Edith H (Goodall) Wilson (1896 - 1981)

Born 2 Sep 1896 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 31 Mar 1981 at age 84 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Edith (Goodall) Wilson is Notable.

in the 1920s through the 1940s, Edith Wilson was an internationally acclaimed American cabaret, jazz and blues singer, a radio, television, stage and film actor, and a vaudeville performer. She also portrayed the Aunt Jemima brand character from 1948 to 1966.^[1]

The daughter of Susan Jones (abt.1882-) and William Hundley Goodall (abt.1865-abt.1943), Edith was counted on the 1900 census at age four in the household of her widowed grandfather, Charles Jones, along with her twenty-year-old mother, Susie Goodall, two-year-old brother, Miles, and several aunts and uncles in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States.^[2] By 1910, Edith, age thirteen, was living with her mother, Susie A Goodall, still in Louisville, Kentucky. Miles was eleven, and their mother Susie was divorced. Three aunts and two uncles were among those listed in the home, but her grandfather was not.^[3]

She began her professional career in Louisville in 1919, and soon met performers Lena Wilson and her brother Danny.^[4] She married pianist and vaudeville performer Danny Wilson in 1921, and shortly after their marriage she joined his and his sister Lena's vaudeville act.^[5] She was married to Danny until his death in New York in 1928.^[6]

She continued to work on stage and in clubs in New York and London, and in the thirties and forties worked extensively in television, radio, and film. She toured with the USO during World War II.^[5]

In 1947 she married Milliard Wilson, and remained married to him until her death in 1981.^[5]

Edith apparently had at least one child, but with which husband is unknown. Her grandson donated her papers to Bennett Johnson, who in turn donated them to the Chicago Public Library in 1996. "At his Path Press office, he received the papers as a gift from Wilson’s grandson, with the hope that they might assist someone in writing a book about Edith Wilson."^[5] No other clue to her progeny has yet been found.

Edith died at age 84 on 30 March 1981 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.^[7][8] Burial was in the Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South, in Glenwood, Cook County, Illinois.^[9][10]

Research Notes

The 1920 census and all her ship records have her birth location as Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Edith Wilson (singer)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edith_Wilson_(singer)&oldid=1121154896 (accessed April 24, 2023). Permalink: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Wilson_(singer)
2. ↑ 1900 Census: "United States Census, 1900"
   citing Affiliate Publication Number: T623; Line: 79; FHL microfilm: 1240531; Record number: 33132;
   FamilySearch Record: M94P-2B9 (accessed 1 September 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DZP9-Z2Y Image number 00678
   Edith Goodal (4), single daughter, in household of Chas Jones (54) in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States.
3. ↑ 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910"
   citing enumeration district (ED) ED 186, sheet 6A, family 158, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 486; FHL microfilm 1,374,499.
   FamilySearch Record: M2DR-P1Q (accessed 31 August 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9RV4-99DW Image number 01275
   Edith Goodall (13), single daughter, in household of Susie A Goodall (28) in Louisville Ward 11, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States. Born in Kentucky.
4. ↑ Biography: Frank Powers, "Edith Wilson Biography"
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Edith Wilson Papers, Biographical Note, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Chicago Public Library, Chipublib.org. 2022. https://www.chipublib.org/fa-edith-wilson-papers/.
6. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W1C-BPD : 3 June 2020), Edith Wilson, wife, in entry for Daniel Lawrence Wilson, 1928.
7. ↑ Death: "United States Social Security Death Index"
   citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
   FamilySearch Record: V95W-7NG (accessed 31 August 2022)
   Edith Wilson death Mar 1981 (age 85) in Cook, Illinois.
8. ↑ Death: "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998"
   citing Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference , record number , Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
   FamilySearch Record: Q2MJ-LVZ5 (accessed 31 August 2022)
   Edith H Wilson death 30 Mar 1981 (age 84), daughter of Hundley Goodall & Susan Jones, in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6668809/edith-wilson: accessed 31 August 2022), memorial page for Edith Wilson (2 Sep 1896–30 Mar 1981), Find A Grave: Memorial #6668809, citing Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South, Glenwood, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
10. ↑ Obituary: "U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current"
    The Miami Herald; Publication Date: 3 Apr 1981; Publication Place: Miami, Florida, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/629160974/?article=11938ec6-d4b7-4f60-8312-6cb935c190d3&focus=0.021000596,0.45176235,0.3686374,0.6950533&xid=3355
    Ancestry Record 61843 #802952745 (accessed 4 September 2022)
    Name: Edith Wilson; Gender: Female; Death Age: 86; Birth Date: abt 1895; Residence Place: Chicago; Death Date: Abt 1981; Obituary Date: 3 Apr 1981; Obituary Place: Miami, Florida, USA; Newspaper Title: The Miami Herald; Spouse: Millard; Siblings: Grace Harrison Maddie Goodall.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q517273, en:Wikipedia
• Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
  Year: 1923; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 29; Page Number: 84
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #4028174443 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith H Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital status: Married; Age: 27; Birth Date: 2 Sep 1896; Birth Place: Jeffersville, Indiana; Departure Port: Southampton; Arrival Date: 28 Sep 1923; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: Aquitania.
• 1925 Census: "New York, U.S., State Census, 1925"
  New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 24; Assembly District: 19; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 23; Line Number: 36
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2704 #17630681 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Edith Wilson (28) wife in New York, New York. Born in USA.
• Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
  Year: 1926; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 28; Page Number: 36
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2002392497 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital status: Married; Age: 28; Birth Date: 2 Sep 1896; Birth Place: Jeffersonville, Indiana; Departure Port: Cherbourg,France; Arrival Date: 7 Jun 1926; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: Leviathan.
• Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
  Year: 1927; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 29; Page Number: 111
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2039823554 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith H Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital status: Married; Age: 30; Birth Date: 2 Sep 1896; Birth Place: Jeffersonville, Indiana; Departure Port: Southampton; Arrival Date: 31 May 1927; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: Majestic. (name crossed off--not on board)
• Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
  Year: 1927; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 23; Page Number: 159
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2000378224 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith H Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital Status: Married; Age: 30; Birth Date: 9 Feb 1896; Birth Place: Jeffersonville, Ind.; Departure Port: Southampton, England; Arrival Date: 3 Jun 1927; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: Berengaria. (traveling with her sister-in-law Lena)
• Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
  Year: 1931; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 13; Page Number: 211
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2014545946 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith H Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital status: Widow; Age: 35; Birth Date: 2 Sep 1896; Birth Place: Jeffersonville, Indiana; Departure Port: Cherbourg,France; Arrival Date: 22 Dec 1931; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: Bremen.
• Passenger List: "Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963"
  The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943; NAI Number: T843; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number: 405
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8745 #3041144 (accessed 25 October 2022)
  Name: Edith Wilson; Gender: Female; Marital Status: Married; Arrival Age: 38; Birth Date: abt 1897; Birth Place: Jeffersonville, Indiana; Departure Place: Liverpool, England; Arrival Date: 20 May 1935; Arrival Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Ship: Laconia.
• Brother's Death: "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVRN-WDHB : 16 March 2018), Edith Wilson in entry for Miles Lloyd Goodall, 26 Dec 1957; citing Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference, record number, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm.