Edwards Family

Wilson Edwards married and had four children by his first wife. Those children were Jardie, Edith, Pearl, and Bert. His first wife and son, Pearl, are buried in the Shunk portion of Hoy Cemetery. Jardie never had any children. Edith married John Stevens and had no family. Bert married Nora Rayle and they had two daughters, Helen Irene and Edith Mary. Helen married Edward Tyler of Mancelona, Michigan and they have four daughters, Nancy Phyllis, July and Joanne. Edith Mary married John Copin, Aldin, Michigan, and had John, Jr., Jeanne, Teresa, and Susan and four grandchildren.

Samuel Warren Edwards, son of David and Mary Ward Edwards, was born on December 4, 1860. His wife's was Nettie, and their children were Mertie who died before reaching maturity, and Cora May who was born on January 22, 1886. Cora married Ernest McVetta. Ernest died several years ago but Cora lives in Napoleon, Ohio. She had two sons, Homer, who lives in McClure, Ohio, but winters in Florida, and Dale who lives in Napoleon.

Ernest McVetta ran a hardware store in Hamler, and later farmed near Liberty Center. After Nettie Edwards death, Warren Edwards made his home with them. After the death of her husband, Cora and her father moved to Napoleon and lived in the old Canal House. Warren was past ninety-one when he died, perhaps older, and his mind was clear until the last. Samuel Warren Edwards spent most of his life in the Hamler area where he worked at the mason trade. D.A. Collins (Fonce) said Uncle Warren didn't need much water to mix the mud, he produced so much tobacco juice.

The children liked to hear Uncle Warren's stories of the early days. One story he told was about David Edwards moving to Kansas and taking up a homestead, probably when Warren was about ten years old. They planted a crop, but before they could harvest it, due to the fact that David's health was poor, and probably because they were also homesick, they decided to go back to Ohio. The family had gone to Kansas by train, but having acquired a team and some livestock, decided to go back by covered wagon. The family had settled near the Indian Territory in Kansas, and David had purchased a bunch of buffalo robes from the Indians, tanned by the Indians. This made too heavy a load for the horse team to pull, so David, hearing of a trail drive just in from Texas, made a deal for an oxen team that was included in the drive. Warren had an Indian pony which he rode back to Ohio, driving their livestock. Uncle Warren said they traded and sold the buffalo robes to other immigrants they met and had few left when they got back home to Ohio.

Uncle Warren told of the time, after coming back to Ohio, of a neighbor lady who took sick in the middle of the night, and Warren was sent with his Indian pony to fetch the doctor from Napoleon. Arriving at the covered bridge, the pony refused to go any farther. Dismounting, he discovered the village cows were using the covered bridge for a barn. Leading his pony, he awakened the doctor, who told him to walk back across the bridge and get the cattle up so they wouldn't get up between his driving horses. After reaching the south side of the bridge, the doctor told him he could go on ahead.

Submitted by: Lynn T. Rayle