Roy Hammett, Page Two

I managed to find one of Roy’s grandchildren, the daughter of Roy’s son Claude. She knew that her grandfather had been killed in an accident, but knew nothing about the Lewis Hine photo, and had never seen the newspaper article, so I sent them to her. She was very interested, because had never seen a photo of her grandfather. She told me this about her grandmother Bythia (Roy's widow):

“She was a very proud woman who stood about 4' 11". I remember never seeing her in any shoes but spiked heels, or early morning slippers."

She also told me this story about her father Claude:

"My father told us this story about his father Roy’s funeral. It seems he overheard an uncle advising his mother to put the five children in an orphanage, because she would not be able to take care of them. So my Dad ran away to live with another uncle, in Gaffney, and worked in his grocery store in exchange for board. Of course, my grandmother Bythia never took the advice about the orphanage. My dad told us that soon after, he saw his father's ghost come to his bedside and tell him to go home and help his mother raise the younger children. So he did, and continued to help his youngest sister, Louise, even into her adult life, because it was very hard for his mother to raise five children by herself. My father was the sweetest and most caring person I've ever known."

Clipping from unknown South Carolina newspaper

Making Human Junk poster, date unknown. Thanks for Glen Johnson.

Several years after I posted this story, I received this interesting email from Laurie Hammette (her grandfather, Roy's brother, added the "e" to his last name)

"I was researching my ancestry online when I came across your story about my great-uncle, Roy Hammett. He was the older brother of my grandfather, Lewis. I never knew much about Roy, except that he accidentally shot himself. While Roy certainly had a difficult childhood, many of his siblings fared much better, including my grandfather Lewis. He moved to Washington, D.C., when he was just 18, and he became a sales manager in the newly opened Safeway (supermarket chain). He had no college education, but he did have exceptional mathematical skills. After getting married, he moved to Maryland, then later to New Jersey. He raised two kids there, and he worked in the Empire State Building as the office manager of a textile company. He later was one of the top salesmen nationwide with the Panther Oil Company of Fort Worth, Texas (while still living in New Jersey). He returned to South Carolina in his retirement years."

"The Hine photograph does accurately capture a moment in time, but it does not tell the whole story. It is interesting to see how one moment in Roy's life that is caught on film might lead viewers to imagine that he and his siblings were destined to a life of misery and poverty. But many of his siblings, including my grandfather, led very comfortable lives."

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