Harriet Louise (Snyder) Nelson (1909 - 1994)

Born 18 Jul 1909 in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Leroy Gerard Sedley — married 19 Aug 1930 in Onondaga, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 2 Oct 1994 at age 85 in Laguna Beach, Orange, California, United States

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Biography

Harriet (Snyder) Nelson is Notable.

Harriet Nelson was born Peggy Snyder 18 July 1909 to Hazel Dell (née McNutt) and Roy Hilliard Snyder. She was involved in Vaudeville from the age of three, and she made her Broadway debut in her teens.

In 1910 Harriet's family lived in Topeka Ward 3, Shawnee, Kansas, United States under the surname of Hilliard.^[1]

Roy E Hilliard Head male 30 Ohio

Hazel D Hilliard Wife female 21 Iowa

Harriett L Hilliard Daughter female 0 (infant) Iowa

Harriet started smoking at age 13.

Harriet's first marriage was 19 August 1930 in Onondaga, New York, to comedian Leroy Gerard Sedley (1901–1989). They were divorced after a short time.

In 1932 Harriet was performing in vaudeville when she met Ozzie Nelson, a band leader. Ozzie hired Harriet under the name Harriet Hillard. Harriet became very popular as a singer with the band during World War II.

Harriet married Ozzie Nelson in October 1935.^[2] They had two sons, David Oswald Nelson 91936–2011) and Eric "Rick" Hilliard Nelson (1940–1985).

In the 1940's Ozzie was looking for a way to spend more time with his family, which led to the creation of the television series, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", in which the family played themselves.

In 1978, Harriet moved full time into a house in Leguna Beach, California, that the family had built.

Harriet died of congestive heart failure 2 October 1994. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California, alongside her husband Ozzie and her younger son. Ricky. David Nelson is buried in Westwood Memorial Park's outdoor Garden of Serenity Columbarium in Los Angeles.

Research Notes

The documents attached and indexed list her birth name as Harriet Louise Snyder. Peggy Louise Snyder appears on many websites as her birth name, but a document has not been cited or attached for this name. Peggy is a nickname for Margaret; no document is attached for a Margaret Louis Snyder. As evidenced by the early Census record, her father dropped the surname of Snyder and used his middle name, Hilliard, as the family's surname (1910). Later records list her birth name as Harriet Louise Snyder, indicating that she reported her original birth name as such.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2ZF-YFC : accessed 13 Dec 2019), Harriett L Hilliard in household of Roy E Hilliard, Topeka Ward 3, Shawnee, Kansas, USA; citing ed#163, sheet 4B, family 95, NARA#T624; roll 457; FHL#1,374,470.
2. ↑ "New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPW5-21RB : 21 August 2019), Harriet Snyder and Oswald Nelson, 1935; records extracted Reclaim the Records, images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Marriage, New Jersey, United States, citing New Jersey Bride Index, 1930-1938, Reclaim the Records, Mill Valley, CA.

• Wikidata: Item Q1266200, en:Wikipedia for Harriet Nelson

• Benoit, Tod (2009). Where are they buried? How did they Die? Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57912-822-7.

• Find-A-Grave Virtual Cemetery memorial #1834 in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Plot: Revelation, Lot 35400

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kitty Smith for contributions to this profile.