involved in extending the Houston and Texas Central Railroad northward in the 1850s and 1860s. Records of the partnership are grouped together and include accounts with various businesses providing supplies and shipping. Records of legal actions against the partners are also included, along with miscellaneous financial and legal documents.
Hanna was also a partner in a grocery and commission business with son-in-law John Orr. A small number of financial and legal documents are part of the papers, including some details of the settlement between the two men when the partnership was dissolved.
Hanna's family and personal documents include letters from family members and friends, containing family news from Arkansas and other parts of Texas. A number of letters from James Knox Polk Hanna to his parents are included, several written while he was attending Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Similar letters from Mollie Hanna, written from Salem Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina, are part of the papers. Tuition records from the schools attended by the Hanna children are included, along with some report cards and printed material.
1
Subseries 1.1: Business documents, 1844-1886
1
Sub-subseries 1.1.1: James S. Hanna, Hanna Plantation, 1844-1886
1
Correspondence, 1859-1886
1
1
Adoue and Lobit: 12 items, 1873-1877
1
2
Field, Scott: 2 items, 1883 and 1886
1
3
Forde, W. B.: 3 items, 1868-1871
1
4
Giddings, J. D.: 3 items, 1874-1875
1
5
Hanna, James S.: 7 items, 1866-1874 and undated
1
6
Jennings, J. L.: 2 items, 1874 and 1875
1
7
Labuzan and McGar: 8 items, 1864-1867
1
8
McLemore, M. C.: 4 items, 1867-1868
1
9
Morgan, Lapsley and Nelson: 9 items, 1872-1874 (see also James S. Hanna, Lawsuits,
Wm. B. Taylor, et al. vs. Richard M. Nelson, Folder 88)
1
10
Muckle, Alfred: 2 items, 1865 and undated
1
11
Nichols, E. B.: 3 items, 1860-1861
1
12
Orr, John: 2 items, 1867 and 1868
1
13
Sayles and Bassett: 3 items, 1868
1
14
Scogin, L. G.: 3 items, 1866-1872
1
15
Stewart and Barziza: 2 items, 1873
1
16
Miscellaneous, A-G: 13 items, 1860-1885
1
17
Miscellaneous, H-L: 11 items, 1865-1882
1
18
Miscellaneous, M-R: 9 items, 1863-1885
1
19
Miscellaneous, S-W: 12 items, 1859-1885
1
Accounts payable: bills, bills of lading, statements, etc., 1858-1885
1
20
Adoue and Lobit: 12 items, 1874-1878
1
21
Britton and Moore: 4 items, 1879
1
22
Casimir, J. P.: 5 items, 1875-1876
1
23
Clark and Gillespie and Co.: 2 items, 1866
1
24
Collat, Wagner and Risser: 2 items, 1884
1
25
Davis, H. W., and Co.: 2 items, 1860 and 1861
1
26
Drennan and Randolph: 7 items, 1868-1872
1
27
Gilson, W. C., and Co.: 6 items, 1871-1875
1
28
Glass and Parish: 7 items, 1874-1875
1
29
Hanna and Orr: 16 items, 1871-1874
1
30
Hanson, A. J.: 2 items, 1874-1875
1
31
Houston and Texas Central Railway Co.: 7 items, 1866-1877 and undated
1
32
Howard, W. C.: 4 items, 1870-1871
1
33
Labuzan and McGar: 3 items, 1867
1
34
Lazard, C., and Co.: 28 items, 1874-1877 and undated
1
35
McLendon and Proctor: 3 items, 1878-1879
1
36
McLendon, J. S., and Co.: 4 items, 1876-1882
1
37
Montgomery, J. S.: 6 items, 1870-1877
1
38
Moody and Jemison: 12 items, 1875
1
39
Moore, J. T.: 2 items, 1864 and undated
1
40
Muckle, Alfred: 4 items, 1867-1868
1
41
Orr, John, and Co.: 19 items, 1870-1875
1
42
Orr, John, and Co.: 28 items, 1876-1877
1
43
Orr, John, and Co.: 18 items, 1878-1885
1
44
Preston, L. K.: 3 items, 1873-1874
1
45
Proctor, G. K., and Co.: 15 items, 1882
1
46
Ranger and Co.: 2 items, 1866 and 1876
1
47
Salter, C. P.: 6 items, 1875
1
48
San Antonio Mutual Aid Association: 3 items, 1863-1865
1
49
Sanger Bros.: 6 items, 1870-1877
2
50
Sessums, A., Powell and Co.: 11 items, 1871
2
51
Teagarden, Proctor and Co.: 5 items, 1881 and undated
2
52
Ullman, E.: 6 items, 1875-1878
2
53
Wolston, Wells, and Vidor: 9 items, 1872-1873
2
54
Miscellaneous A-L: 35 items, 1858-1884
2
55
Miscellaneous M-W and unidentified: 30 items, 1859-1885
2
56
Account book: John Orr and Co., 1878
2
57
Accounts receivable: bills, statements, etc., 5 items, 1866-1873 and undated
2
58
Accounts of other individuals: 12 items, 1860-1882
2
Receipts, 1856-1882
2
59
Notes and accounts: 7 items, 1859-1880
2
60
Cotton: 3 items, 1863-1875
2
61
Wages: 1 item, 1865
2
62
Sharecropper payments: 9 items, 1870-1871
2
63
Taxes: 7 items, 1868-1875
2
64
Miscellaneous: 19 items, 1856-1882
2
65
Promissory notes: 45 items, 1856-1885 and undated
2
66
Drafts: 14 items, 1859-1880
2
Sale documents, 1844-1885
2
67
Slaves: 14 items, 1844-1864 and undated
2
68
Cotton: 3 items, 1864, 1865, and 1885
2
69
Livestock: 7 items, 1866-1873
2
70
Land: 1 item, 1867
2
71
Miscellaneous: 2 items, 1872 and 1873
2
Contracts, 1857-1884
2
72
Sharecropping: 9 items, 1867-1870
2
73
Sharecropping: 10 items, 1871-1873 and undated
2
74
Rental of land: 13 items, 1865-1884
2
75
Labor: 9 items, 1870-1873
2
76
Miscellaneous: 7 items, 1857-1872
2
Lawsuits, 1855-1883
2
77
Caroline H. Bangs vs. William P. Townsend, et al.: 1 item, 1855
2
78
Gabriel Jackson vs. J. M. Hall, L. M. Hall and James S. Hanna: 2 items, 1866
2
79
Benjamin F. Hammond vs. James S. Hanna: 1 item, 1867
2
80
James S. Hanna vs. W. W. Stokes: 1 item, 1867
2
81
W. J. Bryan vs. C. G. Baxter and James S. Hanna: 2 items, 1868
2
82
J. T. Garrett vs. James S. Hanna and John L. Livingston: 1 item, 1868
2
83
Wilson Reed vs. Pitts, Moore and Co.: 1 item, 1868
2
84
John C. Roberts vs. James S. Hanna: 1 item, 1868
2
85
James S. Hanna vs. Charles P. Salter: 2 items, 1869
2
86
G. T. Garrett vs. James S. Hanna and M. Livingston: 2 items, 1870
2
87
Adams and Hearne vs. Frank Patton and James S. Hanna: 1 item, 1872
2
88
Wm. B. Taylor, et al. vs. Richard M. Nelson: 4 items, circa 1872-1874 (see also James S. Hanna, Correspondence, Morgan, Lapsley and Nelson, Folder 9)
2
89
J. D. Rankin vs. James S. Hanna: 1 item, 1874
2
90
D. W. Beeson and Bro., bankruptcy: 7 items, 1874-1875
2
91
A. P. Wooldridge vs. H. Burt, et al.: 3 items, 1874-1875
2
92
Phineas de Cordova vs. T. C. Hood, et al.: 1 item, 1873
2
James S. Hanna vs. Culleus and Knauff and Williams: 1 item, 1878
2
James H. Gilbert vs. James K. P. Hanna: 1 item, 1879
2
Fuller and Connaughton vs. James S. Hanna and James K. P. Hanna: 1 item, 1883
2
93
Property inventories: 2 items, 1877 and 1879
2
94
Deeds of trust: James S. Hanna, J. K. P. Hanna, and Eber S. Peters, 2 items, 1883
2
95
Miscellaneous legal documents: 7 items, 1857-1871 and undated
2
Printed material, circa 1865-1876
2
96
Galveston News Price Current, 1866 September 13
2
97
Galveston Cotton Exchange Market Report: 6 items, 1875-1876
2
98
Planter's oath, blank: 1 item, circa 1865
2
Miscellaneous material, 1852 and undated
2
99
Contract and proposal for graduation, Mobile and Ohio Rail Road: 2 items, 1852
2
100
Price list, sawmill and farming equipment: 1 item, undated
2
101
