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).
From the guide to the Hanna Family Papers Col 898., 1844-1972 (bulk 1844-1902), (Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas)
