James Hannahs

 

AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT

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James McCoy Hannahs     see FAMILY TREE
Born: 16 Dec 1822 Greenup Co. KY

Married: 12 Apr 1848 Scioto Co. OH

Died: 20 Jul 1902  Portsmouth, Scioto Co, OH
   

FATHER

John Hannah

MOTHER

Susannah Barklow

WIFE

Eliza Shefflin

CHILDREN

1. Ira  Hannahs 
    b. abt. 1849  OH
    m. 20 Jul 1891 to Mary Scott in Scioto Co. OH
    d. 19 Jun 1897 Springfield, Clark, OH

2. Susan R. Hannahs  
    b. 21 April 1850  Portsmouth, Scioto Co., OH
    m. 17 Jun 1874 to Lewis Shepard in Vermillion, IN
    d. 21 Nov 1880 Newport, Vermillion, IN

3. James M Hannahs 
    b. Dec 1853 Portsmouth, Scioto Co., OH
    m. 21 Jul 1880 to Kate Davis in Portsmouth, Scioto, OH
    d. 15 Feb 1932  Portsmouth, Scioto, OH

4. Sallie Hannahs 
    b. 6 May 1855
    m. 27 Jun 1889 to George Monett in Portsmouth, Scioto, OH
    d. 11 Apr 1940 Columbus, Franklin, OH

James Hannahs
by Susan Brooke
Aug 2023

According to his obituary, James Hannahs was born 16 Dec 1828 in Greenup Co. KY. (1) He moved to Portsmouth, OH about 1830 when he was 8 years old.  By 1841 he was working as a cook on a steamship and managed to save a burning ship. (2) In 1847 there was a flood in Portsmouth and James Hannahs took a yawl from his ship down Front Street picking up his sisters to keep them out of the water. (3)
He married Eliza Sheflin the next year in Portsmouth on 12 Apr 1848. (4) He was 25 and she was 18. James's father, John Hannahs, had died in the 1830's and his mother, Susannah, died in 1843 when he was about 22.  He and his sister, Ruth ( six years older ) must have had to take over the care of the younger children.  When he married in 1848, his wife, Eliza Sheffin, was also mostly on her own.  Her father had died in 1840 and her mother was raising several younger children. 
James Hannahs was an outgoing, fun loving man.  On the 4th of July 1858 he was written up in the newspaper for having so much fun at the Portsmouth celebration that he "ate so much that he has not been hungry since." (5)  He was still a cook on the steamships, but he may not have been making a lot of money. He was very close to his older sister, Ruth.  For whatever reason, in 1858 he sent his 7 year old daughter, Susan Hannahs, off to Vermillion Co. IN to live with his sister Ruth Porter. (6)  She had no children and took in Susan as her own daughter.
 "During the war, he served on government transports. He was captain of the 'Piketon,' on the Sandy River in 1862 and was captain of the 'Navigator,' on the Mississippi, in government service. (14)
He was still a cook in the 1860 census but with a personal estate of only $100. Ten years later in 1870 he was listed as a clerk with a personal estate of $150. (7)  By 1873 he was a barkeeper. (8) And, he was listed as a saloon keeper in the 1880 census. (9)
They had 4 children, but had given their daughter Susan away to his sister when she was 7 years old. However, they remained close to this child.  Susan married in Indiana and died in 1880 leaving one daughter, Grace Shepard.  James and Eliza Hannahs gave a beautiful photo album to this granddaughter in Dec 1887. She filled it will photos of her family.  (10)
His wife, Eliza Shefflin, died in 1895. The next year he was standing on a corner when a lady hit him with her "wheel" and he was knocked senseless. (11)  However, he seems to have recovered as he celebrated his 75th birthday in good heath the following year. (12) By 1900 when he was 78 years old he was living with his son James Hannahs in Portsmouth. (13) He died 20 Jul 1902. (14)

Sources

(1) Obituary of James Hannahs

"James McKoy Hannahs was born in Greenup county, Ky., December 16, 1822. His father was John Hannahs, a brick-layer and his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Susan Barklow, a daughter of Benjamin Barklow. His father and mother had eight children: Ruth, married Richard H. Porter of Newport, Ind.; Ira Allen; James; Sarah Jane, married Joseph Cook, M.D., of Newport, Ind.; Susan married James Ross the tailor; the next three were triplets, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego born, May 20, 1830. All three grew to maturity. Shadrack died in 1885 at the age of 25; Abednego died in 1880 and Meshack is living in Newport, Ind. The latter was in the Civil war in the 14h Indiana Infantry and was wounded at Antietam.
James, our subject, came to Portsmouth when he was eight years old, and has made Portsmouth his home ever since."

(2) Portsmouth Times, 1 Jul 1876

 

The first tri-weekly Cincinnati and Portsmouth packet over run in the trade was the Oneida.  An old steamboatman has been interviewed this week, and promises us more information on early navigation.  The Oneida was built in the spring of 1840, by Capt. James W. Davis, the founder of the trade.  She was a side wheel with single engine.  The officers were Captain, William Tinker, of Maysville; Clark, Captain Kepner, of Portsmouth; Mate, James Johnson, of Portsmouth, and then husband of the present wife of Major Cropper;  Steward , Robert Ferguson, of Cincinnati; Pilots, Ben Woodworth, of Cincinnati and Daniel G. Taylor, of St. Louis, the latter was also barkeeper and a stockholder in the boat; Engineer, Henderson Squires and Ben Woodworth, of Cincinnati; Cook, James Hannahs, of Portsmouth. 

She commenced running in the trade in the summer of 1840, occasionally extending her trip to Pittsburgh.  On one of the latter trips, in March, 1841, the boat took fire in the hold from furnace sparks, and burned to the water's edge, near Letart falls.  The pilot vamosed, and James Hannahs, the cook, who knew how to handle the wheel, run the boat ashore, escaped over the wheel house from the burning steamer, getting a good ducking, but fortunately escaping a roasting.  Alex Vancourt, a tavern keeper here in that day, had a new four horse omnibus on board which he was bringing from Pittsburg.  He managed to get it overboard, and afterwards recovered it.  Many of the older residents of the city remember the vehicle as doing service in after days by conveying passengers from the canal landing to the city."

(3) Portsmouth Time 20 Dec 1878

"The present rise in the river recalls to the minds of the elder citizens the freshet of 1847, which was at its highest stage on the 17th of December. -- James Hannahs was cook on the Scioto docked in Portsmouth. -- Hannahs' family were then living where the Aetna House now stands, and Jim brought his yawl and took his sisters in it and brought them aboard the boat to keep them out of the water. Col. Graham and fifteen others took this yawl, and started down Front street with a band of music in it, stopped at Yaeger & Lloyds's, where the Massie House now stand, and took in a bottle of spirits, which Docs Lloyd let down from the second floor with a string."

(4) Marriage of James Hannahs to Eliza Shefflin
Marriages of Portsmouth, OH

Hannahs, James & Elvira (Eliza?) Sheflin 12 Apr 1848   

(5) History of Scioto County pg. 348 by Nelson W. Evans 1796-1903  "July 4, 1858, came on Sunday, and Saturday was observed. ----- Then there was a public dinner. Jim Hannahs was the cook. Plates were set for 1,500. There were thirteen regular toasts and four volunteer toasts, responded to by W.E. Gilmore. ------ It was the greatest celebration of the day ever held in Portsmouth. 500 pounds of roast beef, 45 pounds of boiled ham, 10 roast pigs, 2 roast sheep, 200 pounds of baked fresh fish, 700 loaves of bread, 500 pies, 200 pounds of cheese, 50 pounds of cakes, and 2,000 sugar cakes were consumed. It is said that the uniforms of the firemen and the military men were perfectly dazzling. The girls of the day have not recovered from that celebration yet. It is now related that Jim Hannahs ate so much that day that he has not been hungry since."

(6) Obituary of Susie Hannahs from Hoosier State, Wednesday 24 Nov 1880

  Mrs. Susie Shepard, wife of Dr. Lewis Shepard, departed this life Monday, November 22 inst.  She was born April 21, 1850, in the State of Ohio; came to Newport at the age of seven years to live with her aunt, Mrs. Porter.  Being of a bright and cheerful disposition and pleasant in her address, she soon won a high place in the regards of of her young companions, which place, by native goodness of heart she has ever since retained.
She was married June 17, 1874, to her now bereaved companion.  Being fortunate in her selection of a companion and of one accord within the sacred relations of husband and wife, theirs was truly a pleasant home. How sad it seems that death should come so early to such a home.  And, how true it is that 'death loves a shining mark.'  The fairest flowers are gathered first.  To those who knew our sister best and therefore loved her most this providence seems dark indeed.  But we ought to remember even in the midst of our grief that the Lord has but claimed his own, and strive to be thankful that for a time we were blessed with such a companion and friend.
By this providence a cheerful and happy home is made desolate; the heart of the husband is burthened with grief that words cannot express, the little daughter is deprived of the tender care and loving sympathy of a mother; and in this their bereavement we can only commend them to the kindly ministries of friends and neighbors and to the tender care of Him who has promised to deal gently with the sorrowing and to be a father to the orphan.  Wm. L. Little

(7) 1860 census Portsmouth, Scioto, OH
James Hannahs  Cook  Value of Personal Estate  $100
1870 census Portsmouth, Scioto, OH
James Hannahs   Clerk,  Value of Personal Estate  $150

(8) Portsmouth City Directory 1873
Hannahs, James, barkeeper, Aetna House saloon, h. Fourth

(9) 1880 census Portsmouth, Scioto, OH
James Hannahs  Saloon Keeper  West Sixth Street

(10) Album given to Grace Shepard from her "Grandma and Grandpa Hannahs, 25 Dec 1887
  Album given to Grace Shepard

