Rev John Martin Oakey Jr.

  General Notes:

The 1880 Federal Census for Salem, Roanoke Co., VA records John M. Oakey (8) living with his parents John M. (40 - VA/England/VA) and Emma (33 - VA/VA/VA) Oakey and siblings Robert (13), William (11), Charlton (10), Samuel (6), Ann (4), Emma (2), and Henry (2 months). Also in the household is John Sr.'s brother-in-law, John Woolwine (19). John Sr. is a Cabinet Maker and John Woolwine is an Assistant Cabinet Maker.

The 1900 Federal Census for Salem, Roanoke Co., VA records John M. Oakey Jr. (Feb 1872) living with his parents John M. (Feb 1839 - VA/VA/VA) and Fannie (June 1852 - VA/VA/VA) Oakey and siblings Robert W. (Oct 1866), Henry A. (April 1880), Clarence M. (June 1882), Clifford G. (Dec 1884), Mary B. (Jan 1889), Frank G. (Aug 1890), Hugh W. (Aug 1892), and Paul D. (March 1895) living at 591 Burwell Street. John and Fannie have been married for 13 years while John indicates he has actually been married for 35 years. John and Fannie have had 4 children all of whom are still living. John Sr. is employed as an Undertaker, John Jr. is an Evangelist, Robert is employed in Hardware, and Henry as an Undertaker.

The 1910 Federal Census for Danville, VA records John M. (38 - VA/VA/VA) and Sallie (49 - VA/VA/VA) Oakey living at 535 West Main Street. John is a Minister - Evangelist and has been married to Sallie for 9 years.

The 1920 Federal Census for Danville, VA records John M. (48 - VA/VA/VA) and Sallie (58 - VA/VA/VA) Oakey living at 535 West Main Street. John is an Evangelist for the M. E. Church.

The 1930 Federal Census for Danville, VA records the widower John M. Oakey (58 - VA/VA/VA) living at 535 West Main Street. John is a Miniter for the Church.

By 1940 widower John M. Oakey has met and married Miss Emma M. Morison and moved to Lynchburg. See general notes on his wife, Emma Morrison, for 1940 census facts.

  Research Notes:

From http://www.oakeys.com/sitemaker/sites/Oakeys1/?page=history
A History of Oakey's Funeral Service & Crematory A scant year after the last shot of the Civil War had reverberated through the hills at Appomattox; and, just seventy miles from this historic site of General Lee's surrender, John M. Oakey, Virginian, founded in Roanoke County the business which is regarded as one of the foremost mortuaries in the entire South, if not the nation. It was in 1866, when the ill starred Andrew Jackson Johnson had succeeded the assassinated Lincoln in the White House that John Oakey opened his cabinet making and undertaking business in the town of Salem, then the largest trading area in the Roanoke County countryside. Young Oakey had been born in nearby Lynchburg in 1839. At the age of fifteen, he had moved with his parents to Salem, where he had become apprenticed to a cabinet maker. He completed his apprenticeship, but ill health compelled him to abandon his trade. Telegraphy in those days offered both opportunity and adventure. During the widening commercial traffic of the antebellum period, telegraphy was the major form of speedy communication. The opportunity for lucrative employment as a telegrapher appealed to young Oakey. He enrolled as a student and soon became a full fledged operator. Young Oakey's career as a commercial telegrapher, however, was terminated by the advent of war between the North and the South. As a Virginian, his allegiance was naturally to his southern homeland, and he enlisted as a telegrapher with the Confederate forces. Subsequently, he was transferred to Dublin (in Pulaski County, Virginia), where he was placed in charge of the telegraph lines leading to the headquarters of the Confederate forces in southwestern Virginia.

1866 With cessation of hostilities in 1865, John Oakey, then in his twenties, married Emma L. Woolwine (of Dublin, Virginia) and the following year he founded the coffin and furniture making business in Salem. In those days, local coffin manufacturing was linked with funeral service performance, and John Oakey soon turned his talent and aptitude to the public service feature of his business. He possessed rare business acumen and a natural fitness for his chosen work. These qualities no doubt were to serve him steadfastly through the years that followed. No doubt they accounted largely for his victory over the early hardships and for the subsequent expansion of his enterprise. The chances are, however, that Founder Oakey never envisioned in those early years the present day size and scope of the business he initiated on Old Main Street, Salem, back in 1866. The business in Salem grew steadily with the years, and in 1882, a branch establishment opened in Roanoke under the name of Oakey & Woolwine. A brother-in-law, C.W.C. Woolwine, who died in 1901, was placed in charge of the new venture. Subsequently, the branch was moved to larger quarters and again in 1891, erected one of the first buildings in the 100 block of West Campbell Avenue. This site saw many improvements and enlargements through the years. The three-story, red-brick structure with its art glass front and huge, cascading fern inside, was a familiar site. The words, "Funeral Directors" is still seen near the roof.

