Ulysses Grant Wylie, 1868-1949
ULYSSES GRANT WYLIE was born on 19 August 1868 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
to parents Robert D. Wylie and Rosella (Schadel) Wylie.[1] He
married Laura Virginia Gibson in Camden, New Jersey, on 27 November 1895, and died 19 July 1949 in
Norwood, Pennsylvania.[2]
Ulysses Grant went
by a number of different combinations of his name – “U. Grant,” “Ulysses G.,” and
“Grant” – depending on the document. His
father Robert had served on the Union side in the Civil War, and it is likely
that he named his first son after the leader of the Union Army in that
conflict.[3] He
grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, living in 1870 with his parents and
Schadel grandparents, then by 1880 with just his mother, grandparents and two
sisters after his father left the family.[4]
This picture
depicts Ulysses in ~1881 as a “roller skating champion” per the family. Roller skating was very popular in this time
period. According to the Gardner Digital
Library (https://gardnerlibrary.org/encylopedia/1880s-roller-skating-craze : viewed 31 May 2022):
“A roller
skating craze swept the county in the 1880s.
Opinions were divided on whether roller skating rinks provided the
public with ‘healthful amusement’ or were ‘pits of perdition’ as some preachers
claimed.”
On 27 November
1895, he married Laura Virginia Gibson, in Camden, New Jersey, while both of
them lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the time.[5] By
1900, they had already had both of their children, Russell Grant born 19
September 1895, and Wayne John born 28 March 1899.[6]
Ulysses was working as a clerk at a gas company at that time, and they
rented their home at 1224 Durfor Street in the South Philadelphia area.[7] By
1906, he had moved to 1608 McKean Street, just blocks away from his previous
home, but then sold it again just a year later.[8]
By 1910,
Ulysses had opened his own hardware store, living at 1514 Wolf Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife Laura and the two boys.[9] The
earliest known address of the store, 5506 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, is from
a 1918 advertisement in the newspaper for Lava-Var Floor Finish (“Dries Hard as
Lava”).[10] The
family lived above the store, and in addition to Ulysses, wife Laura and son
Wayne also worked at the store.[11] In
1922, a second address appears in an advertisement for a 50-cent coupon for
Johnson’s Floor Varnish – this store was located at 58th Street & Baltimore
Avenue in Philadelphia, about a mile away.[12] His
wife’s obituary of 1953 says that Ulysses was “proprietor of two hardware
stores operated under his name in West Philadelphia.”[13] It
is probable that he eventually had both of these stores operating at the same
time.
Ulysses Grant
Wylie and son Wayne working at the Hardware Store
Apparently,
Ulysses Grant Wylie was well known in the community. In 1920, on the occasion of his 52nd
birthday, the Philadelphia Inquirer posted “felicitations to well-known
businessman” Grant Wylie.[14]
In 1928,
Ulysses purchased a house and lot on Bartlett Avenue in Sharon Hill.[15] It
is not clear whether or not he moved into that house; in 1930 he was living in
the home that he would live in for the rest of his life. That house was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath twin house
at 200 Trites Avenue in Norwood, Pennsylvania. According to the 1930 census, he had changed
careers to become a coal salesman. [16] It
is probable that when he moved to the suburbs, he sold his hardware
businesses. He became prominent in
Norwood as he had previously done in Philadelphia – becoming a member of the
Norwood Board of Health, and a Borough Constable.[17]
Ulysses died of
coronary occlusion, or an obstruction of the artery that usually results in a
heart attack, on 17 July 1949 at home.
He is entombed in the mausoleum at Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon,
Pennsylvania.[18]
Mausoleum marker, Fernwood Cemetery,
Yeadon, Pennsylvania
[1] Pennsylvania Department of Health,
Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 60079 (1949), Ulysses Grant
Wylie; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;
image, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42410_2421406272_0868-00359 : viewed 8 Nov 2020),
image 359. See also 1870 U.S. census,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, district 46, ward
15, p. 179, dwelling 1080, family 1318, John Shaddel [sic] household;
NARA microfilm M593, roll 1400; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4278823_00183 : viewed 23 Nov
2020), image 165. For mother, see also 1880
U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia,
ward 15, enumeration district (ED) 275, p. 7, dwelling 2, family 2, Chas.
Schaedel [sic] household; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1175; image, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4244461-00482 : viewed 23 Nov
2020), image 1.
