Archives West Finding Aid

Hattie Hanna was born in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1861. Her parents Joseph and Esther were early settlers of the Corvallis area when they arrived in the Willamette Valley in 1852. Esther Hanna's diary detailing their journey west across the Oregon Trail was chronicled in the book Canvas Caravans by Eleanor Allen. In 1853, Joseph formed a congregation that would later be incorporated as the First Presbyterian Church of Corvallis. Hattie graduated from Corvallis College in 1880.

George Bartholomew Hovenden was born in Hubbard, Oregon, in 1861. He graduated from Corvallis College in 1883.

In 1893, Hattie and George married and the couple went to reside on the Hovenden family farm in Hubbard. Together, the Hovendens raised one child, Grace, who was born in 1899. A few years later, the Hovendens moved to Portland, where George established and managed a retail business selling pianos (the Hovenden Piano Company). George worked in this business until his death in 1932. Hattie died in 1956.

Active in the Oregon State Alumni Association, the Hovendens regularly attended the annual class reunion gatherings. Hattie served as one as the reunion "managers" for several years and was usually recognized from the 1940s onward as the earliest woman graduate in attendance at those reunions.