Biography

Laura Maria Wolcott was born on August 14, 1811, the youngest child of Frederick and Betsey Huntington Wolcott. Laura attended the Litchfield Female Academy from 1822 to 1827.

On March 30, 1831, Laura married Robert Gozman Rankin of Fishkill, New York. They resided for some years in Newburgh, NY. Robert graduated from Yale in 1826 and attended the Litchfield Law School in 1827. He was a businessman, railroad engineer, and Regent of New York State University.

Laura was active in volunteer activities including her church's mission, raising funds to erect a fence around Washington's headquarters, collecting clothing and other items for soldiers during the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War.

By one account Laura and Robert had eleven children, by another thirteen, with ten surviving until adulthood. She died in 1887, at the age of seventy six.

Citation:

Author: Linda Hocking

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