Sallie Little
Hanna
Sallie
Little was born November 24, 1869 in
Marquett, Michigan, the daughter
of Rev. Henry S. and Anna Hazzard (McCarer)
Little. In early 1872
the family moved to the new town of Denison,
Grayson County, Texas,
where her father served as Superintendent of
Missions for the
Presbyterian Church in Texas.
Her education included attending
school at Ferry Hall for one year
(1884-1885), a secondary school
located in Lake Forest, Illinois and Linwood
College (1886-1887) in St.
Charles, Missouri. Sallie returned to Texas
and married John M.
Hanna, son of Samuel Hanna and Sarah
Margaret "Sallie" Brown, October
18, 1888.
"The marriage of Mr. John Hanna and Miss
Sallie LIttle
was witnessed Thursday by a very large crowd
of friends and relatives
of the contracting parties. The First
Presbyterian Church was
crowded to its doors when the hour arrived.
At precisely five
minutes to one o'clock the organ peeled
forth Mendlenshon's Wedding
March, and the bride, attired in a very
becoming suit of blue
cashamere, with bonnet to match, and leaning
on the arm of the groom,
entered the church, and walked slowly up the
aisle to the altar rail.
The latter was beautifully bedecked
with fresh-cut flowers, and
the scene was a very attractive one and one
that will be long
remembered by those who were present.
The ceremony was performed
by Rev. H.S. Little, the bride's father, who
was visibly affected, and
the service was impressive throughout.
Immediately after the
ceremony was performed, the happy couple
entered their carriage, and
took the Missouri Pacific north-bound train
for St. Louis, from whence
they will make an extensive eastern and
northern tour. The bride
was the recipient of many beautiful and
handsome presents. They
are a worthy couple, the the Gazetteer joins
in wishing them long life
and unalloyed happiness." The Sunday
Gazetteer, October 21, 1888, pg.6
In
1902 John and Sallie moved to Dallas where
John helped to expand his
father's wholesale grocery business; they
resided at 3901 Euclid Ave.
John died in 1926.
Beginning in 1908 Sallie became
involved with the Young Women's Christian
Association; by 1914 she was
Chairman of the religious and education
programs for the Dallas YWCA,
also serving on the national board.
Sallie became a leader in the
organization and did field work to help
increase the organization's
services throughout the Southwest. In
1922 she was elected
National Vice-President of the organization
and she service two terms
(1926-1930) as National President of the
YWCA. At this time there
were approximately 600,000 members in 4,000
centers around the country.
Later Sallie served as a long-time board
member of the Dallas YWCA, President
1933-1936 and President Emeritus.
Through
her work with the YWCA, Sallie became
involved with the Association of
Southern Women for the Prevention of
Lynching. While serving as
National President, she also was a member of
the Texas Interracial
Commission and chaired the Texas Association
of Southern Women for the
Prevention of Lynching. In 1934 she
secured agreements from seven
gubernatorial candidates to work toward the
abolishment of lynching, if
elected.
Mrs. Hanna was an active member of the
Presbyterian
Church but shared the YWCA's goal to promote
interdenominational
cooperation among churches. She
was also a member of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the
Dallas County League of Women
Voters, the Dallas Council of Social
Agencies and the Dallas County
Community Chest.
In 1935 the Zonta Club of Dallas presented
Mrs.
Hanna its distinguished service award for
her local and national
leadership of the YWCA, her church work and
her interracial endeavors.
She was named honorary member of the
following organizations:
Beta Sigma Phi, Delta Kappa Gamma. In
1950 the recreation
building at the Dallas YWCA camp near Glen
Rose was named in her honor.
Mrs. Hanna died November 8, 1957 in Dallas
and was buried alongside her husband in
Fairview Cemetery, Denison.
Source:
Handbook of Texas
Online, Debbie Mauldin
Cottrell, "Hanna, Sallie Little," accessed
September 01, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhafn.
Biography Index
Susan Hawkins
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