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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 © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |