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Charles A. Hanna collection

Call Number

MS 3126

Date

circa 1822–1950 (bulk, circa 1900–1950), inclusive

Creator

Hanna, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1863-1950

Extent

37.5 Linear feet in 37 boxes (22 records cartons, 15 flat boxes)

Language of Materials

The documents in this collection are in English.

Abstract

Research notes and publications on historical topics compiled by Charles Augustus Hanna (1863–1950), a banker and amateur historian whose interest in the region of his native Ohio produced "Historical Collections of Harrison County" (1900), "Ohio Valley Genealogies" (1900), and "The Wilderness Trail, or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path" (1911), all of which are represented by materials in the collection. Also present are 27 volumes of notes for his "The Scotch-Irish, or, The Scot in North Britain, North Ireland, and North America" (1902), as well as the contents of an 18-drawer card catalog of genealogical data on the Hanna and allied families of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Biographical note

Banker Charles Augustus Hanna (1863–1950), chief examiner of the New York Clearing House, 1911–1940, was a native of Cadiz, Ohio. As a genealogist and amateur historian (with memberships in the New-York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia Historical Societies), his interests focused primarily on the region of his birth. In 1900 he published "Historical Collections of Harrison County, in the state of Ohio, With Lists of the First Land-Owners, Early Marriages (to 1841), Will Records (to 1861), Burial Records of the Early Settlements, and Numerous Genealogies," and "Ohio Valley Genealogies: Relating Chiefly to Families in Harrison, Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and Washington, Westmoreland, and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania." These were followed in 1902 by "The Scotch-Irish, or, The Scot in North Britain, North Ireland, and North America," and 1911 by "The Wilderness Trail, or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path."

[This note is drawn from Hanna's obituary in "The New York Times," May 20, 1950, p. 15, and his entry in "Who Was Who in America," vol. 3 (1951–1960), p. 366. See also "The Charles A. Hanna Collection" in "The New-York Historical Society Quarterly," vol. 34, no. 4 (October 1950), p. 346.]

Arrangement

The collection is not processed. Except for slight adjustments (e.g., reuniting separated volumes), it remains largely in the physical order in which it was shelved, with each volume being assigned a sequence number (SN) between 1 and 164 (some numbers have been skipped). To facilitate access, the container list divides the collection intellectually in two series:

Series I.
Charles A. Hanna research notes and publications, circa 1900–1950
Series II.
Publications by others, 1822–1950

Scope and Contents

As described on accession in "The New-York Historical Society Quarterly," vol. 34, no. 4 (October 1950), p. 346, "The 300 books and pamphlets presented by [Charles A. Hanna's] daughters relate mainly to Scotland and Ireland, Indians, and local history in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, reflecting his special interests. With them came five volumes of newspaper clippings relating to Cadiz and Harrison County, Ohio; Mr. Hanna's own annotated copy of his 'Historical Collections of Harrison County,' with letters and clippings laid in; and the typescript of his 'The Wilderness Trail,' with a scrapbook of clipped reviews of it, and photographic negatives he took in Pennsylvania in 1909, to illustrate the work. The collection of Mr. Hanna's notes and manuscripts includes 18 drawers filled with genealogical data on three-by-five cards; 30 volumes of genealogical charts, correspondence, and data of the Hanna, Howell, Adams and other New York, New Jersey, and Ohio families; and 25 volumes of typewritten records relating to Scotch-Irish in the Eastern States, principally in Pennsylvania."

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers. This collection is stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/rights-and-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as the "Charles A. Hanna Collection, MS 3126, New-York Historical Society."

Location of Materials

This collection is stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Elizabeth Harrison Hanna Howell and Mary Eleanor Hanna Adams, daughters of Charles A. Hanna, July 1950.

Separated Materials

A number of titles from Hanna's personal collection were incorporated into the general New-York Historical Society Library holdings. These may be found by searching for the phrase "Charles A. Hanna" in BobCat, the library's online catalog.

Related Materials

The New-York Historical Society holds these publications by Hanna:

• Historical collections of Harrison County : in the state of Ohio : with lists of the first land-owners, early marriages (to 1841), will records (to 1861), burial records of the early settlements, and numerous genealogies (1900); call no. Offsite F497.H5 H2
• Ohio Valley genealogies : relating chiefly to families in Harrison, Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and Washington, Westmoreland, and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania (1900); call no. Offsite F516 .H24
• The wilderness trail; or, The ventures and adventures of the Pennsylvania traders on the Allegheny path, 2 vols. (1911); call no. Offsite F152 .H24

Collection processed by

Joseph Ditta (2022)

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:09 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The collection remains largely in the order in which is was found on the shelf. In 2020, to prepare it for off-site storage and to facilitate access, project archivist Elise Winks assigned sequence numbers (SN) to each volume. Archivist Joseph Ditta boxed the collection and described it in this finding aid in 2022.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024