Hamner family

The Hamner family was a prominent Austin family with a rich and complex history, which began with the marriage of Robert T. Smith (1789-1840) and Harriet Wright (1793-1851) on November 27, 1814. Both the Smiths and Wrights were from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and the Wright Family included portrait artist, Thomas Jefferson Wright (1798-1846). Robert and Harriet had nine children, Lydia Ann Smith (1815-1854), William Halley smith (1817-1889), Elizabeth Smith (1819-1881), Mary Smith (1822-1848), Susanna Smith (1823-1858), Eleanor Smith (1825-1870), John Lyle Smith (1828-1898), Sarah Smith (1830-1832), and Robert T. Smith (1834-1918). The family came to Texas when Benjamin Franklin Wright (1800-1867) moved to Walker County in 1835, followed shortly by his nephew, John Lyle Smith. Benjamin Franklin Wright died in Walker County in 1867. John Lyle Smith served in the Confederate Army, and after moving to Texas, and began corresponding with Sarah Katherine Murray (1838-1923) of Huntsville, Texas.

John Lyle Smith and Sarah Murray were married on May 7, 1857 and continued to reside in Huntsville, Texas. The couple had eight children, Robert F. Smith (1858-1931), Mary Elizabeth Smith (1861-1954), George Lyle Smith (1863-1966), Lee Wright Smith (1866-1877), Emma Smith (1868-1952), Harriet Smith (1870-1958), A.U. (Urbin) Smith (1875-1947), and Rosa Susan Smith (Sue Smith) (1878-1958). The Smith family was highly educated. John Lyle and Sarah Smith were both able to read and write well and corresponded, both with each other early in their relationship and with their children throughout their lives. Sarah Smith ran a boarding house in Huntsville for young women attending the Sam Houston Institute, which later became the Sam Houston State Teachers College (SHSTC).

Many of the Smith children held esteemed positions in their communities as well. Robert F. Smith was a Professor of Mathematics at Texas A & M University, A.U. Smith was also a professor, and George Lyle Smith served as a reverend in Waurika, Oklahoma. Sue Smith attended the Sam Houston Institute and later taught at a small country school. Harriet Smith taught Geography and Social Studies at the Sam Houston State Teachers College (1911-1941). In 1943, she also participated in a Sherwood Eddy American Seminar, which was part of a movement of international evangelism and took her to Eastern Europe at the end of World War II.

The Hamner family came to Austin after Edwin D. Hamner (1878-1965) married the youngest Smith child, Sue Smith, on June 20, 1900. Edwin D. Hamner's family was originally from Galveston, where his father, Edward D. Hamner worked as a dentist. Edwin D. Hamner served in Galveston as a reverend and also worked as a free-lance writer for the Galveston News, Dallas News, and Houston Chronicle. Edwin and Sue Hamner came to Austin on July 4, 1919, where Edwin worked for the International Revenue Department and preached for various churches in neighboring communities. Edwin and Sue had six children, Lucile Hamner, Edward Hamner (1904-1957), J. Lyle Hamner, David Hamner, Paul Hamner, and Robert S. Hamner (1910-1993).

Edwin and Sue's youngest son, Robert S. Hamner, attended Austin High School from 1926-1929, where he possibly met his future wife, Emma Ruth Randerson (1911-1977). Robert graduated from the University of Texas Business School in 1934, and he and Emma Ruth were married on June 13, 1936. Robert and Emma Ruth then moved from Austin, and from 1942 to 1943, Robert Hamner worked with the Federal Works Agency Public Roads Administration (PRA) during the construction of the Alaska Highway. He and Emma Ruth then moved from Seattle, Washington to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada while Robert lived for briefly at a Public Roads Camp at in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. After the completion of the Alaska Highway project (1943), Robert and Emma Ruth made their way back to Seattle, travelled across the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois (1943). In 1944, Robert joined the United States Naval Reserve.

Robert and Emma Ruth were active members of the church wherever they lived. Robert Hamner was a member of many Christian organizations, including the World's Christian Endeavor Union (1943) and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) (1944), and both he and Emma Ruth were members of the Texas Christian Endeavor Union (1943). In addition, they were heads of the Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) at the University Christian Church in Seattle before moving to Edmonton. After finally returning to Austin, Robert and Emma Ruth adopted Jean Hamner (1947- ), and later, Jack Hamner (1951-1972). Jean and Jack Hamner grew up in Austin, and Jack attended Austin High School. Jack Hamner died in 1972 at the age of 21, from unknown causes. Emma Ruth Hamner died in 1977, and on October 18, 1978, Robert was remarried to Mildred. He died in 1993.

From the guide to the Hamner Family Papers AR. 2008. 007., 1827-2007, 1928-1977, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )