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Educators Among the
Watlington-Hammond Families

Orson Ward Hammond came to know his wife, Mary Eliza Jameson, as he taught grammar school in Hanover, Jo Davies Co., Illinois as a young man. He later learned cabinet making as an apprentice and moved out to Texas to join the crews building railroads, railway stations and railway crew houses across Texas. But he mastered the ``highest class'' in public school of his time and place and turned to teach others a few years. As his children came of age he prepared to offer them higher education and each in turn had that opportunity. Jennie Sophronia went to Jackson, Tenn. to study at a business school which was interrupted by an early marriage. Clara Matilda took some additional studies in Jackson, Tenn. after completing the public school at Malesus, and went to Hanover, Illinois, her parents home town, to teach for a year or two in the Hanover Public School. Emma Mai thought she might like nursing and got a chance to go to Nashville to Nursing School. She returned home after looking over the quantity of books she would be expected to study. So it was only Clara Matilda Hammond who put her hand to the task of teaching among her siblings. Emma Mai later put in a long life teaching at the church Sunday School, and serving as its literature secretary.    But there were some good seed sown along the way. Five of the children of Ulrich and Jennie Hammond Watlington were encouraged to ``keep on'' and four of them chose education as their life career. The proximity of Union University and Lambuth College as places of preparation helped make this possible and the good church and school connections of the colleges made them very present to the students of Malesus High School, our public elementary and High School after 1909. In fact, the Malesus elementary school of 1895-1909 was considered the equivalent of the best schools in Jackson at that time. The High School at Malesus became the first high school in Madison Co. outside Jackson because of the fine record of the elementary school and the support of the families of the community.  Thus from Clara Mai's first year in school in 1915 until Betty Juanita graduated in 1947, the Ulrich Watlington family had one child or more at Malesus Public School. There were five or more children in Malesus School from 1925 through 1940. Joseph Conrad broke the line by transferring in September 1943 to the J. B. Young High School at Bemis in order to take manual arts woodworking classes. By that time other county schools had surpassed Malesus in attendance and materials offered. Though the teaching careers of the Fifth generation are mentioned in other articles, a resume is in order here:

Clara Mai Watlington King

-- Thirty nine years teaching at elementary level in Madison County schools, interrupted by W.W.II for one year in 1943-44, and for four childbearing years, 1949-1953. She began in 1928 and retired at the end of the school year in 1972. 

Orson Kenneth Watlington

-- Kenneth graduated from Lambuth College in 1938, with science and mathematics as his field of preference. He began teaching in 1938 at elementary level at Malesus and later moved to high school. He also coached the boys and girls basketball teams while at Malesus School. He left in July 1942 for military service. He returned from military service in Nov. 1945 and went to George Peabody College for Teachers for a Masters of Arts Degree in Education Administration. Upon graduation in 1947 he went to Livingston, Tenn. as principal of their high school, Livingston Academy. In the fall of 1953 he served as principal at Red Boiling Springs until Christmas when he welcomed the opportunity of returning to Madison County as Assistant Principal and Math teacher at Jackson High School. He later was principal of Alexander Elementary School for ten years, then principal at Jackson High School for one and a half years. In January 1967 he was named Assistant to Fred Standley, Supt. of Jackson City Schools and as they were good friends the relationship lasted until retirement Dec. 31, 1980 with forty-three years of service.      Kenneth took an active part in civic affairs in Jackson, becoming a member of the Rotary Club and keeping an interest in Lambuth College Alumni affairs. He served as President of the Lambuth Alumni for a year, and has received several honors for his diligent education work across the years. His wife, Mary Nanney Watlington, worked for many years as a school secretary in the city system. He befriended his nephew, Joe T. Watlington, by aiding his commuting to Lambuth College from his home with Ulrich Watlington, 1971-75. Kenneth, of course, did it for his own enlightment. Young folks just out of high school have a lot of answers.   

Joseph Conrad Watlington

completed high school at J. B. Young High School in 1945, after attending the first ten years at Malesus. As soon as school was out he was seeking out the recruitment office and signed on for the U.S. Marines. After service in the U.S. and China he was soon at home again and enrolled in studies at Lambuth College. He married Deloris Dorris and found some part-time work to support them as he studied. He graduated in 1950 with a B. S. in Sciences (with honors) and found a teaching job at Crockett Mills High School in nearby Crockett County. They lived in an apartment in Alamo, Tenn. and he also coached the girls basketball team. Joe liked to teach and liked basketball. He was soon a favorite among the students. Later he went to Ripley High School to teach science and coach the girls basketball team there.    Along with his teaching he continued to study extension courses offered by Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) and attended summer courses there. He received a Master of Science degree there in June 1956, while still at Ripley, Tenn. Soon thereafter he applied for, and received, a National Science Scholarship for studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He moved there with his family and completed a Master of Biological Science Degree there in 1959 or 60. He then was offered a job teaching Physical Science at Lambuth College, where he taught for eleven years, and was director of the new Planetarium at the college.   After teaching and developing guidelines for a pilot course in Astronomy for Tennessee High Schools, in 1971-72 he went to the new Volunteer State Community College at Gallatin where he taught until bad health forced his early retirement in 1987. He is honored at Volunteer State by a Science Scholarship Endowment Fund established in his name.  In the meantime his early marriage to Deloris Dorris was dissolved after Kathy, their youngest child, finished high school. In 1982 Joe married Mrs. Linda Witherspoon Claude, a registered nurse, who was continuing her studies at Volunteer State and Tennessee State University. They lived at Castalian Springs for the ten years of their marriage as she continued her work and studies. She is now head of the School of Nursing at Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tenn.   

Betty Juanita Watlington Williams

never slowed down as she completed high school with honors in 1947. She entered Lambuth College and proceeded to graduate with honors in 1951 and earn a Masters Degree from Memphis State in 1976 in Special Education. After marriage in July 1950 to Hubert Howard Williams, Sr. and completing her degree she initiated her teaching career in the Madison Co. Elementary Schools. She taught at Uptonville a year, then three years in Bemis Elementary School before starting their family and interrupting her teaching career for thirteen years. Even so she taught for a total of twenty four years, the last nineteen being at the Malesus Elementary with various classes. For seven years she taught special education classes at Malesus.      Though better known as a homemaker and for her church and community activities with her family, Betty was an effective teacher at public school. She also instilled the educational urge in her children as all went to college and on toward graduate degrees in their specialities.

Among the other siblings, Elton chose church ministry and foreign mission work which in turn put him into a teaching ministry as well as preaching among the Methodists of Perú. In their travels and mission work both Janice and Elton have been much in the classroom on a regular basis; then at other times as ``substitute teachers.''    The story continued in the sixth generation as twelve of the twenty-five Watlington-Hammond grandchildren prepared for teaching careers, though hardly so many stuck with them for long years. The following list indicates those who pursued higher education and did some teaching, as well as the career teachers:


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Copyright © 1997, Elton A. Watlington (Note)
watlington@wnm.net