| Marv Hamm |
A story of Ham's and Hamm's in the same family
I am Marvin J. Hamm, Jr., oldest of 6 children born to Marvin J. Hamm, Sr. &
Mary Magdaline Goodson. My father was born as Marvin Joseph "Ham" on
Feb. 9, 1929, in Selma, Alabama. Upon enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1946, he signed
up as Marvin J. "Hamm", changing his surname by adding an "m". In doing so, he
was following the example set by one of his older brothers, James Rudolph Hamm,
who had done likewise several years earlier when he had enlisted in the U.S. Marine
Corps during WWII. Eager to enlist, Rudolph had to lie about his age to sign up
because he was too young to have legally joined any of the Armed Services -- he had
just celebrated his 16th birthday! The recruiter had suggested the name change, as
he said, to "avoid any confusion with the military records of his older brother",
Robert C. Ham, who had already enlisted in the U.S. Navy. However, I believe that the
recruiter may have simply been trying to make it more difficult for anyone to discover
that he had enlisted a very young and possibly underaged James Rudolph Ham !
( Rudolph's enlistment photo )
My grandparents were Herman Richard Ham and Mary Ellen Gardner. My
great-grandparents were Columbus Filmore Ham and Matilda Jane Church.
My great-great-grandparents were Robert Solomon Ham and Ellen M. Ratliff.
My great-great-great-grandparents were William J. Ham and Eliza A. Morton.
The name of William J. Ham's father is not yet known. His mother is believed to
have been Rebecca, born about 1790, who maintained a residence in Franklin
County, North Carolina into the 1830's, moved with her family to Heard County,
Georgia by 1840; and to Randolph County, Alabama by 1850. Her maiden name may
have been Foster.
I reside in the Dallas, Texas area ( Richardson, Tx. ) where I am employed as a
commercial pilot. In addition to family genealogy, my interests include general aviation,
kit airplane building, photography, video, home-made DVD's, computers, and the
internet.
My website is designed to help gather and share family information, stories, and
pictures that might otherwise be lost if we don't act now to preserve them. It is intended
for private individual use -- not for publication, profit, or other commercial purposes.
I would appreciate any family information or pictures that you would like to share with
others. Occasionally, due to my travel schedule, I may be unable to respond to e-mail
for up to a week; but I will do my best to respond to your e-mail or other communica-
tions in a timely manner.
My e-mail address: MarvHamm@aol.com (checked frequently)
Mary Magdaline Goodson. My father was born as Marvin Joseph "Ham" on
Feb. 9, 1929, in Selma, Alabama. Upon enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1946, he signed
up as Marvin J. "Hamm", changing his surname by adding an "m". In doing so, he
was following the example set by one of his older brothers, James Rudolph Hamm,
who had done likewise several years earlier when he had enlisted in the U.S. Marine
Corps during WWII. Eager to enlist, Rudolph had to lie about his age to sign up
because he was too young to have legally joined any of the Armed Services -- he had
just celebrated his 16th birthday! The recruiter had suggested the name change, as
he said, to "avoid any confusion with the military records of his older brother",
Robert C. Ham, who had already enlisted in the U.S. Navy. However, I believe that the
recruiter may have simply been trying to make it more difficult for anyone to discover
that he had enlisted a very young and possibly underaged James Rudolph Ham !
( Rudolph's enlistment photo )
My grandparents were Herman Richard Ham and Mary Ellen Gardner. My
great-grandparents were Columbus Filmore Ham and Matilda Jane Church.
My great-great-grandparents were Robert Solomon Ham and Ellen M. Ratliff.
My great-great-great-grandparents were William J. Ham and Eliza A. Morton.
The name of William J. Ham's father is not yet known. His mother is believed to
have been Rebecca, born about 1790, who maintained a residence in Franklin
County, North Carolina into the 1830's, moved with her family to Heard County,
Georgia by 1840; and to Randolph County, Alabama by 1850. Her maiden name may
have been Foster.
I reside in the Dallas, Texas area ( Richardson, Tx. ) where I am employed as a
commercial pilot. In addition to family genealogy, my interests include general aviation,
kit airplane building, photography, video, home-made DVD's, computers, and the
internet.
My website is designed to help gather and share family information, stories, and
pictures that might otherwise be lost if we don't act now to preserve them. It is intended
for private individual use -- not for publication, profit, or other commercial purposes.
I would appreciate any family information or pictures that you would like to share with
others. Occasionally, due to my travel schedule, I may be unable to respond to e-mail
for up to a week; but I will do my best to respond to your e-mail or other communica-
tions in a timely manner.
My e-mail address: MarvHamm@aol.com (checked frequently)
| Marv Hamm with daughter Louisa J. Hamm 1982 Big Bend National Park, Tx. on the Rio Grande River |
| Louisa J. Hamm 2004 |
| Marv Hamm's Genealogy Home Page -- "About Marv" |
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| Louisa's website: theweddingsoloist.com (the wedding soloist) |