Mary Ann Hanlan – Obituary

Mary Ann Hanlan – Obituary (1939)
Provenance: From the collection of Ted English
Digitized by: Ted English
Document: Newspaper. From an original copy of the article from
the Globe and Mail
Date of Document: 08-19-1939

Miss Mary Hanlan Dies Severing Island Link
Miss Mary Ann Hanlan, sister of Ned Hanlan, one-time world champion oarsman, died yesterday in a Toronto nursing home, in her ninety-sixth year. The Hanlan family as pioneers settled on Hanlan’s Point, Toronto Island.
Miss Hanlan was born at Kingston, the daughter of John and Mary Ann Gibbs Hanlan. When she was 12, her father, a shipbuilder, received a commission to repair a schooner at Toronto. Accompanied by his wife and two daughters, John Hanlan sailed to Toronto in his own boat, which for some time provided living quarters.
During a gale one night the Hanlan boat slipped its moorings at Cherry Street and drifted across the bay to a sandy point on the Island. The site appealed to the shipbuilder and his family and they settled there permanently.
Ned Hanlan and his brother John were born shortly after. When John was 4 years old their mother died, and it became Miss Hanlan’s task to care for the two brothers and the sister, Emily, who eventually became the mother of Eddie Durnan, the famous sculler.
Although more than thirty years ago Miss Hanlan moved to the mainland, living for many years on Huron Street, she never lost her interest in the old homestead at Hanlan’s Point. The trees which today give shade and beauty to Hanlan’s Point were like old friends. Miss Hanlan, her sister and her two brothers planted in the sand many of the seedlings which later became stalwart trees.
Until stricken with illness two years ago Miss Hanlan had been an active church worker, and for many years was a member of Queen Street United Church. She was also an ardent supporter of the W.C.T.U.