Fonds consists of correspondence, writings and research materials belonging to Hannay. The correspondence includes letters to and from W.O. Raymond, W.F. Ganong, Charles G. D. Roberts, and Joseph Howe, 1857-1909. There are copies of Royal Navy reports on Bay of Fundy fishery, 1853, and typescripts of writings by Hannay, including articles clipped from newspapers, 1870-1909.

Research notes and background material included the original of a "Report to British cabinet on the Railway between Halifax and Quebec," 1857, and handwritten notes on the Tilley family, 1889.