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Laura Dayton Fessenden

American author (1852-1924)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ55999005
Source-derived summary

Laura Dayton Fessenden (née, Dayton; December 29, 1852 – May 11, 1924) was an American author of romances and other books between 1878 and 1923. She was a contributor to magazines and a writer of songs. She was the founder of the Highland Park Woman's Club. Before marriage, she wrote as Laura C. S. Dayton.

Early life and education

Laura Canfield Spencer Dayton was born in Manhattan, New York City, December 29, 1852. Her parents were Abram Child Dayton (author of Last Days of Knickerbocker Life in New York) and Maria Annis (Tomlinson) Dayton. Her brother, Charles Willoughby Dayton, was Justice of the New York Supreme Court. She also grew up with two other brothers, William Adams Dayton and Harold Child Dayton. There were four siblings who died at birth (or in babyhood), Maria Annis Dayton, John Canfield Dayton, Theodore Edwin Dayton, and Cornelia Blow Dayton. Her ancestors came to the United States in the Mayflower.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Laura Dayton Fessenden” as american author (1852-1924). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Laura, Dayton and Fessenden.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1852, 1924, 1878, 1923—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1852-12-29. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Laura, Dayton and Fessenden providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Laura Dayton Fessenden”, the useful work is to connect “american author (1852-1924)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55999005. VIAF identifies the subject as 38434794. The Library of Congress control number is n87822379. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1852, 1924, 1878 and 1923.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Laura Dayton Fessenden”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Laura Dayton Fessenden primary sources, Laura Dayton Fessenden archive and Laura research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Laura Dayton Fessenden”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Laura Dayton Fessenden” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.