10/14/2026
Fern Waugh was born January 7, 1883, in Whitley County to James Alexander and Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Klink) Waugh. Her father was a farmer.
Fern's siblings included Harper Klink Waugh, Mirth Elizabeth Waugh, Letha Ann Waugh Wickliffe, James Kenneth Waugh and Hildreth "Marguerite" Waugh Ott.
Fern graduated with the Columbia City High School Class of 1902 and she was among the classmates to present music and essays for the ceremony.
After graduation, she attended the Western College in Oxford, Ohio. She would also eventually gain further education at the Carnegie Institute, becoming a teacher. Fern taught in Whitley County schools for several years.
Fern married Professor Milby Roy Hammer on June 14, 1909. Roy, as he was called, was the son of Edward M. and Jennie (Strong) Hammer and grew up near Coesse. A quiet, mid-day wedding ceremony was held at the home of Fern's parents in Thorncreek Township. The groom's grandmother, Eleanore Strong was among the small group guests. After the wedding, the couple returned to Madison, Wisconsin, where they were living at the time.
Roy was born in Coesse in 1883 and after the early death of his father, he and his mother moved to Columbia City. Like Fern, Roy was a graduate in the Columbia City Class of 1902. In 1907, he graduated at the top of his class from Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering and drawing. During his schooling, he took classes in mechanical and electrical engineering. Immediately after graduating, Roy took an engineering management position with the American Tin Plate works.
Roy first became a professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin.
In February of 1918, Fern and Roy would welcome their first and only child, a son they named James Edward Hammer. At the time, they were living in Evanston, Illinois, where Roy was a professor at Northwestern University.
In 1920, Roy accepted a job at his alma mater, Purdue University, and so they moved to Lafayette, Indiana.
Tragedy struck in April of 1923 when Roy contracted influenza which quickly progressed to pneumonia and was complicated further by heart trouble. His mother, Jennie Waugh, and his aunt Sarah Baker were at his bedside in Lafayette at the time of his death. His body was returned to Columbia City and a funeral was held at the home of his uncle, E. K. Strong, an attorney in town. He was just 40, leaving Fern and their four-year-old son to mourn him.
Fern and her son returned to Columbia City following his death and she began teaching again.
In 1930, Fern and young James, age 12, were living on North Line Street in Columbia City at the home of her brother, Kenneth and his wife, Bonita.
By 1940, Fern had moved to 205 South Walnut Street in Columbia City where she would live for decades. Fern cared for her mother, Elizabeth, in that home during the final years of her life as well.
She would continue teaching and invested attention in her son and his life. Young James graduated from Columbia City High School. Like his father, he attended Purdue University and became a project engineer. He enlisted in the military on June 25, 1938. He rose through the ranks and made the military his career, retiring as Major James Hammer on August 31, 1967. During his service, he spent 39 months in Europe during World War II and he was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry during the Korean War.
James married Janice Allen Mayhew of Roanoke, Virginia, in a 9 p.m. ceremony in Christ Episcopal Church on August 29, 1942. Like his mother, Janice was also a teacher and she, too, would teach in Columbia City for many years when they moved to a farm near Larwill in 1969 after James' retirement from the Army.
James and Janice would have four children, William, James, Jennie and Lucy. Sadly, only Lucy survived infancy.
In her later years, Fern was active in local clubs and organizations.
Fern died at the age of 99 on April 29, 1982, after suffering a heart attack. She was buried in Greenhill Cemetery next to her husband.
Two years later, James died and he was also buried in Greenhill. Janice died many years later at the age of 92 and she, too, was buried in Greenhill Cemetery.
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This photo of Fern Waugh was taken on the front porch of her home on Walnut Street in Columbia City when she was 95 and had just been presented with the Oldest Resident award from the Old Settlers Days Committee as given by Vernon Trier. Other photos here show Fern's son, James, and James' wife, Janice, who were very important people in her life.
