Edsons in England and America and Genealogy of the Edsons By JARVIS BONESTEEL EDSON Of the City of New York " The highest tribute a man can render his anccsron is to rq,n,duee their bat qualiiia, :and ., help la give than an e<1nhly immortality.,. Ge>ETH&. PRINTED BY U:bc tntcl:crbocl:cr l)rcss 27 West 23d Street New York, N. Y. cor,·amn·r, 1903 IIY JARVIS BONESTEEL EDSON ~be llnlcllerlllclcr 1>rc9. 1ICIP 1111C11 TO PERPETUATE TUE !\[E!\IORY OF MARMONT BRYAN EDSON THIS WORK IS DEDICATi:D UY HIS SON JARVIS BONESTEEL EDSON Preface HE only work published in this country respecting the T Edsons of New England and their extraction was printed in Lowell, Mass., in 1864, and entitled .--1 Genealogi­ cal Account of tlic Edso11.s Early Settled i11. Bridgewater, witli Appendices. This contribu~ion of valuable memorabilia is a summary of traditions and facts compifod successh·cly hy Captain Josiah Edson (1682-1i62), Elijah Hayward (his great-grandson), the Rev. Theodore Edson, S.T.D .. and John Edson {his brother). and Nahum Mitchell (author of the History of the Early Seltleme1tl of Bridgc-&!atcr). The conclusions advanced in the initial paragraph and the two footnotes on the third page of the pamphlet regard­ ing the name Edson being "a contraction from a word of three or more syllables." and the improhahility of fin<ling a native of England bearing it as a surname, were generally accepted, until recently, as determining the use­ lessness of all further attempts to ascertain anything to the contrary. The allegation that "it is certainly not found in any hook of heraldry " was evidently left unchallenged at that time for want of enlightenment, although there was then among the priceless heraldic manuscripts of Queen's College, Oxford, one in which the name of "Thomas Edson of .-\dderbury '· was so written. As printed in the Lowell pamphlet, the paragraph reads: "The name of Edson is most probably a contraction of Edwardson, Edmonson. Edwinson, or that of some other viii PREFACE name of three or more syllah1es beginning with Ed and end­ ing with son. Previous to the year 1600, the word Edson as a personal appellative is not to he found in the Engfo;h vocabulary of proper names; and it is much doubted if it can be found in England unless connected with some person in or from the United States. It is certainly not found in any book of heraldry, wherein arc entered the family names of nearly every other person who has emigrated from Eng­ land and settled in the American colonies. Whether this contraction was made or adopted by Samuel Edson, the common ancestor of all of that name in this country, it is impossible to ascertain." The pamphlet, referred to above, suggests that the name Edson may be a corruption of Addison. "It is, in fact, often pronounced Addison and Eddison by most unedu­ cated foreigners who have occasion to use the name, and they often conform the orthography thereto. The fact that the name can be clearly traced to him, and no further, is strongly corroborative of the opinion that its present form was assumed in his time." The historical proof of the groundlessness of these sup­ positions appeared necessary, and. readily perceiving the value of it, I secured the services of an experienced gentle­ man to prosecute for me adequate searches for information concerning the ancestry and posterity of the Edsons in Eng­ land and America that would serve for an authentic history of the Edson Family. This investigation in different parts of England, par­ ticularly in the Library of the British Museum in London, and the registry and probate offices in Lichfield and York, examinations of parish r.:!gisters at Addcrbury in Oxford­ shire. at Knarcsborough. Whixley, and Easingwold in Yorkshire, at Bedworth, Bcrksw~II. Over Whiteacre, Nei:her Whitcacrc, Kingsbury, and Fillonglcy in Warwickshire, to­ gether ,,;th