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J. M. HANNA, M. D.
Vol. 3, p. 1881-2

In the picturesque and fertile Valley of the Washita in the eastern
part of Grady County blossomed the attractive Town of Alex. The
community abounds in evidences of prosperity, and one of the chief of
these is a public school building that cost $20,000. Matching the
rich natural resources has been the character of the men who have
been chiefly instrumental in creating these evidences of prosperity,
and one who is accounted a leader among them all is Dr. J. M. HANNA,
who as a member of the board of education helped to direct the
destinies of the community's public education. Doctor Hanna has also
been mayor of Alex and president of its live Commercial Club, the
activities of which have been instrumental in building excellent
highways and attracting men of means to develop the agricultural and
industrial resources around the town. It has been well said that
there has never been an enterprise in behalf of the community's
welfare which Doctor Hanna has not done his best to help along, and
particular credit is given him above all other local citizens for the
successful basis upon which the public schools of the village now
rest. Doctor Hanna has been with the Town of Alex since its
beginning, and has given largely of his time, energy and money to
make it a wholesome place for good people to live and prosper.

Doctor Hanna was a poor but ambitious lad during the '70s. He
completed a common school and academy education at Saltillo,
Tennessee, and then worked for the modest salary of $10 a month, out
of which he saved enough for a start in medical education. By going
to college a while and practicing for a while he completed his
medical course, graduating with the degree M. D. from the Memphis
Hospital Medical College at Memphis, Tennessee. His first regular
schooling in medicine was acquired at the Fort Worth Texas Medical
College. After graduating he completed a post-graduate course in the
New Orleans Polyclinic. His practice as a regular physician began at
Lebanon, Indian Territory, in 1895, and that was his home for twelve
years. He moved to Alex in 1907, and there has been a pioneer not
only in his profession but in many broad civic activities. His
reputation is of the best of a physician, and his practice is among
the best of a thrifty class of town and country people.

Dr. J. M. Hanna was born in Tennessee in 1866, a son of Madison C.
and Elizabeth (HAWKINS) Hanna. His father was a pioneer in the
profession of dentistry in that state, but also for many years was
well known as a local Methodist preacher and a skilled mechanic.
Evidences of his talent in the latter line are indicated in the fact
that he perfected some of the types of threshing machines then in
use. Doctor Hanna's grandfather was Capt. James Hanna, also a native
of Tennessee and a well known figure in his time and generation. Two
brothers of Doctor Hanna, Thomas W. and William A., are car builders
in the employ of the Iron Mountain Railway Company at Little Rock,
Arkansas. Two brothers are deceased: Dr. J. B., who was a practicing
physician at Coalgate, Oklahoma, and C. N., who was a merchant at
Dallas, Texas. A deceased sister was Miss Leora Beatrice, who died
while attending school.

Doctor Hanna was married at Beebe, Arkansas, to Miss Isabel Virginia
SCRAPE. Her grandfather was serving in the English navy at the time
of the War of 1812 and being then temporarily a resident of United
States, went into hiding in Mexico and changed his name to avoid
fighting against the people of this country. Doctor and Mrs. Hanna
have five children: Ralph M., who is now twenty-one years of age and
is employed by the Ford Motor Car Company at Chickasha; Orin
Virginia, Mary Lewis, James O'Neill and Carthell Mott, all at home
and attending school.

Doctor Hanna is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
and fraternally has affiliations with the Masons, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. He is a member of
the Alex Commercial Club and the Alex Board of Education, is chairman
of the Grady County Election Board and is city physician of Alex.

Typed for OKGenWeb by: Dorothy M. Tenaza, July 17, 1999

SOURCE: Thoburn, Joseph B., A Standard History of Oklahoma, An
Authentic Narrative of its Development, 5 v. (Chicago, New York: The
American Historical Society, 1916)

[NOTE: James Michael Scrape [ MScrape@isiar.com ] wrote on Oct 24,
1999, James D. Scrape was the grandfather of Isabelle "Belle" Virgina
Scrape Hanna of Grady Co. OK, her father was William H. Scrape. They
lived in Gibson Co. TN and White Co. AR. Contact me at
MSCRAPE@isiar.com or mscrape@go.com]