In 1876, Eli Clements Hankins (1855-1925) married Ida J. Perry (1860-1931), daughter of Asa H. Perry (1827-1863) and Harriet W. Odom (1837-1893) and sister of Maggie I. Roberts. Asa was the son of William Marshal Perry (1800-1883) and brother of Mrs. E. J. Tyson (d. 1883), William Perry, and Cicero Rufus Perry (1822-1898). In 1863, Asa visited his friend John Means. When Means’s mother was insulted by a group of Mexicans camping near Clinton, Texas, he and Asa went off to confront the men. A few days later they were found dead near the camp, but the culprits were not identified. Three years later his widow Harriet married John Mackey. Harriet was the sister of William and N. H. Odom.
The E. C. Hankins Papers, 1861-1931, contains photocopies of material related to Hankins and his wife Ida. The collection includes photocopies of obituaries for Mrs. Ida Perry Hankins (1931) and her mother Harriet W. Mackey (1893), a biographical sketch of William Marshal Perry, three letters from William Odom concerning the Civil War (1861-1863), and a narrative about the murders of Asa Perry and John Means.
The collection is open for research.
E. C. Hankins Papers, 1861-1931, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
See also the
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.