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Virgil Edwin Wallingford's first wife was Itaska Loretta Hammock. This narrative includes all of the related information about the relationship, though obviously a lot is missing. It also has details, with even more missing, about his second wife Marjorie Lewis.
Edward Thurman Hammack (note the spelling!) married Clara Jannette "Nettie" Shearin on 6 February 1910 in Coryell County, Texas (not far from Waco). He appears to have been known as Thurman for most all his life, though sometimes would just use the initials E.T. The Hammack families had lived in the area for some years.
Hammach/Shearin marriage certificate
Hammach/Shearin marriage license
Shortly after their marriage, Thurman changed the spelling of his last name to Hammock, which was used from then on by his children.
Thurman and Nettie had three children:
The oldest was the only boy: Waylor Joyce Hammock, born 22 May 1911 in Waco.
Itaska Loretta Hammock was born 12 March 1913. Her sister Willard Venita "Billie Jean" Hammock was born in Harris County 6 February 1916.
The Hammock children - Itaska, Waylor and Venita. The younger boy is likely a cousin.
Sometime soon after the birth of the children, Thurman and Nettie were divorced. Thurman's WWI registration shows them as married, with three children.
Edward Hammock's WWI registration
Before 1930, Nettie remarried and lived most of the rest of her life in Beaumont (she died 16 January 1968).
In 1930, Itaska and "Billie Jean" (17 and 14 years of age) were living in Beaumont with Nettie's younger sister Linnie and her husband Jack Cooper.
Thurman and son Waylor were living in Houston, moving around to various places in The Heights. Thurman was variously described as a repairman for Ford Motor Co, auto repairs, his own garage. With son Waylor working with him at times too. Waylor was variously described as a mechanic and a driver.
In 1929, Thurman was no longer with Nettie, now living at 106 West 12th. I'm not certain, but think his garage was at 2219 Yale, called the Yale St. Garage.
In 1929 and as late as 13 April 1930, Virgil was living at 112 East 4th Street, Houston, with his mother Edna and siblings Roland (17) and Edna Ruth (14). The family moved regularly, whenever they could get a cheaper rental.
I do not have any knowledge of how Virgil met Itaska. Roland Wallingford, Virgil's brother, was working as a messenger for the Universal Carloading and Distributing Company. Waylor was 2 years older than Roland, and a year younger than Virgil, and they were all around The Heights, a relatively small community. Somehow, Virgil and Itaska met. It may have involved Roland and Waylor, but I don't think we'll ever know.
Virgil and Itaska were married on 10 January 1931. Virgil was not quite 21 years of age; Itaska was not quite 18. They were married by a Justice of the Peace, Campbell R. Overstreet, who had the distinction about 10 years earlier of marrying two people who were both deaf and mute - it was significant enough to get an article into the Houston newspaper.
Wallingford/Hammock marriage cert
In 1932, Virgil was living with Itaska at 542 West 27th Avenue, Houston, Texas. Virgil was a clerk at the United Gas Public Service Company. Itaskta was an assistant to Dr. Clarence G. Evans, a dentist who had his offices at 2708 Crawford, Houston, in the years prior to this directory entry, so it would probably have still been at that location. Itaska's brother Waylor and her father Thurman were both living with Virgil and Itaska at that rental.
One family story describes Itaska coming to a Wallingford Thanksgiving up at Bob and Edna Ruth Lange's house and doing dental checkups on everyone. The timing is problematic: Virgil and Itaska were only together for a very few years - Itaska was remarried by 1936, and Virgil had re-married by 1935. As Bob and Edna Ruth were not married until 5 April 1935, I'm not sure when the dental checkups might have happened. Itaska did work as a dental assistant during the time of her marriage to Virgil.
By about 1934, their marriage was over. Both Virgil and Itaska remarried soon after. Itaska married Elmer Horace "Buddy" Yeamans.
Virgil had also re-married, this time to Marjorie L. Lewis on 10 November 1934.
Wallingford/Lewis marriage license
Wallingford/Lewis marriage certificate
Marjorie's father was Paul King Lewis, a Texas native, and his wife Marjorie. Both of these Marjories appear with varying middle initials in different records.
In 1920, the family was living in Kingsville, TX. The father Paul died 6 March 1927, aged 47.
Death certificate for Marjorie's father Paul
For the 1930 census, Marjorie (the mother, now aged 39) was living with one of her older sisters at 337 West 21st Street - not far from the Ogg/Campbell area. She was still living there in 1932. I have not located the younger Marjorie, who would have been 18 years old.
In 1935 Virgil and Marjorie were living at 4787 Pease, Houston. Edna Ruth was living with them, but there is some ambiguity. Ruth was also shown as living neary on 423 Aurora with her mother Edna and brother Roland.
By 1937, the marriage between Virgil and Marjorie appears to have ended. Virgil was then living with mother Edna and brother Roland (Edna Ruth had married in early 1935, so would have been living with Robert Lange.) Marjorie, however, was now living at 3232 Calumet St with her mother. The mother was there alone at the time of the 1940 census. I cannot locate the daughter after she appeared at that address in the city directory.
