Laura Virginia (Gibson) Wylie, 1874-1953

LAURA VIRGINIA (GIBSON) WYLIE was probably born on 17 January 1874, likely in Philadelphia, but definitely in Pennsylvania, to parents Edward Gibson and Elizabeth (Wray) Gibson. This information was arrived at via the proof summaries below.

 
Supporting Conclusion #1: Laura Virginia Gibson was born on 17 January 1874

There is no birth certificate available, as Philadelphia did not have birth registrations until 1893.[1] All records found with a birth date or age are provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Based on the available documents listed in Table 1, Laura could have been born any time between 1872 and 1878. A deeper look at the 1878 baptism document (where five children of Edward and Elizabeth Gibson were baptized) and 1880 census information (the oldest available census with the children) is shown in Table 2 - this will help to narrow down Laura’s birth year.

Table 2

In both lists, it appears that the children are listed in birth order. John Wesley’s birth date of March 1871 in the baptism document agrees with his June 1880 age of 9, which he had just turned. Similar for Edward, with birth date of April 1875 he had just turned 5 in June 1880. Mary Anna born in October 1877 per the baptism document had not yet had her third birthday when the June 1880 census was taken, so an age of 2 was appropriate. The only questionable one is Laura – she would have turned 6 in January 1880, but was listed as 7 in June 1880. It is possible that her age was rounded up in the census. However, it is clear that she was NOT born in January 1875 or anytime later than that, based on the birth years of her siblings, and that it is highly likely that the baptism document was accurate as to birth dates.

CONCLUSION: Laura Virginia Gibson’s birth date was 17 January 1874.

Supporting Conclusion #2: Laura Virginia Gibson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Laura and her siblings were all baptized in 1878 at the Trinity Lutheran Church on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia. In 1880 the family lived on Moore Street in Philadelphia, and Laura continued to live in Philadelphia until sometime after 1920. All census documents show Laura’s birth place of Pennsylvania, with the 1920 census specifically noting Philadelphia. Her parents continued to live in Philadelphia until their deaths. The family had significant ties to Philadelphia, with no documents indicating another location that she would have been born.

CONCLUSION: Laura Virginia Gibson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Supporting Conclusion #3: Laura Virginia Gibson’s parents were Edward and Elizabeth (Wray) Gibson

Only three documents exist that link Laura and her parents name(s), only one of which has her mother’s maiden name as “Ray.” The 1878 baptism document states parents were “Edward and Elizabeth Gibson.” In the 1880 census, Laura is the daughter of Edward Gibson and wife Elizabeth Gibson. The 1895 marriage return provides Laura’s mother’s maiden name as ‘Ray,’ without providing her first name. Finally, in Laura’s death certificate, only her father Edward Gibson is listed; mother is listed as “unknown.”

However, there are additional documents that provide her mother’s maiden name, specifically those in Table 3.

Table 3

CONCLUSION: Laura Virginia Gibson’s parents were Edward Gibson and Elizabeth (Wray) Gibson.

Laura was married to Ulysses Grant Wylie in Camden, New Jersey, on 27 November 1895 at the age of 21.[2] Children soon came along, with Russell Grant on 19 September 1896 and Wayne John on 28 March 1899.[3] The family continued to live in Philadelphia while Laura raised the two boys, until she started working at her husband’s hardware store sometime before 1920.[4] By 1930 the family had moved to the suburbs, purchasing a home at 200 Trites Avenue, Norwood, Pennsylvania, where Laura continued to live until her death. Her son Wayne and daughter-in-law Elsie also lived with her.[5]

Ulysses Grant Wylie and Laura Virginia (Gibson) Wylie, c. 1940s

Laura died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Presbyterian Hospital at the age of 79 on 23 March 1953. She is interred in the mausoleum at Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania.[6]

Mausoleum marker, Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania; note that based on previous discussion, her birth year is incorrect (should be 1874)

[1] Kay Haviland Freilich, NGS Research in the States Series: Pennsylvania (Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, 2016), p.46.


[2] State of New Jersey, marriage return, W-80, Grant Wylie and Laura Gibson, 1895; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.


[3] 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.


[4] For Philadelphia residence, see 1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 1007, Grant Wylie household. See also 1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 0598, Grant Wylie household. For 1920 occupation, see 1920 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 1500, U. Grant Wylie household.


[5] 1930 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Norwood, ED 23-106, Ulysses G Wylie household. See also 1940 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Norwood, ED 23-131, Hugh [sic] Grant Wylie household. See also 1950 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Norwood, ED 23-187, Wayne Wylie household.


[6] Pennsylvania, death certificate no. 29378 (1953), Laura Wylie. Laura’s ‘usual residence’ on the death certificate is 200 Trites Avenue, Norwood, Pennsylvania.