The untold story of Isaac Hockenhull and Mahalia Jackson's 5-year marriage
Isaac Hockenhull was Mahalia Jackson's first husband in the 1930s during the Great Depression. He was an American chemist-turned postman. Their short-lived marriage was affected by Hockenhull's insistence that the Gospel star switch to secular music, coupled with his addiction to racehorse betting.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Mahalia Jackson and Isaac Hockenhull were married from 1936 to 1941, but did not welcome any children together.
- Hockenhull had a betting problem and would squander Mahalia Jackson's money.
- Isaac was not supportive of Mahalia's Gospel singing career and tried to convince her to switch to the more lucrative secular music.
Isaac Hockenhull's profile summary
Full name | Isaac Lane Grey 'Ike' Hockenhull |
Date of birth | November 15, 1901 |
Place of birth | Como, Panola County, Mississippi, United States |
Date of death | July 15, 1973 |
Place of death | Harvey, Cook County, Illinois, United States |
Age at death | 71 years old |
Resting place | Washington Memory Gardens in Homewood, Illinois |
Wife | Mahalia Jackson (1936 to 1941) |
Parents | Robert Hockenhull, Martha Ella Hockenhull |
Mahalia's first husband, Isaac Hockenhull, was from Mississippi
Isaac Hockenhull was born on November 15, 1901, in Como, Panola, Mississippi, to Robert and Martha Ella Hockenhull. He was ten years older than Mahalia Jackson, who was born on October 26, 1911.
Mahalia Jackson married Hockenhull during the Great Depression
The Move On Up a Little Higher hitmaker met Isaac Hockenhull in 1935. They dated for about a year before tying the knot in 1936 at the height of the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to 1939.
Hockenhull was a trained chemist, but he worked as a postman. During his marriage to Mahalia Jackson, they made homemade hair and skincare products using formulas provided by his mother. They sold them door to door, and Mahalia would pack some of them in jars and sell them when she travelled.
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Hockenhull pushed Mahalia to do secular music
Mahalia Jackson and Isaac's marriage faced periods of financial difficulty, especially after Hockenhull lost his employment. The legendary Gospel singer received secular singing opportunities, but she turned them down, to the dismay of her husband.
Jackson nearly gave in to the pressure and auditioned for a secular jazz retelling of The Swing Mikado. She got the part but turned it down after learning that Isaac had secured employment.
Mahalia had vowed earlier on never to do secular music, and she never did until her death. She refused to work with legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong and jazz pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines. Her stance earned her the moniker Queen of Gospel, and she is credited with popularising gospel blues in Black churches across the United States.
Isaac Hockenhull had an impulsive betting problem
Hockenhull struggled with betting addiction on racehorses and would recklessly spend Mahalia's money when her Gospel singing career started picking up. The Walk in Jerusalem hitmaker tried to help him, but he would get loans when she was away touring.
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Hockenhull and Mahalia Jackson had an amicable divorce
Isaac and Mahalia's troubled marriage ended in 1941 after five years without public drama. The Gospel singer would later find love again. She married her second husband, Minters Sigmond Galloway, a contracting concern salesman, in 1964.
Jackson's marriage to Galloway turned out to be worse than her first. They divorced three years later because Minters was abusive and he failed to be reliable when her health was declining.
What happened to Isaac Hockenhull?
Mahalia Jackson's ex-husband lived his later life out of the spotlight. He passed away in July 1973 in Harvey, Cook County, Illinois, at the age of 71. Hockenhull was laid to rest at the Washington Memory Gardens in Illinois, per his Find a Grave profile.
Ms Jackson passed away over a year earlier on January 27, 1972, at the age of 60. The Gospel icon was laid to rest at Providence Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Metairie, Louisiana. Her tombstone has the inscription "The World's Greatest Gospel Singer."
Source: Getty Images
Mahalia Jackson could not have children
Ms Jackson did not have any kids from her two marriages. She struggled with uterine fibroids and sarcoidosis. The treatment was a full hysterectomy, which entails the removal of the uterus. A lot happened to Mahalia Jackson during her lifetime, but she kept this personal struggle hidden.
It was highlighted in the 2021 biopic Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia. Actress and co-executive producer Danielle Brooks stated in her 2021 interview with theGrio that the inclusion of Jackson's struggle with fertility was a deliberate choice for the Lifetime movie to explore the human parts of her.
Source: Getty Images
Conclusion
Isaac Hockenhull was a small but significant part of Mahalia Jackson's legendary life that is still being celebrated today. While Isaac's life faded from the spotlight, the singer helped shape the Golden Age of Gospel in the 1940s and the 1950s and the Civil Rights Movement during the Jim Crow Era.
READ MORE: The story of John Tubman
Briefly.co.za highlighted facts about Harriet Tubman's first husband, John Tubman. The couple met in the early 1840s on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, where Harriet's family was working as slaves.
John and Harriet wed in 1844, but their marriage ended after five years. John, who had been born free, did not share Harriet's vision to escape slavery.
Source: Briefly News
