Lula Dee Wilhite

Notes:

Sitting on his porch in White Co.,TN, summer of 1991, Charles Long Hennessee told me that his mother, Lula Dee, was named after a steamboat in Alabama...DAH

Lula married James Robert Hennessee on 7 Sep 1890 in White County, Tennessee. James (son of Patrick Roberts Alexander Hennessee and Dicy Loucinda "Cindy" Smith) was born on 6 May 1872 in White County, Tennessee; died on 16 Dec 1965 in Sparta, White County, Tennessee; was buried in Highland Cemetery, Sparta, White County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 0___ 1920, White County, Tennessee
• Residence: 0___ 1930, White County, Tennessee
• Residence: 0___ 1940, White County, Tennessee

Ora married Alonzo L. Cooper in (CIRCA 1915) in (White County, Tennessee). Alonzo (son of Jesse Cooper and Margaret C. LNU) was born on 6 May 1882 in (White County, Tennessee); died on 7 Sep 1948 in (White County, Tennessee); was buried in Highland Cemetery, Sparta, White County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Twin to Hasco. Both died as infants.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 0___ 1920, White County, Tennessee
• Residence: 0___ 1930, White County, Tennessee
• Residence: 0___ 1940, White County, Tennessee

Zola married Will Edward Pearson on 8 May 1916 in White County, Tennessee. Will was born in 0___ 1896 in (White County) Tennessee; died in 0___ 1979 in White County, Tennessee; was buried in Highland Cemetery, Sparta, White County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: WW I - KIA

Notes:

Killed in World War I. No issue.

Died:
during WW I...

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: bank clerk

Notes:

Died of TB in California. Worked as a bookkeeper for her father. Finished high school at the age of 16.

Dicy married Frank Russell Broyles on 30 Jan 1921 in White County, Tennessee. Frank (son of Charles Matthias Broyles and Anna Crockett Russell) was born on 24 Nov 1893 in White County, Tennessee; died on 21 Oct 1982 in White County, Tennessee; was buried in Highland Cemetery, Sparta, White County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
premature...

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 0___ 1930, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
• Residence: 0___ 1940, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan

Notes:

Went to Detroit area during the 20's to find work. Information on this family provided by James, Jr.

Enumerated as a, "Lodger" during the 1940 census...DAH

James married Agnes Israel in ~ 1925 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Agnes (daughter of An Charles Israel and Anna LNU) was born in 0___ 1905 in (Detroit, Wayne County) Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Gladys(Detroit, Wayne Co.) MI. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 0___ 1940, Tulare County, California

Notes:

Birth: Jan. 20, 1911
Death: May 9, 1990


Family links:
Parents:
James Robert Hennessee (1872 - 1965)
Lula Dee Wilhite Hennessee (1875 - 1946)

Siblings:
Ora Hennessee Cooper (1892 - 1979)*
Hasco Smith Hennessee (1893 - 1894)*
Hascal Stone Hennessee (1893 - 1894)*
Zola B Hennessee Pearson (1894 - 1980)*
William Clayton Hennessee (1896 - 1918)*
Lyda Maude Hennessee (1898 - 1919)*
Ethma Hennessee Broyles (1900 - 1960)*
James C. Hennessee (1905 - 1988)*
Bessie Lee Hennessee (1907 - 1910)*
Clarence R. Hennessee (1911 - 1990)
Stone Wilhite Hennessee (1914 - 2001)*
Frances Willard Hennessee (1915 - 1957)*
Charles L Hennessee (1917 - 1994)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial:
North Kern Cemetery
Delano
Kern County
California, USA

Created by: Doug Porter
Record added: Mar 15, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 66985373

end of profile

Clarence married Harriet Thornton(White County, Tennessee). Harriet (daughter of John Russell Thornton, Sr. and Hattie L. Womack) was born on 31 Dec 1912 in (White County, Tennessee); died on 9 Sep 1989 in Kern County, California; was buried in North Kern Cemetery, Delano, Kern County, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee

Notes:

Baptism:
at St.Paul Lutheran...