[2] For marriage, see State of New Jersey, marriage return, W-80, Grant Wylie and Laura
Gibson, 1895; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton. For death, see Pennsylvania Department of
Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 60079 (1949), Ulysses
Grant Wylie; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42410_2421406272_0868-00359
: viewed 8 Nov 2020), image 359.
[3] "United States National Homes for
Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1200/images/MIUSA1866_113747-00341 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 457, for
Robert Wylie; citing Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled
Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
record group 15, National Archives Microfilm Publication M1749, Dayton, W, page
8158.
[4] 1870 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, district
46, ward 15, John Schaddel [sic] household. 1880 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
ED 275, Chas. Schaedel [sic] household.
[5] City of Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, Index
Register of Marriages, 1895, no. 80, Grant Wylie and Laura Gibson; image,
FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q7-89G7-FPNB : viewed 22 April 2021).
[6] For Russell, see City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Return of Birth, Sept 1896, attended by Dr. J. G. Henrchelroth, M.D., line 2,
Russell Grant Wylie; Family History Library microfilm 2231153, "Births in
1896 attended by Ida E. Gaston-Leo N. Gortman;" FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89VK-S9MR-B : viewed 22 April 2021), image 445. For Wayne, see "United
States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," image, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005270443_04937
: viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 528, card for Wayne John Wylie, serial no. 4837,
Local Draft Board 41, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
[7] 1900
U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia,
ward 39, enumeration district (ED) 1007, sheet 1B, dwelling 30, family 30,
Grant Wylie household; NARA microfilm T623, roll 1480; image, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4115221_00340
: viewed 8 November 2020), image 2.
[8] For 1906 address see "Died," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania), 16 April 1906, p. 7, col. 1; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/168450047 : viewed 31 May 2022). For sale of property, see “Real Estate
Transfers,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 25
April 1907, p. 15, col. 5; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/168330735 : viewed 31 May 2022).
[9]
1910 U.S.
census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 26,
enumeration district (ED) 0598, sheet 7B, dwelling 158, family 160, Grant Wylie
household; NARA microfilm T624, roll 1401; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449315_00425 : viewed 8 November
2020), image 14.
[10] “These dealers sell Lava-Var Floor Finish,” The
Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1 November 1918, p.4,
col.2; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/170740114 : viewed 31 May 2022).
[11]
1920 U.S.
census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 40,
enumeration district (ED) 1500, sheet 4A, dwelling 112, family 112, U. Grant
Wylie household; NARA microfilm T625, roll 1642; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4384847_00076 : viewed 8 Nov 2020),
image 7.
[12] “Free!! 50c worth of Johnson’s Floor Varnish,” The
Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 6 October 1922, p. 10,
col. 5; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/170828325 : viewed 31 May 2022).
[13] "Mrs Laura V Wylie, Widow of
Hardware Man," Chester Times, 24 Mar 1953, page 27, col. 7; image,
Digital Archives of the Delaware County Library System (https://delawarecolib.newspaperarchive.com/chester-times/1953-03-24/page-47/ : viewed 24 Nov 2020).
[14] “Birthday Bulletin,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania), 19 August 1920, p. 3, col. 4; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/170683656 : viewed 31 May 2022).
[15] “Real Estate Transfers,” Delaware County Daily Times
(Chester, Pennsylvania), 15 May 1928, p. 7, col. 1; image, newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/5355306 : viewed 31 May 2022).
[16]
1930 U.S.
census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Norwood,
enumeration district (ED) 23-106, sheet 5B, dwelling 118, family 120, Ulysses G
Wylie household; NARA microfilm T626, roll 2032; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4639363_00296 : viewed 8 Nov 2020),
image 10. See also 1940 U.S. census,
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Norwood, enumeration
district (ED) 23-131, sheet 61B, dwelling 200, Hugh [sic] Grant
Wylie household; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3494; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03494-00376 : viewed 8 Nov 2020),
image 23. For house details, see Zillow
(https://www.zillow.com/homes/200-Trites-Ave-Norwood,-PA-19074_rb/9410432_zpid/ : viewed 31 May
2022).
[17] "Mrs Laura V Wylie, Widow of
Hardware Man," Chester Times, 24 Mar 1953. See also borough constable occupation in 1940
U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Norwood, Hugh [sic] Grant
Wylie household.
[18] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital
Statistics, death certificate no. 60079 (1949), Ulysses Grant Wylie;
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image,
Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42410_2421406272_0868-00359 : viewed 8 Nov 2020),
image 359.
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