Loan application, incomplete: 1 item, undated
3
Sub-subseries 1.1.2: Davis, Calvert, Hanna and Hardy, 1859-1873
3
Accounts payable: accounts, bills, etc., 1859-1865
3
102
Calvert and Garrett: 2 items, 1860-1861
3
103
Ennis, C., and Co.: 2 items, 1860-1861
3
104
Hanna, James S.: 2 items, 1860-1861
3
105
Houston and Texas Central Railway: 6 items, 1860-1862
3
106
McIlhenny, Willis and Bro.: 15 items, 1860
3
107
Miscellaneous: 18 items, 1859-1865
3
Bills of lading, 1860-1861
3
108
Clough and Bonner: 18 items, 1860-1861
3
109
Miscellaneous: 9 items, 1860-1861
3
110
Accounts receivable: 2 items, 1860-1861
3
111
Receipts: 10 items, 1860-1862
3
112
Promissory notes: 2 items, 1861
3
113
Work estimates: 5 items, 1860-1861
3
114
List of expenses: 1 item, 1861
3
115
Amount lost time by Negroes: 1 item, undated
3
Lawsuits, 1867-1873
3
116
Ruth Calvert vs. Davis, Calvert, Hanna and Hardys: 3 items, 1867
3
Ruth Calvert vs. Davis, Calvert and Hanna: 1 item, 1867
3
117
A. Henson vs. Robert Calvert, William Davis, and James S. Hanna: 2 items, 1867
3
118
D. U. Barziza vs. William Davis and James S. Hanna: 1 item, 1868
3
119
C. P. Salter vs. William Davis, James S. Hanna, G. W. Hardy, and J. T. Garrett: 1 item, 1868
3
120
Peter J. Willis and Richard S. Willis vs. William Davis and James S. Hanna: 2 items, 1872-1873
3
121
Miscellaneous legal documents: contracts and agreements, 3 items, 1872 and undated
3
122
Memoranda: proposals regarding legal services and labor, 2 items, undated
3
123
Correspondence: 1 item, 1869
3
Sub-subseries 1.1.3: Hanna and Orr, 1866-1871
3
124
Financial documents: balance sheets and bills, 7 items, 1867-1871
3
125
Legal documents: 3 items, 1866-1868
3
126
Correspondence: 1 item, 1868
3
Subseries 1.2: Family and personal documents, 1847-1890
3
Correspondence, 1849-1878
3
127
Cole, D. R. and Mary: 3 items, 1867 and undated
3
128
Hanna, James Knox Polk: 10 items, 1867-1870
3
129
Hanna, Mollie: 6 items, 1874-1876
3
130
Hughes, M. L.: 2 items, 1866 and 1875
3
131
Muckle, Alfred: 3 items, 1861-1868
3
132
Pitts, E.: 2 items, 1849
3
133
Miscellaneous: 14 items, 1856-1878
3
Bills and receipts, 1847-1880
3
134
Martha A. E. Hanna, inheritance and guardianship: 2 items, 1847
3
135
Port Sullivan College: 3 items, 1859-1865
3
136
Galveston Male Academy: 1 item, 1867
3
137
Salem Female Academy: 7 items, 1874-1876
3
138
Calvert Institute: 1 item, 1877
3
139
State A&M College of Texas: 2 items, 1877-1878
3
140
Calvert Academy: 1 item, 1880
3
141
Miscellaneous tuition: 4 items, 1860-1862 and 1872
3
142
Report cards: Washington College, James Knox Polk Hanna, 5 items, 1869
3
Printed material, 1866-1890
3
143
Programs, Salem Female Academy: 2 items, 1874
3
144
Certificates, James Knox Polk Hanna: 3 items, 1866-1867
3
145
Funeral notices: 5 items, 1873-1890
3
Miscellaneous personal material, 1853-1865
3
146
Masonic Lodge documents: 4 items, 1853-1859
3
147
List of household goods: 1 item, 1865
Series 2: Eber S. Peters papers
The second series consists of the papers of Eber S. Peters, James Hanna's son-in-law. Included are some business letters and financial and legal documents associated with Peters' Calvert business. Several copies of the
Citizen-Democrat, the Calvert newspaper owned by Peters, are included, along with portions of Houston newspapers containing accounts of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. A few items are related to Peters' children, Eber H. and Beulah.