Stone married Agnes Lucinda Buxton on 1 Jun 1938 in Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee. Agnes (daughter of George Buxton and Alberta "Bertie" Barger) was born on 1 Jan 1917 in Lancing, Morgan County, Tennessee; died on 30 Nov 2011 in Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee; was buried on 3 Dec 2011 in Morgan Memorial Gardens, Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: School Teacher

Notes:

Never married.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: WW II Veteran

Notes:

He was named after a general of WWI. Charles provided most of the information on this family.

Interviewed him on his front porch, in Sparta, June of 1991.

Military:
US Army

Charles married Ruby Pearl Luna on 14 Aug 1947 in White County, Tennessee. Ruby (daughter of Wiley M. Luna and Annie J. England) was born on 14 Aug 1927 in White County, Tennessee; died on 22 Aug 2015 in Sparta, White County, Tennessee; was buried in Old Zion Cemetery, Sparta, White County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: World War II Veteran

James married Lorraine Marie Derosier on 3 Jan 1948 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Lorraine (daughter of Joseph Laudium DeRosier and Helen Lefebvre) was born in 0___ 1924 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; died on 9 Oct 2004 in (Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan); was buried in Resurrection Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lives in Rochester,MI

Notes:

Killed in car wreck at the age of 16...Charles Long Hennessee

Died:
killed in a car wreck...

Notes:

Historically Speaking
Special to the Oak Ridger
Posted Jan 25, 2011 @ 10:24 AM


OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — We recently learned from Nancy Martin Harper how the Martin Funeral Homes had its beginning in Coal Creek (now Lake City), then opened in Clinton and Oak Ridge and later in LaFollette. She told us how David Franklin "Frank" Martin opened his first Martin Funeral Home in November 1929, in Coal Creek. Now let's follow Nancy's family history of funeral homes as the family business continued to expand.

The Martin Funeral Home in Clinton was opened in 1944. The family business was expanding. Frank left his son, Paul Martin, and wife, Ruby Wilson Martin, to manage the Lake City operation. He and Rose moved into the David C. Richards ancestral home at 375 N, Main St. in Clinton, the "brownstone" one.

The Harry F. Miller home next to the Richards' home was incorporated into the eventual structure that became the Martin Funeral Home in Clinton. This expansion established the funeral home as one of the major businesses in Clinton.

Another expansion of services had started earlier when Sam Martin, Frank's nephew, had operated an ambulance service in Oak Ridge. The government would not allow a funeral home in the Manhattan Project's Clinton Engineer Works' town of Oak Ridge, but would allow Sam to live there and provide the ambulance service.

Sam and his wife, Mary, came to Oak Ridge in February 1944, right in the middle of the Manhattan Project. They lived first in Gamble Valley, then at 170 West Tennessee Ave., and finally, at 145 East Vance Road. He operated the ambulance service in support of the new hospital but worked out of his home.

Interestingly enough, Frank Martin took over the ambulance service in September 1946, as transition was being made to the Atomic Energy Commission. The Martins continued to provide that service for the Oak Ridge hospital until 1970.

The only location that had been deemed by the Roane Anderson Co. for a funeral home was on Tyrone Road. The Martin family did not like that location and wanted another one.

A combination of William Sharp, owner of Sharp Funeral Home in Oliver Springs, and Paul Holley, owner of Holley Funeral Home of Clinton, in 1949, decided to build a funeral home on the designated spot. The funeral home closed in 1951.

As early as Nov. 6, 1948, Frank Martin took out a full page ad in The Oak Ridge Lions News promoting a future funeral home. The ad had a large sketch of the building and noted that the Martin family had been providing Oak Ridge ambulance service for the past two years. You just have to know some interesting maneuvering was taking place regarding how to provide funeral home services in Oak Ridge.

Helped by U.S. Rep. Howard Baker Sr., Frank Martin was allowed to lease property at 1017 Oak Ridge Turnpike. In January 1950, the new Martin Funeral Home in Oak Ridge opened and on Aug. 25, 1950, an open house was announced in The Oak Ridger.

Sam Martin was selected to operate the new modern facility. In 1956, he received his funeral director's license. In 1957, Frank Martin was allowed to purchase the property he had been leasing.

