Re: Vern and Edith Bennett, Pennsylvania

You didn't say where in Pennsylvania they lived, however...

The 1930 census shows Edith Bennett 11 as the granddaughter of John 66 and Lettie 65 Armstrong living in Scranton, PA.

The 1920 census shows Vern Bennett 26, his wife Lida 25, daughters Gertrude 4 and Edith 1 3/12 living in Scranton.

I could not find anyone of the above family other than obviously Edith in the 1930 census.

The 1910 census shows Lettie 16 as the daughter of John & Lettie Armstrong. It shows John and Lettie were born in PA. His parents were born in Scotland, hers in South Carolina and Ohio. John and Lettie were married 25 years.

The 1900 census is confusing. It shows a John Armstrong of Scranton, born Feb 1873 in PA, parents born in Scotland; his wife Anna, born Jan 1865 in PA, her parents born in S. America and England; the same children as in 1910 (except Edward) but oddly lists their mother as born in Maryland and does not list anyone who could have been Lettie age 6. John and Annie were married 16 years. The enumerator may have skipped the two youngest children (Edward and Lettie).

There's a WWII draft card for a Vern Bennett living in Scranton who was born Jan 1, 1893. It's unusual to not to have the full name listed. He may or may not be the same Vern Bennett you are looking for.

Some of these records you can look at for free at labs.familysearch.org and Ancestry.com. For those you cannot see for free I suggest checking with your local libraries to see if they have Ancestry or Heritage Quest.

My guess is that Vern and Lettie were married, had two children and Lettie died by 1930. Edith was then raised by her grandparents.

I suggest trying to get Edith's birth certificate from the PA Div. of Vital Records. If you are a direct descendent you should be able to it. You could also look for Vern and Lettie's marriage record at the Lackawanna County Register of Wills Office in Scranton. Hopefully it will have info on their birth dates and parents' names. If I'm right and Lettie died in the 1920's there could also be a guardian record for Edith at the same office.

You could try the Genealogical Research Society of Northeast Pennsylvania in Olyphant, PA to see if they can help you, but more than likely you are better off trying the above first.