Itaska's brother Waylor married in about 1934 or 1935. He was a driver at this time, working for Sproles Motor Freight Lines. He was quite a suave looking guy, and may well have had a lot in common with Virgil in that regard.
By 12 June 1937, Waylor and his wife had had a son and were divorced. Waylor died of pneumonia on 12 June 1937.
Waylor Hammock death certificate
Waylor's obituary indicates on on-going relationship with both Virgil and Roland Wallingford. Even though Virgil and Itaska had divorced several years before, and each had re-married, Virgil acted as a pallbearer for Waylor. Itaska's second husband, Buddy, was also a pallbearer.
Even more interesting is that Leo Ogg was a pallbearer as well. That was, for me, an unexpected connection between the Wallingfords and the Oggs. This could only have been through the connection of Roland Wallingford and Corinne Ogg.
Roland and Corinne did not meet until after Margie Ruth was born to Roland's cousin Edgar Lee Wallingford (who married Earline Spraberry - related closely into Corrine's part of the family!). That would make their introduction after 5 November 1936 - so the connections from Waylor to Roland to Corinne to Leo must have all been in the 6 month period. Leo would have been 22 years old at the time.
The 1940 census entry for Thurman has a confusing inclusion of "Kathleen Tuck", described as Thurman's daughter. And both Kathleen and Billie Jean are shown as having been in that house 5 years earlier. I am not sure who Kathleen is or what happened to her before or after this census.
Itaska and her second husband Elmer "Buddy" Yeamans were living together, along with Buddy's mother and brother, in Seabrook, Harris County. There is some indication that the house belonged to his mother for some years before this point in time.
When Buddy Yeamans signed up for WWII, on 25 Sep 1941, he was still showing as married. But within the next six months, Itaska and Buddy were divorced - and Itaska married for the final time.
Itaska and Julian Perry Weinstein were married in Harris County on 28 Mar 1942.
Weinstein/Hammock marriage certificate
Julian Weinstein (who used the name "John Kenlo" professionally at various times in his life) was born in New York 12 March 1918, but was raised by his mother and step-father in Schrieveport, LA.
1930 Caddo Co LA census (page 1)
1930 Caddo Co LA census (page 2)
By 1940 Julian was describing himself as a show manager for a travelling carnival!
Julian lived most of his life in Louisiana, but there are not many records of Itaska living with him. He described himself as a soda dispenser (he was a teenager!), theatrical producer and a radio announcer.
Weinstein received some credit and recognition around 1950 for writing and helping to produce a movie called "A Modern Marriage". This work was done under the name John Kenlo. He even appeared as a "bystander" in a movie called "Naughty New Orleans". The first movie was re-released as a sort of movie-in-a-movie called "The Frigid Wife" in about 1960.
Itaska through the 1940s and 1950s developed her dancing studio. Itaska and Julian lived, variously, in Louisiana and the areas around Galveston. Itaska was quite well respected as a teacher of dance, with many of her students referring to her in later years as their inspiration.
Itaska and Perry had two sons, Waylor and Raymond. Waylor David Weinstein was born 13 August 1946 in Louisiana (with the event noted in Billboard magazine, because of Julian's prominence. Raymond Willard "Bubba" Weinstein was born not long after on 1 December 1947, also in Louisiana.
Itaska's only brother Waylor died young - and on 9 August 1960, Itaska's remaining sibling died. Venita Willard "Billie Jean" Hammock was never married, and died at the age of 44. She had been working as a technician for a construction company.
Venita Hammock death certificate
Venita Hammock death certificate - spelling corrections
Itaska's life had one last major incident, though not so personal. She, apparently, may have taught Martin Luther King's assassin how to dance, and was interviewed by the FBI in that regard. She didn't remember the man well, but said he wasn't much of a dancer because he didn't have good balance!
FBI interview notes - full document
FBI interview notes - only the pages relating to Itaska
Itaska was the informant when her father Thurman died on 7 April 1971.
Edward Thurman death certificate
Itaska died 7 April 1977 in Galveston, Texas. Her death certificate, and some other Social Security records have her birthdate as 12 March 1919. Her cemetery stone has that incorrect date as well. Those sort of errors get easily perpetuated, but so far as I can determine Itaska was not the source for that date, making her 6 years younger were it true.
Itaska Weinstein death certificate
Julian lived another 20 years, dying 22 February 1998, while living in Spring, Texas.
Itaska and Perry's sons Waylor (known mostly as David) and Raymond were both musicians, and lived variously in the Dallas area (Waylor) and Bryan (Bubba) through most of their lives. Both died young. David died 29 March 2005 in Dallas. Bubba died 1 August 2007 in a car accident. Both had children, which would be the grandchildren of Itaska and Perry.
There appears a concerted interest in keeping memories of these two brothers alive, with Waylor's wife Sharon Weinstein continuing to make postings to their condolence books quite some years after the deaths.