Hannah McBarnes Summerland was the daughter of a pioneer couple of Old Town, Dennis and Mary Jane McBarnes. As a young woman she attended both IWU and ISNU. She then taught school in Illinois as well as Indiana. But in February of 1916, she was a litigant in the McLean County Court, disputing over some grain with a tenant. Mrs. Summerland appeared confident in court, clearly testifying to the grain on hand at her farm, the size of the storage bins and the yields from her fields. A D Cowan was her tenant and she was bringing suit against him for money due. The next day a verdict was rendered for Mrs. Summerland in the amount of $157.63.
Hannah was married in a double wedding with her sister, Elizabeth, who was said to so closely resemble her sister that their friends had difficulty telling them apart, even though Hannah was two years older. Hannah married Samuel E Summerland, a prosperous business man from Wabash County Indiana. Elizabeth married Mr. Merritt, a farmer from Saybrook. Hannah moved to Indiana to live with her husband and gave up teaching. They had just one daughter, who tragically died in 1897. The Summerlands had a beautiful marble statue of their daughter placed over her grave.
Four years later, Hannah was in court, suing her husband for a divorce and a settlement of that partnership. The court awarded her the divorce and $9,500, which was a respectable sum at that time. The story is not recorded, but Hannah must have returned to Illinois right away and started a life here with a farm of her own.
In the 1920's and 30's she lived at 1216 E Washington Street in Bloomington and was very active with the Women's Relief Corps. As a 77 year old lady, she took part in a spelldown as a representative as Bloomington-Normal. For a lady who taught school in the 1800's it must have seemed very strange to be spelling into a microphone, but the report was that she spelled her words confidently and rapid fire.
Hannah McBarnes Summerland died April 20, 1934, of complications after a fall that broke her hip. Only one of her sisters was still living, Mrs. Timothy Benjamin. Hannah died a confident and vital woman capable of taking care of her land and herself.
The McBarnes Building on Grove was built with funds given by Hannah's brother John McBarnes, in recognition of the sacrifices made by the men of the Great War in 1921.