In 1979, Sam retired and turned the operation of the funeral home over to Stone Hennessee, who had come over from Clinton to help with the business in Oak Ridge. Stone was married to Nancy Martin, Paul and Ruby Martin's daughter.

In 1981, Stone was killed in an automobile accident and Sam Martin came out of retirement to again manage the Oak Ridge operation for the Martin family. By 1982, Sam and his son, Larry Martin, had purchased the business and for the first time, Sam owned the business he had taken from an ambulance service for the Roane Anderson Co. to one of the finest funeral homes around.

In an October 1982 interview published in The Oak Ridger, Sam reflected on his long career in Oak Ridge and noted some changes he had seen over the years. He took credit for introducing what was by then becoming common practice -- the two-hour evening visitation practice, with the funeral following.

Sam also recounted a story in the same interview that Nancy enjoyed telling Bill Wilcox and me as she sat in Bill's home on that Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. It was a "gypsy funeral" that lasted two weeks.

The interview stated, "Sam said, 'A gypsy died in ORINS (Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies and the family camped out here while they were waiting for other members of the family to come in. They came from all over the United States,'" he says with exaggeration in his voice. "'I thought they would never leave.'" 'How did you get rid of them?' was the next obvious question. "'We buried the man,”' he answers flatly.

Nancy added some interesting details to the "gypsy story" that were not captured in the newspaper interview with Sam. She said the leader of the gypsies told Sam that "we will pay you and we won't steal a thing!"

Evidently many of the gypsies stayed all the time with the body and held a great feast that lasted for over a week. Nancy said that Sam had to fumigate the funeral home after the large group left.

Sam told Nancy that when they buried the man, the gypsies put thousands of dollars and lots of whiskey in the casket. He said, "If I wasn't a good Christian, I would go dig that thing up!"

Nancy also told of an unusual burial in Lake City where a man's family insisted he be buried in his bib overalls and put in the casket on his side as he "never did like to sleep on his back." She said they did as the family wished.

Then there was the family who came in after their mother had died. There were eight children and they insisted that all eight of them wanted to participate in all decisions about the arrangements and that all eight of them would split the cost. When it came time to go upstairs to pick out the casket, one of the men had gotten about half way up the stairs when he looked back down and said, "Earline, come on up here. You know we all have to agree on the selection of the casket and such."

Earline replied, "I am not coming! No, I am not picking out anything and I'm not paying nothing neither. I never was for sure she was even my mother!" And she just up and walked right out of the funeral home.

SCARBORO SCHOOL NOTE: Thanks to Mary Sue Campbell, who taught at Robertsville Junior High School, for pointing out that from 1955 until 1967 the Scarboro School only had grades one through six, not one through eight as I mistakenly indicated in my article last week.

Copyright 2011 The Oak Ridger. Some rights reserved

2 Feb 2011

...Stone's death in a car wreck on Dec. 5, 1981, changed everything for the Martin family. Sam came out of retirement, his son, Larry, came into the business to help his dad. Nancy's grandmother, Rose, at age 84, was still trying to manage the funeral home in Clinton. Nancy's father, Paul, was trying to manage both the Lake City and LaFollette funeral homes.

Nancy got her funeral director's license and began working at the Clinton funeral home. Rose died soon thereafter and Paul's burden grew even greater, both in managing the business and in leading the Martin family. Nancy had two small children, Marty (Martin Stone Hennessee) was 10 years old and Mary Paulette Hennessee was six.

It was at this juncture that Paul received his first offer, in 1991, to purchase the Martin Funeral Home business. He had already sold the Oak Ridge funeral home to Sam Martin. Paul discussed the offer with Nancy. A primary reason for the decision to sell was the lack of male members of the family to take over the business. Stone had been their hope for male leadership.

Copyright 2011 The Oak Ridger. Some rights reserved

Stone married Nancy Martin on 4 Jun 1965. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

David married Bernice Faye Brown [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Dallas Everett Taylor. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Anna married Walter Bransford "Walt" Holman [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joan married David Graham [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eddie married Kristy L. Simmons [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joyce married James Stegner [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: John Peterson Shaw. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Robyn LNU. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]