In the development of this summary of Hannaman history, we have relied heavily on the work of Kenneth Hannaman [Ref. 1] and the unpublished notes of Edwin F. Dysert [Ref. 2]. This information has been supplemented by the results of our own research, most notably in Union County, Ohio. Our Hannaman ancestry is traceable, with a high degree of certainty, to the latter decades of seventeenth century Prussia. The spelling in the German homeland is Hanehmann.
The earliest Hanehmann record of which we are aware comes from the Church Register of Bad Lauchstädt, near Halle in the present German State of Sachsen-Anhalt. On December 8, 1707 a son, Gottfried, was born to Christian Hanehmann. Christian had a second son, Adam Friedrich, born August 23, 1712. The father, Christian Hanehmann, was born about 1684. The paternal grandfather of Gottfried and Adam was also a Christian Hanehmann. Christopher Hanehmann was born in Prussia in 1728, the son of Gottfried Hanehmann. He married Mary O'Neal " in his native country" [Ref. 3]. Mary was reportedly from Dublin, Ireland.
We do not know when Christopher and Mary were married or when they came to this country, but they are known to have been in the region of Cherry Valley (now in Otsego County) New York by about 1758. An early account of Otsego County history reports that as late as 1762 there were only twelve families in this settlement.
Military records show that Christopher Hannaman served with the New York Provincial Troops. This military body was formed by proclamation of King George II "in order to complete the reduction of all Canada". Our interpretation is that England wanted troops to defeat the French for control of Canada. As Kenneth Hannaman [Ref. 1] points out, there are three listings for Christopher Hannaman in the muster roles. Because the dates of enlistment do not appear to overlap, it is possible to assume that they refer to the same individual. With this assumption in mind, we can compile a physical profile of Christopher from the collective data. Christopher Hannaman first enlisted on April 29, 1760 at an age of about 32. He was about five feet seven inches tall with brown hair and gray eyes. He had a fair complexion and "mold on left cheek". His occupation was mariner, laborer or, maybe, both.
Christopher and Mary had four children born in New York between about 1758 and 1768. Their names were Christopher, John, William and Elizabeth. The existence of the junior Christopher has never been confirmed, but Kenneth Hannaman [Ref. 1] makes a compelling argument based on circumstantial evidence. Elizabeth's birth was recorded at Lutheran Trinity Church, Stone Arabia, New York (now in Montgomery County). The spellings were Elisabetha, Christoph (father) and Maria (mother) Hannemann.
Christopher Hannaman and his family left New York sometime around 1772, following the Susquehanna River south through Pennsylvania. A fifth child, Mary, was born at Middletown, Pennsylvania in 1772. By 1774, Christopher and his family were in Virginia. In that year, he received a 400-acre land grant for military service [Ref. 2]. The land was located on Stuarts Run in what later became Monongalia County (now Harrison County, West Virginia). Christopher Hannaman's signature appears on the Harrison County Petition of November 1777 (This document petitioned the Virginia legislature to allow formation of a new county.) and his name appears in the Virginia Heads of Families for 1782 under Monongalia County.
Edwin Dysert [Ref. 2] has traced a Christopher Hannaman to the vicinity of what is now Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he lived during the 1790s. However, with the revelation by Kenneth Hannaman that Christopher may have had a son by the same name, we cannot be sure which Christopher was being tracked. There appears to be insufficient evidence to frame a time or place for the death of either Christopher Hannaman or his wife, Mary. Additional information on the family of Christopher Hannaman can be found in Section 4 under Family Group Record 140-141. John Hannaman was born February 15, 1760 at Cherry Valley, New York (now in Otsego County). He was the second child born to Christopher and Mary (O'Neal) Hannaman (if we accept the existence of an older brother named Christopher). As a young teenager, John traveled south with his parents, following the Susquehanna River through Pennsylvania and arriving in western Virginia about 1774. Harrison County, Virginia records show that John Hannaman married Susannah Bibbee on February 15, 1787 (her name was spelled Biba). Susannah was the daughter of John and Susanna Bibbee (see Bibbee Family History, this Section).
