The Mystery of Rolla Ray Hannah
Not a real mystery per se, just a person I am curious about. Rolla Ray Hannah was born April 23rd, 1891 in Bidwell Township on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada to one Richard and Lura Hannah. He had a younger brother, Arlie, born on March 22nd, 1896 at Spanish Station, Ontario. Richard Hannah was a cook, farmer, and also did prospecting along the north shore.
The two brothers grew up in the area of Manitowaning, Ontario; and on Dec 11th, 1915, Rolla enlisted for service in the 119th battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. On the very same day, his brother Arlie Albert Hannah was married in Owen Sound to one Dora May McLennan. Arlie then enlisted in the 147th battalion of the C.E.F. on January 16th, 1916.
Rolla was hit in his right hand by a German bullet on Nov 15th, 1917. The hand was amputated at some point in time (discharge paper only mentions a gun shot wound to the right hand). However, the paper also lists the reason for discharge as physical unfitness. Arlie died in Europe sometime in 1918--exact cause unknown at this time. Rolla was officially discharged from the C.E.F. on Sept 16th, 1918 at age 27.
During the 1920s, Richard Hannah went about purchasing various properties and mining claims along the north shore of Lake Huron. Richard died on about March 6th, 1932. Lura passed on Nov 2nd, 1936. Both were buried at the Hilly Grove Cemetery near Manitowaning. Rolla then became executor of the Hannah estate as the last surviving heir. During the fall of 1937, ownership of all the properties previously acquired by Richard Noble Hannah, was officially transferred to his surviving son Rolla.
In 1938, Rolla had a fishing cottage constructed on one of the mining claims. The cottage was positioned on the north shore of Charlton Lake, Ontario in Curtain Township. He also outfitted the cottage with a 1938 DeForest-Crosley battery operated radio, which fascinated some of the locals, particularly a young man by the name of Angus Holman, who often visited Rolla to just sit and listen.
In 1947, Rolla--then 57--sold the cottage. According to the purchaser, Rolla left the cabin on foot after completing the deal, leaving behind--among other items--the radio and some personal items. The personal items included several photos, service medallions, his dog tag, a prosthesis, two German bullets and various papers. Some of the papers included land transfers for some of the various properties, and his discharge certificate from the C.E.F.
Many years later, the purchaser of the fishing cottage conducted a search on Manitoulin island--including Manitowaning--in an attempt to locate Rolla, or at least find out what became of him. The search turned up empty.
The present: Out of curiosity, I have conducted several internet searches in an attempt to learn myself what became of Rolla, with no luck at all until recently. I ended up with the personal items he left behind at the cottage, including the two bullets. One of the bullets is copper jacketed and one is steel jacketed, by the way. One, I don’t know which, was removed from his right hand--legend has it. I’m not certain about the other. I just recently discovered this genealogy website that included the Hannahs, but no date of death given for Rolla. It is the only info I have discovered on the web. The site lists his niece (Arlie’s daughter) as “living” although if so, she would be at least 96 years old at present (2011) http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=irishclark&id=I6734
The only scrap of info I have ever found pertaining to what became of Rolla is also at the above website. I believe it pertains to the delayed filing of a birth registration, and according to the website anyway, it was filed by Rolla himself in Toronto on March 5th, 1958. I put this web page together using the genealogy website and information from Rolla’s own papers, with the prospect that someone might fill me in on what became of Rolla after 1947. After putting this together, I have also become a bit curious as to the time and circumstances of Arlie’s demise.
Rolla (left) and Arlie (right) in June of 1916, six months
after enlistment. photo was take at night by flashlight. 
Update 5/2/11
Here is what I have learned since posting this web page: I have learned, thanks to the Freda, who works for the Township of Assiginack, that despite the fact that Rolla remains the rights holder to eight cemetery plots at the Hilly Grove Cemetery in Manitowaning, Ontario, he is apparently not buried there. His parents are buried in plots 2 and 3; the others are apparently all empty.
Thanks to Sophie at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, I have learned that Rolla’s and Arlie’s service records are stored there on microfilm. The public is free to browse the records and make copies, however, I am quite ways from Ottawa. Since I am not up to a trip to Ottawa any time soon, and their records could be up to 75 pages each, I will have to let things stand for now in that regard. Well, what the heck, if anyone there in Ottawa has some time to kill, here is the pertinent information needed to look up their records; with the reference number being the most important. There should be pension information in Rolla’s file, which--I think--might shed some light on things.
Name: HANNAH, ROLLA R
Regimental number(s): 754424
Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4021 - 3
Date of Birth: 23/04/1891
Name: HANNAH, ARLIE ALBERT
Regimental number(s): 838630
Reference: RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4019 - 43
Date of Birth: 22/03/1896
I recently recieved an email from the grandaughter of Arlie's wife's (Dora May McLennan) sister. According to her, Dora thought Arlie had survived the war and was still alive; and the couple had a son, Rupert, born August 29th, 1916, as opposed to a daughter.
Here is some info that may be of significance, or maybe not--who knows: There was a pension statement in with the items Rolla left at the cabin, for February 1939. The envelope for the statement is addressed to Rolla R. Hannah c/o Mrs. Regan 510 Hudson St. Hoboken, N.J. U.S.A. The address for Rolla on the statement is 1141 Park Avenue, Hoboken, N.J. I have some later correspondence related to a tax matter, dated 1943, and was addressed to Willisville, Ontario--a small village north of Manitowaning on the shore of the lake where Rolla built the cottage. I would take the fact that Rolla was receiving mail at Willisville to mean that Rolla had sold his farm by then down at Manitowaning. The cottage, by the way, was not suitable as a permanent residence.