Laura Ann Burgess (maiden name: Hall) was born around 1833, possibly in New Jersey, to Silas and Laura Hall. Her father was a farmer who owned $500 of real estate by 1850. The family moved to Ridott, Illinois, sometime before 1850. She married David Runyon Burgess, and they had at least two children: Charles, born around 1857; and Clarence, born around 1858.
They moved to Eden, Iowa, in the 1850s, and her husband worked as a wagon maker. They may have returned to Ridott in the early 1860s. By 1874, they were living in Sacramento, California. They moved to Yolo, California, around 1875, and by 1886, they were living in San Diego, California. Her husband died on March 17, 1894. She applied for a widow’s pension in January 1895 and eventually secured one. She settled in San Bernardino, California, and she died there on October 20, 1915.