The Backstory Behind the Hannon Family’s 1851 Home and Marie Hannon’s Sweet Milk Pancakes

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Last week, we focused on Louise Hannon’s childhood experiences while living with her parents in a lumber camp. Her father, Thomas B. Hannon, was a scaler–the person who measures and marks cut logs.

We ended the piece with the following quote:**

“Mrs. T.B. Hannon is moving the old Ripley house, which for so many years has stood at the corner of Hancock and Michigan avenue, to Michigan avenue, between Mackinaw and Lyons street, where it will be converted into a colonial cottage.” (The Saginaw News, November 20, 1905.)

Although the Hannon family had “the old Ripley house” moved several blocks south in 1905, they had resided in it, at its original location, since at least 1894. A newspaper article recounts the building’s early history: “Purchased by her father Thomas B. Hannon, the home was started by the Butts family, was occupied for several years by David Cooper, the first Presbyterian minister who came to Saginaw in 1851, then by the Ripley family from whom purchased. The Hannon family has lived in the home for 74 years.” (“Hannon House Inched Way Into History,” The Saginaw News, March 23, 1967.)

This history of the Hannon home–almost certainly supplied by Louise Hannon–seems accurate. City directories confirm the Hannon family lived in the house by 1894. It appears the Hannons purchased the home, which was then at 201 N. Michigan, after the passing of Eliakim C. “E.C.” Ripley in 1892. E.C. Ripley was a lumberman, described in an article published at the time of his seventy-fourth birthday in 1889: “as one of the pioneers of this city.” The Ripley family was living in the house at least by the mid-1860s–perhaps even earlier. The residency of David Cooper and the Butts family are a little more difficult to document. However, this part of the story seems accurate. As does the home’s 1851 construction date.

Finding early images of the Hannon’s home is a little like playing a game of Where’s Waldo. We are almost certain that we have identified the house in the 1851 view of Saginaw City, and it is easily located in the 1867 birdseye view of the community. As we were doing our research, we were reminded that by the 1850s, Saginaw City was already a city of some substance. Its Greek Revival-style clapboard dwellings and public buildings imparted a sense of permanence. It no longer felt like the frontier, and by the end of the decade, Truman B. Fox would write:

Circa 1900 image. Note Hannon house on right-hand side of image.

“The City now contains many beautiful buildings, several extensive warehouses, docks, &c. Nothing certainly can exceed the beauty and loveliness of its locality, especially during the spring and summer months when everything in nature is in bloom. The streets, which are regularly laid out, are, in many parts of the city, well shaded with locust and maple trees, and the residences of many of the citizens evince great taste and refinement. The city extends along the river about two miles, and the stranger in approaching it, is struck with its commanding and picturesque appearance.” (Truman B. Fox: History of Saginaw County from the year 1819 Down to the Present Time. East Saginaw, Enterprise Press, 1858.)

Detail of circa 1900 image showing Hannon home in original location.

Saginaw City would quickly grow in the years following the Civil War. By the 1880s, almost all of the buildings depicted in the 1851 view had been replaced. When the Hannons acquired their 1851 home at North Michigan and Hancock, it was one of the city’s few pre-Civil War homes remaining on its original site. And by the early twentieth century, development would force the Hannon family to move their home twice. And we note–it really wasn’t uncommon to move homes in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

And a little homework – beyond cooking:

List of house movers from 1905 city directory

Study the architectural details of the Hannon House carefully – especially the low-pitched roof, the return of the eaves on the gable ends and the detailing around the front entrance.* These are all trademarks of its Greek Revival style. Now go across the river and look at the Cushway House on Fordney Avenue. For extra credit, go to Bay City and look at the Trombley House. Now walk around the Heritage Square Historic District and nearby neighborhoods. You might just discover some other early Saginaw homes.

*Note: The front porch on the Hannon’s home is early; however, it is not original

Next Week:

Louise B. Hannon: Living in the same Home at Three Addresses and Marie Hannon’s recipe for biscuits

Mrs. T.B. Hannon’s Sweet Milk Pancakes

Somehow, this recipe for pancakes, contributed by Marie Hannon, Louise Hannon’s mother, to St. John Episcopal Church’s Mother Goose cookbook, seems like a perfect breakfast dish to serve in a lumber camp and also in a home in the city.

One egg, 1 ½ cupsful sweet milk, 2 teaspoonsful baking powder, a pinch salt, flour for soft batter [1 ¾ cups]. Beat egg lightly, stir in milk, add baking powder to flour. Mix all together lightly. Bake on very hot griddle, well greased. Mrs. T.B. Hannon