"Th3 first tri-weekly Cincinnati and Portsmouth packet ever run in the trade was the Oneida.  -- The Oneida was built in the spring of 1840 -- The officers were --- : Cook, James Hannahs, of Portsmouth.
She commenced running in the trade in the summer of 1840, occiassionally extending her trip to Pittsburgh.  On one of the latter trips, in March, 1841, the boat took fire in the hold from furnace sparks, and burned to the water's edge, near Letart falls.  The pilot vamosed, and James Hannahs, the cook, who knew how to handle the wheel, run the boat ashore, escaped over the wheel house from the burning steamer, getting a good ducking, but fortunately escaping a roasting. "

(11) The Portsmouth Times Oct 3, 1896.
 "J. M. Hannahs Sr. met with a painful accident last evening. He was standing on the corner of Third and Market streets, when Miss Saide Snodgrass came along on her wheel.    He was thrown violantly to the paved streets and when picked up was insensible.  He was carried into Lewis's livery stable and a physician called.  He is better today."

(12) Daily Times 18 Dec 1897

Daily Times 18 Dec 1897

(13) 1900 census  Portsmouth, Scioto, OH 

(14) Obituary of James Hannahs
Valley Sentinel, July 23, 1902



Died: 20 Jul 1902  Portsmouth, Scioto Co, OH
The Valley Sentinel (Portsmouth, OH) Wednesday, July 23, 1902
"James M. Hannahs, one of the pioneer citizens of Portsmouth, died Sunday night at his home on Market street after a week's illness.
His death was due to complications, incident to old age.
Mr. Hannahs had many warm friends about the city by whom his death is sincerely regretted.
Through the courtesy of Capt. H. W. Evans, the following sketch of Mr. Hannahs was secured from the advance sheets of his History of Scioto county.
James McKoy Hannahs was born in Greenup county, Ky., December 16, 1822. His father was John Hannahs, a brick-layer and his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Susan Barklow, a daughter of Benjamin Barklow. His father and mother had eight children: Ruth, married Richard H. Porter of Newport, Ind.; Ira Allen; James; Sarah Jane, married Joseph Cook, M.D., of Newport, Ind.; Susan married James Ross the tailor; the next three were triplets, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego born, May 20, 1830. All three grew to maturity. Shadrack died in 1885 at the age of 25; Abednego died in 1880 and Meshack is living in Newport, Ind. The latter was in the Civil war in the 14h Indiana Infantry and was wounded at Antietam.
James, our subject, came to Portsmouth when he was eight years old, and has made Portsmouth his home ever since. He went to school in Portsmouth to a teacher named Nixon and to another named Briggs. He attended the Fourth street school, when A. L. Child was superintendent. After quitting school he became a cabin boy on the steamer 'Herald,' which ran from Portsmouth to Cincinnati. John Bonte was the captain and Price Farret, the pilot. He went on the first tri-weekly packet from Portsmouth to Cincinnati, the 'Oneida.' William Tucker was captain and B Kepner was clerk. She was owned by McDowell, Davis, Damarin, Robinson & Ross. She made a trip down Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and returned Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. This was in 1840 and 1841. The goods carried were mostly brought on the canal or consigned to it, there being little way business. When the canal closed trips would be made elsewhere. On her return from a trip to Pittsburgh, she was destroyed by fire at Letart Falls in broad daylight. Mr Hannahs was on the boat at the time.
The same owners built a new boat and called her the 'Ashland.' After wearing her out they built the 'Scioto No. 1,' and 'Scioto No. 2' in succession. James Hannahs run on all these boats. The 'Bostona' entered the trade in 1854, but there was no cut in fares.
They consolidated in 1855, and Mr. Hannahs went to New Orleans and engaged in boating. During the war, he served on government transports. He was captain of the 'Piketon,' on the Sandy River in 1862 and was captain of the 'Navigator,' on the Mississippi, in government service. After the war, he continued on the river until 1869, when he came to Portsmouth. Luckily he was never in an explosion. He remembered all the floods from 1832 up to the present time.
He was married April 12, 1848 to Eliza Shufflin. She died January 28, 1895, and he never re-married. He had two sons and two daughters; His oldest son, Ira, died in Springfield, June 19, 1897. aged forty-eight. His daughter, Elizabeth Susan married Dr. Lewis Shepard, at Newport, Ind. She died in 1880. His son James was born December 2, 1852, and resides in Portsmouth. His daughter Sarah married George Monnett, and lives in Columbus.
Our subject was a Henry Clay Whig and after that became a Democrat. For several years, he has been taking life easy. He has the best memory of any old citizen now living in Portsmouth and especially about anything connected with the Ohio river. He could be found any day at Spry's drug store or Freshells restaurant and nothing pleases him better than to talk of the past.
Mr Hannahs had been furnishing all the assistance he could in the preparation of this work, and looking forward to its completion with great interest, but was destined never to see its pages. He died July 21, 1902.
The funeral will take place Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock from his late residence on Market street, Rev. H. W. Hargett officiating."

 

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