Ray Martin Hammack line updated

I've spent the past couple of weeks working on the Hammack line of our family and have found alot of interesting facts. First I've completed the first four-generations chart for the Hammacks.

As you can see, Ray Martin was indeed married 3 times. First to Nancy "Alice" Gravely of Wyoming County, WV. They were married 13 June 1913. I am still searching for death information about her to see if she died or if they divorced, which is possible since I am not finding any children by the two of them and a barren woman was not desired in a wife in those days. But too, since they have no children she may have died. They married after the 1910 Census report and he married Hazel before the 1920 report, so there isn't any clear path to follow using the Census reports, which are often valuable tools in a heritage quest.

I still have not found on-line a marriage certificate for Ray and Hazel, but I assume since both she and Alice were from Wyoming County, that they were married there as well. Ray and Hazel had two children, Sylvia and Harry, between 1916- early 1918. She must have turned right around and gotten pregnant again after Harry because she miscarried just before her own death on 7 November 1918. She died in Sklyes Creek, Webster County, WV.

I'm not sure what happened to Ray after her death, because I cannot find him in the US Census Reports for 1920. His two children (Sylvia & Harry) lived with their grandparents, Benjamin Van and Georgia "Samantha" (Baughman) Hammack at the time of that census. (See December 6th blog posting) Just a note: Ray was apparently not away in the military at this time because the 1930 US Census report reports that he was not a veteran.

On 27 April 1921, Ray married Lula Hoover, in Braxton County.

By 1930 the Ray Hammack family (Ray, Lula, Sylvia, Harry, Van & James) had moved to Akron, Summit County, Ohio. Lula's father, Edgar Hoover lived with them too. Ray worked in a Rubber Plant/Factory.

From there I am not sure how he and all his children ended up back in West Virginia. Any one know what brought them back? Please share if you do.

Martin Ray or Ray Martin Hammack??

Today I did some digging on the Hammack family, trying to find out just who great-granddaddy Hammack was married to and when. I've learned alot about the man today. Here are some of the artifacts I discovered: This is a copy of his US World War I Draft Registration Card (1917-1918). Unfortunately it is partially cut off but you can see he was married and living in Skyles, WV. He was employed as a laborer for the Davis Eakens Co. (I'm not sure what they did but I'll keep digging.) Interesting note, he was tall and had blue eyes. This card says his full name in Martin Ray Hammack unlike the one for World War II (1942), which says Ray Martin Hammack. (see below)He was married to Lulu when he filled out this card. He worked for Mountain Fuel Co. They lived in Brownton, WV where he still resided when died in May 1968. Below is a copy of his obituary that was in some old photos my dad gave me.I confirmed today that he was married twice.

This is him and Hazel in the photo above and I assume the little girl is my grandma, Sylvia. His first wife and the mother of both my grandma, Sylvia and Harry Hammack died young.

He married Lula or Lulu as it was written on one of the above draft registration cards. This is her with my Uncle Ray Watson.

Martin Ray & Lulu had two children, Van and James. Sylvia was the eldest born in 1916 and then Harry in 1918. I assume Hazel died shortly after that because Van was born in 1922 (and James in 1923) to Lulu and Martin Ray. So in that 4 year stretch Martin Ray or Ray Martin lost a wife, remarried and had another son.

This is the US Census report from 1930 for Summit, Ohio. Ray(37 years old & head of household), Lula (36), Sylvia (14), Harry (12), Van (7) and James (6) are listed in the household as well as Edgar Hoover (46). He is listed as the brother-in-law. So would Lulu's maiden name be Hoover? Also another column listed the "Age at first marriage," Ray's was 23 and Lula's was 27, which would mean around 1921 she and Ray were married. Also note that Edgar's age at first marriage was 28, so he must have been a widower in 1930.

My heritage search has made me start thinking more about the past and the extended family I only saw a couple of times a year.

I remember when Uncle Van died in 1984. Here is the card from the funeral I had saved. It seems I had only just gotten to know him and his family a few years before he passed. I had become close to his son Mike during my senior year of high school (1981)before he died of cancer.

Gone but never forgotten!

Question for the day: On the back of this picture was written: "1945 Mother Sylvia" The lady on the right is my grandma Sylvia so is "mother" Lulu?