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CHARLES W. EDWARDS, one of the leading farmers and stock-raisers of this county, residing on section 36, Elliott Township, was born in Oneida County, N. Y., in 1822, and is a son of Elijah and Catherine (Van Buren) Edwards, the father a native of Connecticut, and the mother, who was a second cousin of Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States, was born in Columbia County, N. Y. The father’s occupation was farming, and in early life, prior to the War of 1812, in which he served, he emigrated to Oneida County. To Mr. and Mrs. Edwards were born five children: Nicholas, who is engaged in farming in Oneida County; John, a capitalist of Xenia, Ohio; Catherine, whose home is in Oneida County, N. Y.; Charles W., the subject of this sketch, and Charlotte, wife of John Vanduson, of Howell, Mich. The parents were members of the Baptist Church. The father was a most successful and enterprising farmer, and his death occurred in the spring of 1863, at the age of seventy years, Mrs. Edwards being called to her final rest three years later, in 1866, at the age of seventy-six years.
The boyhood days of our subject were passed upon a farm, and he received his education in the common schools. At the age of nineteen he left home, and engaged in buying and selling stock, which he continued until the autumn of 1862, when he went to Peoria to feed cattle in the distilleries, where he remained two years. At the expiration of that time, in 1864, he came to Louisa County, and purchased 1,067 acres of land, partly in Des Moines County, and partly situated on section 36, Elliott Township. This tract was only partly improved, but he immediately began its cultivation, and now owns 2,000 acres, all of which are under fence. Their magnificent home, which was erected in 1876, and the large barn, one of the best in the county, together with other improvements, cost Mr. Edwards over $20,000.
In 1853 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage with Lucia Lomis, a native of Oneida County, N. Y., and one child was born unto them, Charley, who died at the age of ten months. The death of the mother occurred in 1855, and on the 3d of July, 1860, Mr. Edwards led to the marriage altar Delia Merriam, a native of Oswego, County, N. Y. They have an interesting family of three children—Frederick C., William E. and Daisy L.
Mr. Edwards makes a specialty of raising stock, all of which is of the best grade. He now owns about 100 heard of Polled-Angus cattle, and ships about 200 head per year. He is one of the energetic and progressive farmers of Louisa County, where he is universally known and highly esteemed as one of its best citizens. The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Edward are given on an accompanying page.
