By Isabel Morse Maresh
February 21, 1991
The Brief History of Liberty, Maine, published in 1927 for the town's centennial, gave this brief statement: "John Odell came to Liberty and changed his name to Hannan. He settled on the Upper County Road." That small statement raises a lot of curiosity. Why did he come to Liberty, from where, and why did he change his name?
One story told was that John Odell was aboard an English ship that was sunk off the coast of Bucksport during the War of 1812 and that he and other shipmates made their way to the shore where they hid in the woods until they could make their escape.
Just last year, I chanced to meet Susan Leeman in the Belfast Free Library. She gave me this story, part of which comes from the 1927 Liberty history, which states that Jacob Lehman (1786-1845) was born in Metz, Germany, and came to Liberty between 1814 and 1816. he had been impressed by the British to serve as a sailor on one of their ships. He and others managed to escape at either Castine or Islesboro and came to the mainland in a small boat.
The story goes that when Jacob Lehman and John Odell arrived in Belfast, they were hidden by local people. They stayed in a cellar, hiding under cider barrels while the British soldiers were looking for them. It must be remembered that from 1812 until December 1814, the United States and Britain were at war as enemies of each other.
When it was safe to travel, Lehman and Odell made their way inland. They went across country toward Liberty, away from the coast and danger. There they settled and married, changing their names. Leeman, as he became known, built a sawmill.
Odell became John Odell Hannan, but the Odell name has come down through the generations until the present. It has been generally thought and claimed that he was of Irish descent. The original spelling of the name may have been Audell and of French and German origin. It is also claimed that someone in the Palermo area has a picture of John Odell Hannan.
John O'D. Hannan married in 1818 to Sally Cram, daughter of Smith and Jane (Harriman) Cram, and raised a family in Liberty. Their son John Colby and grandson Martin Hannan served in the Civil War, each being wounded.
When Martin Hannan heard that President Lincoln was recruiting men to fight to save the Union of the United States, he was mowing a field in Montville with a hand scythe. He hung his scythe in a sapling maple tree and went to Bath where he enlisted. He never returned to the field to reclaim his scythe. The tree grew, completely engulfing the scythe, and 130 years later, the tree still stands, though in bad condition. Pieces of the scythe blad have been broken off, and no part is now visible.
Martin's son Herbert Rueben Hannan married Millie Boynton. They had a family of 10 children in Montville when Herbert died of an abscess in his head, at age 38 years. There are many Hanna descendants in the Waldo County area, and it is wondered if John or Martin Hanna had pictures taken while they served in the Civil War and if these are in existence.