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Hanger Family Papers

Overview

Scope and Contents

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

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Hanger Family Papers, 1881-1945 | Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

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Collection Overview

Title: Hanger Family Papers, 1881-1945Add to your cart.View associated digital content.

Extent: 3.84 Cubic Feet

Date Acquired: 04/01/1986

Subjects: Kentucky--Social life and customs--20th century.

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Hanger Family papers came to Eastern Kentucky University from the Hanger family ancestral home, Arlington, when the University acquired the property in the late 1960s. The collection documents the Hanger family of Richmond, KY and their activities. The activities of Elizabeth Arnold Hanger Elliot are especially well documented through her scrapbooks. The correspondence in the collection touches on social customs and financial interests of an elite Central Kentucky Family. The family traveled widely and the children all attended boarding schools in the East and there are numerous records documenting this. Some material originallly acquired from Arlington were transferred to the Mason and Hanger Records as they were clearly business records. The family papers still include some scattered materials that are likely business records. The collection was divided into four series -- correspondence, financial, photograph albums and scrapbooks, and publications.

Collection Historical Note

Harry Baylor Hanger of Virginia and Elizabeth Arnold of Richmond, Kentucky were married on January 18, 1893. They lived at Arlington, a gracious home owned by Mrs. Hanger's parents, William and Pauline Arnold. Arlington was named in honor of Robert E. Lee's ancestral home in Virginia. Mr. Hanger was born in Staunton, Virginia on November 1, 1864 and died of a heart attack on October 17, 1925. He was an engineer and joined a construction firm which he later headed: Mason-Hanger Company. Some of his achievements were construction work on the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City, Camp Zachary Taylor, Lake Charles Aviation Field, Old Hickory Powder Plant, Catskill Aqueduct, and various subways, terminals, and canals. He was also associated with the State Bank and Trust Company in Richmond, Kentucky from 1897 to 1925.

Elizabeth Arnold Hanger was born on January 18, 1870 and died on October 10, 1921 after having been mistress of Arlington for twenty-eight years. She was reared a devout Methodist and received the finest education and upbringing that a young woman of that time had available. She traveled extensively and spent a great deal of time in New York City and Florida. Harry Baylor Hanger, Jr., the first son, was born on February 21, 1894 and died on January 19, 1956. He married Martha Shelby who was a descendent of Governor Isaac Shelby. They had one daughter, Margaret. The second son, William Arnold Hanger, was born on February 5, 1896 and died on May 31, 1976. After his father's death, Arnold assumed many of his father's responsibilities. He and Hal Price Headly were the founders of Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky. According to family friends, he was married briefly. It was he who gave the Arlington House to Eastern Kentucky University.

The youngest son, Paul T. Hanger, was born on March 31, 1897 and died tragically in a motorcycle accident July 18, 1916, at the age of nineteen. The only daughter of Harry and Elizabeth Hanger was named Elizabeth Arnold Hanger. She was born on April 16, 1905 and died on January 3, 1944. She, too, received the finest education possible. She traveled extensively abroad and had many friends. She was married first to John Marshall of Louisville, and their wedding was one of the most extravagant Richmond had ever witnessed. Her second husband was Shelby Elliott of New York City. They adopted a daughter, Shelby Elliott Roberts who now lives in New York City. Elizabeth Hanger Elliott's death was very sudden and tragic. At least two of the Hanger sons, Arnold and Paul, attended Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Elizabeth was educated at the Cathedral School of St. Mary in New York and National Park Seminary, Forest Glen, Maryland. All the members of the family are buried in the Richmond Cemetery. The Hanger Family name ended with the death of William Arnold Hanger in 1976.

Arlington serves as a social club for EKU alumni and associates. The grounds have been landscaped as a golf course. Much of the original decor of the house remains as it was when the Hanger family was in residence.

Information gleaned from these items, together with a sketch of Arlington by Thomas H. Tudor, Richmond Cemetery records, and certain clippings from printed sources were helpful in writing the biographical sketches of the family members.

Subject/Index Terms

Kentucky--Social life and customs--20th century.

Administrative Information

Repository: Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

Acquisition Source: Hanger Family (via Arlington)

Acquisition Method: Donation

Other Note: Photographs were initially numbered with the accession number; however, a decision was made to change to collection number. The database was changed, but the numbers written on the images were not changed.


Box and Folder Listing


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Box 5Add to your cart.
Barcode: 31234013798317
Folder 1: Mary Elizabeth Arnold Hanger Scrapbook, 1891-ca 1910Add to your cart.
Mostly ephemera and clippings from her time as a schoolgirl and her marriage and honeymoon tour of Europe. There are many loose clippings that include family obituaries, birth announcements, articles regarding the Arnold and Hanger family businesses and society news. (2020-010)
Folder 2: Dixie Highway Via Rome, GA.Add to your cart.
Text description of postcards in Box 4, f.04. Includes a comparison chart for mileage between the "Rome route" and "Dalton Route," with fold-out map of counties in Georgia. Several brief essays are included by local governors and mayors of Walker, Chattanooga and Floyd counties. These contain information about the counties the road passes through, sites to visit, and the effectiveness of the Rome route and its impact on the counties mentioned.
Folder 3: Period Advertisements, 1916-1920sAdd to your cart.
Your Chauffeur and What He Should Wear for Town, Touring and Limousine Cars. Detailed listing for proper suit, overcoat, cap, Duster, Raincoat, Gloves, and shoes appropriate to the type of car being driven. "How to Take a Correct Measure" from Brill Brothers Chauffeur outfits, New York. Color print of two limousines. Dates for income tax filing deadlines by county (KY), 1921.
Folder 4: Receipts and Bills, 1920 - 1926Add to your cart.
Long printed receipts from Franklin Simon and Co., New York. Appears to be for clothing; bills are itemized. Two other documents included, another receipt for clothing purchased at James McCreery and Co., New York, and the Final Statement of State Bank and Trust Co., Richmond KY, settling Mrs. Elizabeth Arnold Hanger's accounts after her death.
Folder 5: Programs, 1908-1916Add to your cart.
ELKS Memorial Service, 1908 and the Graduation Program for Lawrence School, 1916, William Arnold Hanger.
Folder 6: The Lawrence school newspapers, June 14, 1915, June 12, 1916Add to your cart.
Also a special commencement issue dated June 12, 1916 and The Missouri Alpha Phi, 1870-1915.
Folder 7: Elizabeth Hanger (younger) in her wedding dressAdd to your cart.
One picture is in two large pieces, another is very badly ripped about its edges. Also included is an oversize panoramic photo of a lake patched together from separate photographs on a piece of card stock.
Item 114: View of a lake, UnknownAdd to your cart.
Creator: Unknown
Physical Description: 15x6.5
Item 115: Elizabeth Hanger, Jr. wedding portrait, UnknownAdd to your cart.
Creator: Unknown
Physical Description: 9.25x13
Item 116: Elizabeth Hanger, Jr. wedding portrait, UnknownAdd to your cart.
Creator: Hill, A.L.
Physical Description: 8.5x12
Item 117: Elizabeth Hanger, Jr. wedding portrait, UnknownAdd to your cart.
Creator: Unknown
Physical Description: 9x11.25
Folder 8: Blueprint of Fort Dallas ApartmentsAdd to your cart.
Labeled "A. Anderson" in pencil on the back. This was presumably a summer home used for vacation or business, or perhaps was built by the Mason-Hanger Co.

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