On February 15, 1790, John purchased 160 acres in Harrison County from his father for fifty pounds. This land, situated on Stone Cole Run, was part of a tract of 400 acres originally patented to Christopher. John also received a land grant of 272 acres in 1794, for which he paid one pound, ten shillings. He sold this land to Adam Fisher for $20 on January 1, 1796 and moved with his family to the New Madrid District, Louisiana Territories (now Scott County, Missouri) about 1797.
For a brief period in history, Spain owned the Louisiana Territories. American settlers were induced to settle on these Spanish controlled lands by lucrative land grants. John and his family settled near a village known as Tywappity [Ref. 2]. It was located about thirty miles above the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers near the present town of Commerce. There was reportedly a large swamp just south of the village that resulted in unhealthy conditions for the settlers. Two of their children died there, causing John and Susannah to relocate to Kentucky in 1798, and then to Scioto County, Ohio in 1799. In Scioto County, John reportedly settled on Camp Creek near the Scioto River (John Hannaman appears in the 1807 Scioto County Tax Index and the 1810 Federal Census for Scioto County).
Probably travelling with two of their married children, the Hannamans later moved to Ross County and then to Fayette County. Military records show that John served as private in the War of 1812 under the command of Captain Robert McElwain (Ross County). Fayette County land deed records show that John purchased 100 acres in Washington Township on August 26, 1813. He sold this land on October 9, 1815. About 1818, John and his family moved to Union County and settled on 200 acres located on Mill Creek [Ref. 4].
John never kept his family in one place very long. In 1823, they moved to Hamilton County, Indiana. In 1830 they moved to what is now Livingston County, Illinois, returning briefly to Indiana during the Black Hawk Indian War. John died in Livingston County, Illinois on November 15, 1832. He was 72 years old. Following John's death, Susannah went to live with a son, Judge Robert L. Hannaman, in Knoxville, Illinois. She reportedly died there on April 2, 1842 (the gravestone reads April 3) and is buried near her son at Knoxville Cemetery. The gravestone inscription gives her age as 75 years, 1 month and 23 days.
John and Susannah (Bibbee) Hannaman are known to have had eleven children who grew to adulthood - four sons and seven daughters. Nine of these are known to have married. The first four children were born in Harrison County, Virginia. The others were born in Ohio. Susannah, the second child, was born on November 9, 1791. She is a distant cousin of the German physician, Dr. Samuel Hanehmann (1755-1853), who is credited with the founding of homeopathy. Susannah married Stephen Dysert in Scioto County, Ohio on November 23, 1809. Stephen was the son of Joseph Dysert (see Dysert Family History, this Section).
Additional information on the family of John Hannaman can be found in Section 4 under Family Group Record 70-71.
Cited References 1. Hannaman, K.; The Hannamans and Their Offspring, 1728-1989. (1989), supplement (1994).2. Dysert, E. F.; unpublished records (undated). 3. Chapman Bros.; Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, Illinois. Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago (1886). 4. Beers, W. H.; History of Union County, Ohio, Part 5 (1883).
GENERATION 2
Christian Hahnemann, born 1684, Prussia
GENERATION 3
Gottfried Hahnemann, born Dec. 1707 in Lauchstadt-Anhalt, Germany
GENERATION 4
Christopher Hannaman, born abt, 1728, married Mary O'Neal born in Dublin, Ireland. children: Christopher,b. abt. 1758 Albany, NY., William, Elizabeth, and Mary, born in New York
GENERATION 5
Mary Hannaman born 1761, died 1849, married Isaac Staats, b. abt. 1758 Otsego, NY, (Christening: Red Brush Cem, Grand District, Jackson Co. WV...Married Feb. 26, 1791, Harrison, Virginia
Children of Isaac and Mary were:
Elizabeth Staats (My Line) b. 1793 Ross Co. OH. & married Edward Anderson
Joseph Staats
John Staats
