Arthur Stanley Gilbert

Contractor-Operation, 1920; Cabinet Maker-Furniture Factory, 1930

Married 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Mary C Davis
Daughter of James G Davis and Mary LeCount Booth
Born ca. Sep 1897 in [Philadelphia], Pennsylvania

To them was born:

Married ca. 1927 in [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] to Helen Irene Chase
Born 26 Jun 1900 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died Jul 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

To them were born:

Notes

• Arthur's age in the census records: in 1900, age 3 (b. Feb 1897); in 1910, age 12; in 1920, age 23; in 1930. age 33.
• In 1930 Arthur owned a house valued at $7500.
• Obituary, Philadelphia Daily News, 16 Apr 1990:
  ARTHUR STANLEY GILBERT, ARTISAN
  Jim Nicholson, Daily News Staff Writer
    Services were to be held this morning for Arthur Stanley Gilbert, a retired supervisor of construction for the Curtis Publishing Co., who died Wednesday. He was 93 and lived in East Mount Airy.
    Gilbert was employed by Curtis for 42 years, retiring in 1962.
    The second-oldest of 12 children, Gilbert possessed maturity and judgment valued by his family, and he became a counselor to his brothers and sisters. His father, Stanley Gilbert, was a musician of note in Philadelphia and had served as organist and choirmaster of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church.
    Once, in the 1920s when Stanley Gilbert was in the choir during an Academy of Music production of "Aida," he got his son a bit part. Arthur Gilbert liked to say in later years that he shared the stage with the great Enrico Caruso.
    Throughout his life, Gilbert was a devotee of opera and classical music. He also was a history buff, specializing in Philadelphia history. His son, Frank E. Gilbert, a senior trial assistant in the district attorney's office, said his father spoke of the Philadelphia he knew as a boy as being "a more relaxed time with fewer pressures and clean streets, where the people were more congenial and neighborly."
    Working at Curtis enabled Gilbert to bring home a wide assortment of magazines and periodicals. His son said Arthur Gilbert was a devoted family man who constantly challenged his children to improve themselves. His two daughters, Neva E. Scott and Jane G. Williams, are both retired from the Philadelphia public schools as administrative assistants to principals.
    Gilbert also steered his children toward music. His son took cello lessons, Neva learned the piano, and Jane majored in music at Chestnut Hill College.
    Reared on Parrish Street near 15th, Gilbert graduated from Central High School and the Spring Garden Institute. He went to France during World War I, taking part in several campaigns, including St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers and was discharged with the rank of sergeant.
    While at Curtis, Gilbert met artist Norman Rockwell on several occasions. It was Gilbert who was responsible for framing for exhibition the paintings by Rockwell that were picked to be Saturday Evening Post covers.
    During his early working years, Gilbert also helped in construction of many homes in Lawnside, N.J. He was also a skilled cabinet and furniture maker.
    For many years, he enjoyed traveling through northern New England and the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada. Gilbert joined the Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s and was a member of St. Therese's Parish.
    He also was a member of the Olde Philadelphia Club and formerly belonged to the old Henpecked Club.
    His wife of 51 years, the former Helen Irene Chase, died in 1978. She had been a schoolteacher.
    In addition to his son and two daughters, Gilbert is survived by a brother, William Gilbert, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
    Mass of Christian Burial was to be celebrated at 11 a.m. today at St. Therese's Church, Upsal and Ardleigh streets. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham Avenue above Easton Road, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County.

Sources

• 1900 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 7, E.D. 120, Sheet No. 4A [=63], 59-74, 1017 Lombard St., 02 Jun 1900
• 1910 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 15, E.D. 217, Sheet No. 2A [=245], 29-31, 845 N. 15th St., 15 Apr 1910
• 1920 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 44, E.D. 1678, Sheet No. 2B [=138 verso], 44-46, 5115 Aspen St., 03 Jan 1920
• 1930 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 44, E.D. 490, Sheet No. 19B [=232 verso], 375-390, 5115 Aspen St., 10 Apr 1930
• SSDI 163-10-8796