3
Correspondence, 1866-1905
3
148
Business: 18 items, 1881-1902
3
Personal, 1866-1905
3
149
Peters, Mary E.: 1 item, 1866
3
150
[Acker?], Lamar to Eber H. Peters: 6 items, 1903-1905
3
151
Wilder, Eugene to Josie Desman: 1 item, 1896
3
152
Accounts payable: 8 items, 1883-1884
3
153
Bills of lading: 18 items, 1883-1884
3
154
Vouchers: 2 items, 1884
3
155
Drafts: 2 items, 1883-1884
3
156
Receipts: 3 items, 1894-1902
3
Legal documents, 1883, 1910, and undated
3
157
Contract and notes: 2 items, 1883 and undated
3
158
Will, Mary E. Peters: 1 item, 1910
3
159
Lodge assessment: 1 item, 1884
3
School records, 1900-1901
3
160
Bill, A&M College of Texas: 1 item, 1900
3
161
Report card, Calvert Public School, Beulah Peters: 1 item, 1900-1901
3
Printed material, 1893-1903 and undated
3
162
Clippings: 2 items, undated
3
163
Program, Texas Cotton Growers Protective Association: 1 item, 1903
Oversize 1
Newspapers, 1893-1900
Oversize 1
Calvert Citizen-Democrat: 7 items, 1894 February 7, April 11, April 18, May 2, and August 22
Oversize 1
Salt Lake Tribune, 1895 August 30
Oversize 1
Houston Daily Post: 3 items, partial copies, 1900 September 22, 23, and 27
Oversize 1
Scientific American, 1893 December 9
Series 3: Miscellaneous papers
The third series consists of miscellaneous items not readily identifiable as belonging to the other two groups of documents. A number of fliers from the late 1800s advertise farming equipment, hardware, and household products. Some items have been added to the papers, including some genealogical information.
4
Advertising fliers, 1883-1899 and undated
4
164
18 items, 1883-1884 and undated
4
165
11 items, 1884-1899 and undated
4
166
Advertising cards: 3 items, undated
4
Clippings, undated
4
167
Insurance Times Extra, No. 183: 1 item, undated
4
"Trading By Lottery": 1 item, undated
4
168
Invitations: Valley Female College, A&M College, The Foster Guards, Calvert High School, University of Texas, and La Feve Club, 7 items, 1900-1902 and undated
4
169
List of goods, with prices: 3 items, undated
4
170
Patent: lint cotton cleaner and condenser, 1 item, 1898
4
Pamphlets, 1867-1907
4
171
Aldredge, George N. Speech of Judge Geo. N. Aldredge, of Dallas, Texas, on the Free Coinage of Silver. No publisher, possibly 1896.
4
Janes, A. Manual to Aristos (the Best) or Janes' Shadeless Shorthand. Waco, Texas: Edward Toby, 1904.
4
Janes, A. Reporting Supplement to Janes' Shadeless Shorthand or Aristos (The Best). New York: Edward Toby, 1907.
4
Osgood, Charles. The Causes, Treatment, and Cure of Fever and Ague, and other Diseases of Bilious Climates. New York: Charles Osgood, 1867.
4
Mongredien, Augustus. The Western Farmer of America. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co., 1880.
4
172
Pammel, L. H. Root Rot of Cotton, or "Cotton Blight." Bulletin No. 4, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Houston: J. J. Pastorza, 1889.
4
Pittuck, B. C. Forage Crops. Bulletin No. 66. College Station, Texas: Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, 1903.
4
173
The Seven Diagrams: or Improved Gin-Houses. Louisville: John P. Morton and Co., 1872.
Oversize 1
Newspaper: Winston-Salem Journal/Twin City Sentinel, Salem Academy and College 200th Anniversary Section, 1972 February 29
4
174
Uniform insignia: 2 items, undated
4
175
Chinese characters: 1 item, undated
4
176
Envelopes, fragments: 5 items, undated