Dates: 1955

Collection Number: MS 706

Physical Location: Archive Room File Cabinet

Extent: 2 items.

Creators/Collectors: Manahan, John E. (John Eacott)

Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.

User Restrictions: No restrictions.

Preferred Citation: A Kin Study: Manahan of Lissadorn, MS 706, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information: Unknown.

Biographical/Historical Information:

John “Jack” Eacott Manahan was born 11 December 1919 to John Levi Manahan and Lucile Becker Manahan. An Albemarle Country native, he is remembered as Charlottesville’s, “best-loved eccentric.” He maintained two residences, one at 33 University Circle, Charlottesville, and another, a 660-acre farm, Fairview, in Scottsville. He achieved national notoriety when he married Anna Anderson on 23 December 1968 at the Charlottesville Courthouse — Jack was 49 and Anna 67. They first met at the Hotel Adler during a trip Jack made to Germany. Anna held a lifelong belief that she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of murdered Russian Tsar Nicolas II.

Manahan earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in government, and a Doctorate in history all from the University of Virginia, but according to one reporter, his greatest aptitude was as an amateur genealogist.

He completed a two-year tour in the Navy during WWII and started teaching at Radford College in 1946. He also taught history and political science at Massanutten Military Academy. He further lectured at the University of Maryland and the College of Charleston in SC, and taught at UVA’s Extension Division from 1948-55 organizing classes throughout Virginia.

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the National President of the Huguenot Society of Mankin, and was known for the extensive collection of books in his personal library, numbering in the thousands, as well as providing a home to a large assortment of dogs and cats. He faced a couple of run-ins with law: one from neighbors filling suit due to the rundown condition of his home on University Circle and a second for removing Anna from her senior care facility without authorization. During the latter incident, the couple was “apprehended” by the police in Amherst, VA several days after their “escape.”

Manahan described his activities in an interview in 1969 as farmer, dairyman, writer, lecturer, and gratuitous consultant on historical matters.

He passed away on 20 March 1990 at the age of 70 leaving many in Charlottesville with fond memories of his unconventional life.

Scope and Content: This booklet compiles Manahan family and related kin genealogical sources.

Family Names: Manahan family.

Subjects:

  • Europe--Genealogy
  • Virginia--Genealogy--Sources

Record Types: Albums (Books).

Notes: Copy 1: "For my friend Bob Kuhlthau from Jack Manahan, Charlottesville, 6 June 1987."