Little Grandma - Martha Luella Rachel Lee Jane Pickett Hoover Chant

Three Generations, Grandma Chant, Jim Hoover & Bob Hoover

My mother always talked about "Little Grandma"  who she lived near when she was growing up.  She told me her whole name when I was young and I would go around chanting it.  I have always remembered her name and when I started researching her family history it began to make sense.  I believe most people had long names back then so it probably wasn't that unusual.  The funny thing was that she just went by Lulu.  Her mother was Martha Jane, her grandmother was Rachel, she named one daughter Luella Jane, the other Martha,  and since she had married twice she picked up the names Hoover and Chant.   

Grandma Chant was born on July 18, 1962, I know she was born in Indiana, but I haven't found her birth record yet so I'm not sure if it was in Richmond.  Her parents were Martha Jane Eccles and Benjamin N. Pickett.  She was the youngest of their four children, which included Lizzie, Thomas, and Bill.  She grew up in the Richmond area and lived there most  of, if not all of her life.  She came from a long line of Quaker ancestors and she member of the Friends church. 

Lulu married Frank Hoover, my great-grandfather, on September 3, 1891.  They were only married a few years because Frank died in 1896.  They had three children, Luella, my grandfather Jim, and Martha.  The children were very young when he died.  On April 7, 1897, she married Arthur Chant, who was also a member of the Friends church.  She and "Arty"  were together until their deaths a few weeks apart.

Grandma Chant and Arthur had a son together, Franklin.  I wondered if she named if after her first husband, Frank Hoover.  

I believe Grandma Chant was called "Little Grandma" because of her short stature and the fact that their other grandma was tall.  Grandma Chant was taller than "Arty" though.  He must have been very short.  

When my aunts and my mom got together I would hear them reminiscing about their grandma.  Since they had always lived close to her, at times in the same house, they were very close to her.  I have heard stories about her standing under the window of the girls bedroom listening to them talk.  They would hear her making a snorting sound and would know she was there.  Of course, then the talk would just get better so Grandma would have something to listen to.

Grandma's husband "Arty" died when he was hit by a car while taking a walk.  He died on Aug 13, and Grandma died on September 6, 1935, just 3 days after her daughter-in-law died.

Printed in the Richmond Palledium Item on  Sep 7, 1935.

Her funeral was held at the home of her daughter, Martha Hoover Solomon.  Above is a copy of her obituary from the Richmond Palladium Item.

She is buried at Chester Cemetery alongside many family members.