Victoria Hammon

Victoria was the wife of John E. Hammon. Hammon met her while stationed at nearby Fort Meade, serving in the 7th US Cavalry. He was a veteran and survivor of the 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn. 

Victoria was born Victoria Patterson on September 20, 1860 in Ohio. She and John Hammon were married in 1881 and ranched east of Fort Meade. Together they had eight children: Emma, Harry, Earl, Agnes, Hope, Mary, Lillian and Victoria. Emma and Harry, their first two children, died as infants and are buried in the Fort Meade National Cemetery, Sturgis, South Dakota.

Victoria died on Monday, January 25, 1937, in Sturgis. She was buried in Bear Butte Cemetery at the end of Sherman Street in Sturgis. She was buried next to her husband, John, who had passed in 1909.

Victoria Hammon Obituary; Sturgis Weekly Record; January 28, 1937

I apologize for the quality of the newspaper clipping. The text of the obituary reads as follows:

Mrs. Victoria Hammon Dies Following Long Illness

Funeral services for Mrs. Victoria Hammon, who passed away Monday evening

at 7:30, following a long illness, at her home on Cedar street, were held from the

Anderson & Son funeral chapel, yesterday at 3:30, conducted by Rev. Carroll D.

Erskine of the Presbyterian church. There was a large attendance of old time

friends and neighbors from Sturgis and surrounding community. There was a

profusion of floral tributes. Interment was made in Bear Butte cemetery, beside

the grave of her husband. The pallbearers were five grandsons - Earl Ford, Harry

Zeidner, William Ford, Jack Gronert and Donald Williams and a close friend of

the family, Carl Boehnlein.

Mrs. Hammon had been ill for a number of years and following an operation

about three years ago suffered greatly, all of which she endured bravely and with

rare fortitude. During her long illness she was tenderly cared for by her devoted

family, who did everything possible to make her comfortable and happy.

Victoria Patterson was born on September 20, 1860 at Lynchberg, Ohio. She was

married to John Edward Hammon, December 10, 1881, at Morrow, Ohio. They

immediately came to Fort Meade and Sturgis. They also lived for a few years on

a ranch east of Fort Meade. Mr. Hammon died January 20, 1909.

Mrs. Hammon is survived by one son, Earl E. Hammon, Custer State Park; five

daughters, Mrs. Mitchell Turner, San Antonio, Texas; Mrs. Mary Zeidner, Mrs.

Elmer Williams, Mrs. Lillian Schlegel, Sturgis,and Mrs. Edward Gronert, Rapid

City and twelve grandchildren. She also leaves a brother, Wm. Patterson,

Lynchburgh, Ohio; three sisters, Mrs. F.M. Smith, Waynesville, Mrs. Agnes

Weeks, Dayton, Ohio and Mrs. Ira Weeks, Springfield, Ohio, a number of nieces

and nephews. Mrs. Hammon was a member of the Rebekah and Degree of

Honor lodges.

Mrs. Hammon was a devoted wife and mother and a firm friend. Quiet and

unassuming but also possessed of a keen sense of humor and of justice, she did

her share toward making the world a better place in which to live. The love she

gave, the service she rendered, the friendships she proved, continues to abide in

many hearts and memories.

On February 4, 1937, the following Card of Thanks appeared in the Sturgis Weekly Record:

Hammon Card of Thanks; Sturgis Weekly Record; February 4, 1937

Hammon grave at Bear Butte Cemetery, Sturgis, South Dakota.

JOHN HAMMON PAGE

Camp J.G. Sturgis Historical Marker Dedication

 In July 1955, a group of descendants of 7th Cavalry troopers, along with some others, met at the site of the former Camp J.G. Sturgis, to dedicate a historical marker along the new Highway 79. The relocation of the highway made accessibility to the site easier than it had been previously.

Camp J.G. Sturgis was established July 1, 1878, in the shadow of Bear Butte. It was named for Lieutenant Jack Sturgis, who was killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876. His body was never identified.

A marker was erected in 1955 to commemorate the site. Descendants of Little Big Horn veterans gathered at the site of the marker on July 28, 1955.

Three daughters of trooper John Hammon were in attendance, as well as the son of trooper Benjamin Wells. 

Both Hammon and Wells were members of Company G and were assigned to Major Reno. Hammon survived the battle and went on to become a well-known and respected resident of Sturgis. He died in 1909 and is buried in Bear Butte Cemetery. Benjamin Wells was killed in the valley fight at the Little Big Horn. It is presumed that his remains are buried in the mass grave atop Last Stand Hill at the battlefield.

Rapid City Journal, Friday, July 29, 1955

The site as it looks today.

The text on the historical marker for Camp J.G. Sturgis.

The marker for Camp J.G. Sturgis is located at 44° 29.319′ N, 103° 26.844′ W. It is on the east side of Highway 79, just north of Sturgis, South Dakota.