Robert Hannah was born on 28 Jul 1846 in Manvers Township, Durham County, Canada West (now Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada), the son of John Hannah and Ellen Jackson. John Hannah is the son of Richard Hannah and Catherine Walker.
We recognized this house from an 1878 drawing (see original [2] below) posted by Ancestry.com member crpreston7. Our prior research of Tremaine’s Map of the County of Durham, Upper Canada, 1861, then confirmed the identify of this Bob Hannah from among the several Robert Hannah in the family.
Tremaine’s Map lists Samuel Vance (1816–1873) as the owner of Concession 10, Lot 18, in 1861. Samuel is also found living on this land in the 1851, 1861, and 1871 Census of Canada:
- In 1852 (the Census of Canada West started late), Samuel is listed as farmer (owner of the land) and widower with two daughters, Eliza Ann and Margaret Jane. Associated families also living with them are Catherine Montgomery, Richard Hannah, and Elizabeth Montgomery.
- In 1861, Samuel is listed as farmer and widower with two daughters, Eliza Ann and Margaret Jane. Associated families also living with them are Ann Hineman [Hindman, Hyndman].
- In 1871, Samuel is listed as farmer. Also living with him are his daughter Eliza Ann and her husband Robert Hannah.
Robert Hannah lived with his parents on Concession 10, Lots 16-17, in 1851 and 1861. That lot is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-southwest of the Vance lot.
Robert Hannah and Eliza Ann Vance married on 1 Mar 1871 in Victoria County, Ontario, Canada. Samuel Vance died in 1873, and apparently left or sold the farm to Robert and Eliza Ann, as Robert is listed on the map for this lot in 1878. [2]
The 1881 Census of Canada lists Robert Hannah, farmer, with his wife Eliza Ann, three daughters (Lila, Elva, Mary), and servant Ellen Robinson at this farm.
Robert and Eliza Ann Hannah, and their daughters, reside in Lindsay Township, Victoria South District, Ontario, Canada, in 1891. They return to Manvers Township before 1901, although it is not known if they returned to this farm.
We therefore assume the woman in the photo standing next to Bob Hannah is Eliza Ann Vance, his wife. Robert and Eliza Ann appear to have had only the three daughters. We have not been able to identify the five young women in the photo on the right.
The house and farm buildings seen in the photo and drawing are still (May 2020) there.
Robert Hannah (1846–1919) is 1st cousin 5x removed of MKS in the Watne branch.
Eliza Ann Vance (1847–1926) is wife of Robert Hannah.
References:
[1] KMS Family Genealogy Digital Archive, Hannah Elva Lucille Porter Watne collection.
[2] Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, Ontario (Toronto: H. Belden & Co., 1878), p. 109.