1914 It is interesting here to note Founder Oakey's eagerness to adopt improvements in service, features or merchandise as they developed over the years. He was said to have been one of the first funeral directors in the South to introduce metal caskets. The second motor ambulance in the South was purchased by the firm in 1910 (the same year the business was incorporated), and was the twenty-fifth such vehicle built by the Cunningham company. In 1914, the firm motorized it's equipment, but for a time it was necessary to retain a horse-drawn hearse for those families who had not yet become accustomed to automobiles. Stables were located in a two-story brick building across Kirk Avenue (behind the funeral home) and later were converted into a large garage. Directly behind the parlor in 1911, was erected the city's first funeral chapel - a small church noted for the Gothic archways on the north side of Kirk Avenue. In January of 1921, Founder Oakey's friends and colleagues in the profession were saddened to learn of his death at the age of eighty-two. Thus ended an outstanding career, marked by a steadfast devotion to professional competence and advancement. Mr. Oakey had been one of the best known members of the profession in the Southland. For two years he had served as president of Virginia's state association and for a period of ten years, he was a member of the State Board of Embalmers. In appreciation of his character, the local press said: "Doubtless, it will be a long time before the people of Roanoke forget the almost daily ceremony in which Mr. Oakey played the part of Santa Claus in the stores of our city. The gifts this Santa Claus gave were flowers grown in his own garden, some of them by his own hand. Once in a while the appreciative girls would say: "Oh, but Mr. Oakey, you must let us pay something for them," to which the usual answer was "All right, if you insist on paying, you must do it with a kiss." And sometimes they accepted. Certainly, at the end, there must have been gratification in his heart of the founder when he realized that the success of his long service to his community would be safe in the hands of his sons, grandson, great grandsons, etc.

1921 Robert W. Oakey, son of the founder, succeeded to the presidency of John M. Oakey, Inc. upon the death of his father in 1921. William Oakey, a second son, became vice-president. Upon the death of Robert, Samuel G. Oakey, a third son, took over the management of the business and was president and treasurer. Henry A. Oakey, a fourth son, was vice-president, and Clarence M. Oakey, a fifth son, was secretary. Probably the greatest civic contribution performed by the Oakeys over the years was support of the pioneer Roanoke Life Saving Crew, to which it donated equipment, garage and living space, and even personnel under the regimes of Samuel and Henry. Samuel helped Julian H. Wise organize it and served as president. For decades, Oakey's operated ambulances, an unprofitable venture, as a public service.

1937 In 1937, the funeral home-made its final move in downtown Roanoke, constructing a $150,000 location at 318 West.Church Avenue. A crowd of 16,000 attended the opening ceremonies during the first week of March, 1938. The Oakey mortuary on church Avenue is a fitting memorial to the founder and his principles. It is a memorial to him and dedicated to the service of the people. The structure, with connecting office quarters, represented a new era in funeral service. Its architectural design, room arrangement, and equipment are the result of a careful study of the needs of the business and the community served. The thought of a new home naturally had been considered for some years. Samuel G. Oakey, in his travels about the country, for years had availed himself of leaders and pioneers in the profession. With the advent of chapel funerals (as opposed to funerals at a family's home), the chapel at the new Church Avenue location was designed to seat 200, with overflow allowing double that number. Directly over the chapel, a spacious casket selection room contains thirty units. Upon the death of Samuel Oakey in 1942, Clarence Oakey served as president until 1943. Henry Oakey next served as president until his passing in 1963. At that point, Crawford Oakey assumed to the top office in the company. Within two years, Minor Oakey was elected as vice president of the corporation.

John married Emma M. Morrison, daughter of Henry Clay Morrison and Sallie A. Hines, circa 1931. (Emma M. Morrison was born on 8 Jan 1891 in Pittsylvania Co, VA and died on 3 Feb 1978 in Roanoke City, VA.)

John next married Sallie W. Rison circa 1901 in Danville, VA. (Sallie W. Rison was born in Jul 1859, died on 12 Sep 1929 in Danville, VA and was buried on 14 Sep 1929 in Green Hill Cemetery, 700 Block Lee St., Danville, VA..)