For a third of a century a resident of Rockford, was well known in the city as a man of activity and reliability in business affairs, and of unfailing courtesy and geniality in social life, so that he gained in high measure the esteem and good will of those with whom he was associated. He was born in Pennsylvania, August 24, 1818, and his parents were Alexander and Eleanor (Phillips) Edie, both of whom were natives of Scotland, whence they came to America at an early day. They settled in Pennsylvania, where the father carried on farming as a means of livelihood for the support of himself and family. In the public schools of his native state he obtained a good education. Thinking that he might have better business opportunities in the west, where competition was not so great, and yet where the rapid growth afforded excellent business conditions, Mr. Edie came to the Mississippi valley. He first settled in Maquoketa, Iowa, where he engaged in teaching school for two years, but his health began to fail, and, thinking that he might be benefited by outdoor life, he engaged in railroad surveying for a year. He then removed to Bellevue where he taught school for two years, and during that time also acted as county superintendent of the schools of Jackson County. He afterward took up his abode in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was employed as public receiver in the register's office for about two years or until 1863 when he became a resident of Rockford. Here he accepted the agency for the Equitable Insurance Company, and was engaged in that business throughout the remainder of his life. The policies which he wrote annually represented a large figure and his business steadily increased, bringing to him a good financial return. The secret of his success lay in his close application, his strong purpose and laudable ambition. Mr. Edie was married in Crawford County, Pennsylvania to Miss Elizabeth S. Brakey, a native of Cortland, New York, born January 20. I827. Mr. and Mrs. Edie became the parents of seven children. He gave his political support to the Republican Party, and he was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian church of Rockford. He suffered from ill health for several years prior to his demise, and for two years was totally blind. He was a man of unfaltering industry, successful in what he undertook, and throughout his life he displayed many of the sterling characteristics of his Scotch ancestry. His position was never an equivocal one. He stood firm in his support of what he believed to be right, and his entire life was actuated by honorable principles. He was for a long period a resident of Rockford, and was well known as one of its valued citizens. On the 3rd of March, 1896, Mr. Edie was called to his final rest.