John H. Hann Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0696

Scope and Content

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The Hann Papers focus on Dr. Hann’s career as official historian of Mission San Luis Archaeological Site in Tallahassee but include research and work going back as far as 1976, including many of the translations of texts that formed the basis to his books about the native societies of Florida. The papers are maintained in binders according to Hann’s original organization, filed in chronological order by the year in which he wrote them. Other binders contain primarily translations and post-1990 work that is available in electronic format.

The entire collection was digitized at the University of West Florida in 2010 and a complete digital set is also available at UF. Because of this, the paper collection is closed, and researchers should use the PDF/digital surrogates in all cases.

Selections from Hann’s translations and writings are available online in the UF Digital Collections. This includes his translation of the account of the traditional Apalachee ballgame among and “An Early Florida Adventure Story: The Fray Andrés de Sam Miguel Account” (both published by the University Press of Florida), along with translations of documents about native revolts, religious practices, language, and life in the missions. A full Table of Contents for the materials available online can be accessed at: https://pkyonge.uflib.ufl.edu/learn-about-collections/digital-collections/spanish-colonial-records-in-translation/

The portions of the Hann Papers that are not online comprise his correspondence; copies of Spanish documents that he translated (most of them copied from microfilmed versions at the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History); and some brief works, usually in answer to specific research questions or interpretive/living history questions put to him by colleagues at Mission San Luis. This work can be provided in PDF format from the digital version of the Hann Papers.

Dates

Creation: 1975 - 2009

Creator

Hann, John H. (Person)

Language of Materials

Includes materials written in English, Spanish, French, and Latin.

Access

The entire collection was digitized at the University of West Florida in 2010 and a complete digital set is also available at UF. Because of this, the paper collection is closed, and researchers should use the PDF/digital surrogates in all cases.

The contents of Box 16 contain translations of documents by Ronald Wayne Childers, a colleague of John Hann’s. The two often shared information or queried one another about translation work. These papers, being the work of Childers, are not considered part of the Hann Papers. Childers entire collection is at the University of West Florida Archaeological Institute in Pensacola and researchers interested in them should query the Institute.

Biographical/Historical Note

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Dr. John H. Hann (1926 - 2009), a preeminent historian of Florida’s native peoples, translated key documents in the Spanish colonial records pertaining to the Calusa, Timucua, Apalachee, and other native nations. His work has become the standard English-language resource for subsequent researchers. Having learned Portuguese while working as a missionary in Brazil, Hann went on to earn his PhD in Latin American History at University of Texas and to embark on a distinguished career as a scholar. He was professor of history at Florida State University for seven years, then a historian for the Florida Department of State for thirty-two years, including twenty-five (1984-2009) as the chief historian for the Mission San Luis Archaeological Park in Tallahassee. A prolific writer, he was a four-time winner of the Florida Historical Society’s award for best book on Florida. His major works include Apalachee: The Land between the Rivers (1988), Missions to the Calusa (1991), A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions (1996), The Apalachee Indians and Mission San Luis (with Bonnie G. McEwan) (1998), An Early Florida Adventure Story by Fray Andrés de San Miguel (2000), Indians of Central and South Florida, 1513-1763 (2003), and The Native American World Beyond Apalachee: West Florida and the Chattahoochee Valley (2006).

Extent

16 Linear Feet (16 Boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

Translations of Spanish colonial documents, texts about Florida’s native societies, reports, correspondence, and other papers of John H. Hann, official state historian for the Mission San Luis Archaeological Site, Tallahassee.

Arrangement

Maintained in binders according to Dr. Hann’s original filing system.

Location

Please note that parts of this collection are housed in the Auxiliary Library Facility off campus and will require advance notice for timely retrieval. Please contact the Special and Area Studies Collections department prior to your visit.

Acquisition Information

Transferred to UF from Mission San Luis.

Alternative Format Available

Digital reproductions of selected items in the John H. Hann Papers are available online via the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC). Please read the Permissions for Use statement for information on copyright, fair use, and use of UFDC digital objects.

Related Materials

Most of the Spanish documents that Dr. Hann translated came from microfilm copies at the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, and are reproductions of materials held in the original at the Archivo General de Indias, Seville.

Processing Information

As the entire collection has been scanned, with digital versions located at both UF and UWF, the papers have been maintained in their original order and placed in storage. PDFs of all materials are available.