Effie May Ridgway (VII)

1896-1971

Four Generations Effie May Ridgway was born on November 26, 1896 in the Fork District of Warren County, Virginia near Front Royal. She grew up on her parent's farm, where she spent the first 17 years of her life. At age 17 she moved with the family to Savage, Maryland in 1913, and there she met James Willard Hackley (1889-1963) whom she married on June 25, 1916 in the Savage Methodist Church.(1) The ceremony was performed by minister Alfred E. Kent. James was 26 at this time and Effie May only 19 years of age. This marriage forms the link between the Hackley and Ridgway family trees. This photograph, taken around March of 1917, shows four generations in these two families. From left to right, are Mabel (young girl) and Effie May Ridgway, their father William Thomas Ridgway, Effie's husband James Hackley, Sallie Clapsaddle (sister of Elton Virginia), her father Byrd Clappsaddle, and Audley Hackley, first born of James and Effie. James and Effie May Hackley in 1959

Life was difficult in the small cotton mill town, particularly during the Great Depression of the 1930's. While her husband worked at the Cotton Mill as a loom repairer, and kept a vegetable garden and a few farm animals for subsistence, Effie May cooked, kept house and raised their five children. In 1920 she registered to vote in Maryland as a Democrat. Neither James nor Effie May appear to have ever owned property themselves. According to the 1920 Federal census, they rented a house, probably from the Savage Manufacturing Company who ran the Cotton Mill where James worked and, in fact, owned most of the town. In 1948, their eldest son Audley, for $5.00 and "other good and valuable considerations," purchased their house and lot at 205 Washington Street near the intersection with Baldwin, from the Santa Novelties Company, then owner of the Savage Mill.(2) This was the last residence of James and Effie. James died at home in Savage of complications due to throat cancer in 1963, while Effie May died at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. on March 12, 1971 due to congestive heart failure. She and her husband are buried in the Savage Cemetery.

Children of James & Effie May Hackley

  1. Audley Willard Hackley (VIII) (1917-1989) Audley was born at the family home in Savage, Maryland; the first Hackley in this line to be born outside of Virginia in almost 250 years. He married Elizabeth Valerie Wiseman, daughter of Frank and Cora Wiseman of Monessen, Pennaylvania, and had one child, Vincent Audley. Audley served 20 years in the Navy, and was a carpenter and cabinet maker by training. His last residence was in Scaggsville, Maryland, not 10 miles from his place of birth.
  2. Louis Edwin Hackley The second oldest child, Lou was stationed in the Panama Canal during WWII while serving in the Air Force. He is a retired electrician and wood worker. Lou married Doris Pauline Clarke of Baltimore, and they reside now in Glen Burnie. They had one son, Douglas Norman Hackley. Lou is also the story teller and keeper of family lore for the Hackley family.
  3. Wanda May Hackley (1924-1995) Wanda married William George Palmer, formally of Warrenton, Virginia, and lived in Savage her entire life. Bill Palmer was the Post Master of Savage for many years until his retirement. They had four children, Sandra, Joann, Debra and William.
  4. Barbara Corinne Hackley Barbara married Charles McClister and had one child, James. During the 1970's, Barbara and Charles co-owned and operated a campground adjoining the Chesapeake Bay's Pocomoke Sound near Sanford on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Charles passed away in the late '70s, but Barbara and son James still reside near Sanford.
  5. Franklin Delano Hackley Frank married Darlene June Lyckholm, formally of Hibbing, Minnesota. Frank served in the Navy during the 1950's. He is a retired carpenter by trade. Frank and Darlene had four children, Lisa Robin, Allen Shane, Lydia June and Leslie Marie. The family lived in Savage until moving to Carroll County. Frank and Darlene now reside in White Lake, Minnesota.


Footnotes

1. Howard County, Maryland Marriage Certificate, original in possession of author.

2. Howard County Land Records, Book 208, Page 11, Howard County Court House, Ellicot City, MD.