Born in Lamoille, Bureau county, Illinois, in September, 1846. He has made his home in three places, remaining in his native town till he arrived at the age of 24. then spending ten years at Mendota, and finally in 1885 removing to Audubon, his present home. With the exception of four years spent in running a grocery he has lived all his life on a farm. Mr. Edwards traces his ancestry back to the year 1630, when his people came to Massachusetts. He comes from an intensely patriotic race, his great-grandfather, Nehemiah Cleaveland, being a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In 1840 Mr. Edwards' father cast his first vote for Harrison and the next clay started for Illinois, where he became one of the early settlers. With such ancestry to look back to he is naturally very much of an American and an active mover in all public affairs. Mr. Edwards enlisted in the Union army at the age of 17 and served during the struggle as a member of Company G, 139th Illinois Infantry. He has always been a Republican. He is a member of Veritas lodge, No. 392, A. F. and A. M., and also of Allison post, No. 34, G. A. R., of which he is senior vice-commander. He attends the Presbyterian church. He was married in 1872 to Miss Alice Hoffman. They have one son, Burt A. Edwards, aged 21, residing at Austin, Illinois.