Since Elvis' birth certificate indicated that he was born at "9 months" of pregnancy, or "full term," we can calculate an approximate date range for conception.
The way that the due date calculators work, is based upon when the woman's last menstrual cycle started (day one). Some places call that week 0 and others, week 1. I don't know if that refers to the start of a week, or completion of a week, so I just stuck to a due date calculator. I used the classic 28 days for a woman's menstrual cycle.
A typical pregnancy ends (birth of the baby) at 40 weeks which includes the woman's last menstrual cycle before she conceives. So in the first 1-2+ weeks of the 40-week pregnancy, she technically isn't pregnant yet. Somewhere in time somebody came up with a formula for determining due dates.
I checked also to see if 1934 (when the majority of Gladys' pregnancy was) and 1935 to make sure they weren't leap years. The due date calculator didn't go back to 1934-35, so I used 2022-23 as a template. 2022 and 2023 aren't leap years either. However, the pregnancy didn't pass through February, making the leap year a moot point. The due date of January 8, put the last menstrual cycle (beginning of pregnancy week counting) at early April, maybe April 3 (1934).
So, count forward 1-2 weeks from there, and Gladys might've conceived anywhere from April 10-17, 1934 maybe later, depending on if she really went to the classic 40 weeks full term. She and Vernon married on Saturday, June 17, 1933, so she had been married around 10 months when she conceived. Interestingly, Vernon's mother Minnie Mae Hood Presley's birthday was June 17th, 1890. (see https://www.familysearch.org). I wonder if Vernon picked June 17th on purpose? He and Gladys eloped on that day, and Vernon had to add a few years to his age in order to get married.
Sometimes conceptions occur when people are less busy, more festive, or more romantic, such as during vacations, holidays, birthdays, or other special events.
The special dates in April 1934 for the Presley family and their near relatives, were:
April 1, Sunday, Easter.
April 9, Monday, Vernon's father (Jessie Presley's) birthday.
April 10, Tuesday, Vernon's birthday.
April 19, Thursday, Gladys' brother Johnnie Lee Smith's birthday
April 25, Wednesday, Gladys' birthday.
Come to your own conclusions about when the conception maybe occurred!
I also find it interesting, that Elvis was born and died on a Tuesday. His father was born on a Monday but died on a Tuesday. Elvis married on a Monday. Hmmm.
April 10, 1916, Monday. Vernon born.
June 26, 1979, Tuesday, Vernon died.
January 8, 1935, Tuesday, Elvis born.
May 1, 1967, Monday, Elvis married.
August 16, 1977, Tuesday, Elvis died.
April 25, 1912, Thursday, Gladys born.
August 14, 1958, Thursday, Gladys died.
May 24, 1945, Thursday, Priscilla Anne Wagner (Beaulieu) born.
February 1, 1968, Thursday, Lisa Marie Presley born.
UPDATE: Lisa Marie died on January 12, 2023, which was a Thursday!!
In my own family, the pattern is Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Sometimes patterns do arise in genealogical dates of main events: Births, miscarriages, Deaths, marriages, divorces, big work - career or school changes, etcetera. Possibly more on that later!!
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Tidbits about 1934 (from an article)
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| $1 dollar in 1934 | $22.11 dollars today |
| $5 dollars in 1934 | $110.56 dollars today |
| $10 dollars in 1934 | $221.13 dollars today |
| $50 dollars in 1934 | $1,105.64 dollars today |
| $100 dollars in 1934 | $2,211.28 dollars today |
| $500 dollars in 1934 | $11,056.38 dollars today |
| $1,000 dollars in 1934 | $22,112.76 dollars today |
1934 (article written in Nov. 2020)
- Fresh eggs (1 dozen): $0.33 ($6.41 in today’s dollars)
- White bread (1 pound): $0.08 ($1.55 in today’s dollars)
- Sliced bacon (1 pound): $0.29 ($5.63 in today’s dollars)
- Round steak (1 pound): $0.28 ($5.44 in today’s dollars)
- Potatoes (10 pounds): $0.23 ($4.47 in today’s dollars)
- Fresh delivered milk (1/2 gallon): $0.22 ($4.27 in today’s dollars)
Thanks to the implementation of New Deal programs, the economy began to grow, swelling to 10.8%, while unemployment fell to 21.7%. The price of goods also increased 1.5%.