UNIONVILLE -- One of the great ladies of Chester County, Nancy Penn Smith Hannum, 90, died Tuesday. A well-known horsewoman and master of foxhounds, she was also in her lifetime at the forefront of land conservation efforts in southern Chester County. Area conservation trusts praised Hannum's contribution. "Mrs. Hannum brought to open-space preservation a lifetime of passion. As a result, a vast portion of Chester County's hunt country landscape has been protected from development including Natural Land Trust's 1,200-acre Cheslen Preserve," said Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust. "It's important to note that her vision and energy also inspired others to try and replicate her success. In that way, she influenced the open-space movement throughout Chester County and beyond," Morrison said. David Shields, associate director of the Environmental Management Center of the Brandywine Conservancy, said that in Hannum's lifetime, she had been a major donor to the Conservancy. Not only did she donate conservation easements on her extensive real estate holdings but influenced friends, neighbors and associates to do likewise. Shields said Hannum deserves a lot of credit for the fact that the rolling countryside in the Unionville area today looks much the same as it did 40 years ago. Hannum was born Dec. 13, 1919, on Long Island, N.Y., to Carol Harriman Penn Smith and Richard Penn Smith. She was the granddaughter of E.H. and Mary Harriman and the niece of W. Averell Harriman, the former governor of New York. Hannum inherited her parents' love of the outdoors, horses and hounds. Following her father's death in 1929, her mother married W. Plunkett Stewart and the family moved to Unionville. Stewart was a large landowner who owned nearly 5,000 acres in Chester County. Stewart founded a pack of foxhounds known as Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds in 1912 and was master of the pack until his death in 1948. Hannum succeded her stepfather as master of the pack and held the post for 50 years. Aside from being an accomplished equestrian, she also trained horses. Horses she trained won steeplechase events including the Maryland Hunt Cup, the Grand National and the Cheshire Bowl. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and left to marry John B. Hannum III in December 1940. The couple had three children. Hannum celebrated her 90th birthday Dec. 13 at her home, Brooklawn Farm. Her son Richard "Buzz" Hannum said the family was sad at her passing but the quality of her life had been deteriorating in recent months. She died peacefully and did not suffer during her final illness. He reminisced about his mother and his childhood. "The best way I can describe my mother is to say that she was like a steel hand in a velvet glove. She had high standards and she expected us to live up to them. But she was also extraordinarily kind." John Hannum, who served as a U.S. District Court judge for more than 20 years, died in 2007 at Brooklawn. She is survived by her three children, John B. Jr. and his wife, Anne; Richard "Buzz" and his wife Ellie; and Carol H. Davidson; as well as the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Averell's son, Cuyler H. Walker, his wife, Katie, and their two children. Services will be held at Brooklawn, 1825 Newark Road, West Marlborough, on Tuesday, April 6, at 2 p.m. Memorial contributions can be made to the Cheshire Land Preservation Fund, Box 983, Unionville, PA 19375.

Great lady of Chester County, Nancy Hannum, dies at 90
ANNE PICKERING, Special to the Times Apr 1, 2010 Updated Nov 9, 201