The Hanna Story

The Hanna Story By Randal Hanna With the help of Roxanne Musgrove Ross J. Cox Sr. Texas Ranger “The story actually begins in Brown County (now Mills County) at Williams Ranch. In 1869, a wealthy group of cattlemen came together to create a force to deal with cattle rustling. Most of the members came from San Saba, Mills, Brown and McCulloch counties.

Texas Rangers

“Over time the organization changed leadership and evolved into a sinister force, which encompassed moonlight meetings, secret assassinations, a ritual and strict rules of membership. By 1896, the Mob had assassinated so many people in the area that the Rangers were called in to put it down.”

Politics of the day made it no easy task to quell the Mob, because, Mob membership reached deep into local courthouses involving elected officials including sheriffs and judges. Indictments were nonexistent, because Mob members infested the grand juries. Governor Sul Ross even sent the district attorney at the time to the area to secretly investigate and his investigation led to the call for Texas Ranger enforcement.

The Mob had a rope around the neck of James Hanna and his cousin saved him from the rope “They had been ordered out by the mob, and the Hanna’s left behind their property and livestock.” It was at this point the Hanna family left Texas going to New Mexico. On the way they caught up with a coverd wagon and it was these people who was part of the Mob.

Albert P.  Hanna

Gerorge B. Hanna

Robert L. Hanna

Dasiy McClendon and Sam W. Hanna

“When the Rangers arrived in San Saba about 1896, they were witness to a mass migration of people fleeing for their lives,”. It took the Rangers nearly two years to finally break the Mob, which they were able to do with the help of a brilliant district attorney and the courage of a few brave witnesses.

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