interviews with James Edson at Ottringham, George Edson at Pickering, and Joseph A. Edson at Otley, PREFACE ix in Yorkshire, were, as will he seen, richly rewarded. The noteworthy success attending the researches in this country also revealed many interesting historical particulars of the careers of certain Edsons early identified with the political affairs of the colonists of N,cw England. Letters of inquiry to members of Edson families residing in different parts of the United States were the means of eliciting much of the serviceable data of the genealogical division of this work. My purpose in publishing so comprehensive a his­ tory as this of the Edsons in England and America was mainly to enlighten and benefit their living descendants with such knowledge, of the conscientious, stalwart, patri­ otic, and godly character of their ancestors, as might im­ press them with an abiding sense of their obligation to be men as indomitable, diligent, public-spirited, and honored as their forefathers were in their day and generation. The embellishment of the historical part of the work with en­ gravings of places and objects still distinguishing the seats of. the ancestral homes of Edsons in England and America was prompted by a consideration of the enjoyment they might afford to persons desirous of acquiring all the know­ ledge to be obtained regarding the natural and artificial features of the landscapes environing the habitations of their early kinsmen. It was my good fortune to become the possessor of one (No. 26) of the fifty-seven copies that were printed, in 1893, of the Transcript of tlze Old Parish Register of the Parish Church of S . .1l_ary and .4ll Saints, Fillonglcy, County War­ wick, r538-1653, containing the entry of the baptism of Samuel Edson, son of Thomas Edson, on September 5, 1613, as ,,·ell as entries of baptisms, marriages. and deaths of other and earlier ancestral kinsfolk. The Rev. Arthur Bicknell Stevenson, Vicar of Fillongley Church since May 8, 1888, kindly sent me for souvenir canes two pieces of a broken branch of the venerable yew which has long been a picturesque feature of the ancient churchyard. To this X PREFACE obliging and courteous clergyman I am greatly indebted for the gift of the much-prized mementos and for the pains tnken by him to pro\·ide me with desired photographs of the interior nnd exterior of the church, in the sacred pre­ cincts of which, four centuries ago, more than one of my ancestors had worshipped. Contents CHAPTBR PAO ■ I.-TH0:IIAS EDSON OP ADDERBURY (1480-1540?) I II.-THE EDsoNs OP F1u:0NGLEY (1494-1640) 36 III.-SAMUEL EDSON OP OLD AND NEW ENGLAND (1613-1692) 69 !V.-SAMUEL EDSON, A FREEMAN OP BRIDGEWATER (1651- 1692) 97 V.-SAMUEL EDSON, SECOND, OP BRIDGEWATER (1651- 1719) 14~ Vl.-SAMUEL EDSON, THIRD, OP BRIDGEWATER (1690-1771). 164 VII.-EDSONS IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754- 1763) 177 V-III.-JosIAH EDSON, THE LOYALl!IT (1768-1778) . 227 IX.-EDSONS 1.N THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1775-1;77) 249 X.-EDSONS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1777-1783) 290 XI.-OBED EDsoN AND HIS SoN TH0"4AS (1768-1836) 318 XII.-WILLIAM JARVIS EDSON (1786-1848) . 339 XIII.--MAR;\IONT BRYAN EDSON (1813-1892) . 391 XIV.-JARVIS BONESTEEL EDSON (1845-19-) 415 GENEALOGY OP THE EDSONS (1480-r903) 447 INDEXES • 607 xi List of Illustrations SouTHF.AST V1Ew oy ADDERBURY CHURCH. BANBURY CROSS, 8A!IIBUKY 10 NORTHWEST VJEW OP ADDEKBUKY CHURCH 13 L1c11-G,\TE oN EAST S10E oP CHURCHYARD 16 NoRTH E!IID OP STREET 1!11 ADDERBURY 21 DESCENT OP STREET 1!11 J\DDERBURY 22 ADDERBURY CHURCH, LooKl!IIG SOUTHEAST FILLONGLEY CHURCH FAC·SIJIIILE OP TITLE-PAGE OP THE "'TR,\!IISCRIPT OP OLD PAR· !SH REGISTER," FILLONGLEY FAC·SIMILE PROM PAGE 58 01' THE"' TRANSCR~T. ETC."" SOUTH SIDE VIEW. FILLOSGLEY CHURCH lSTERIOR. FILLO!IIGLEY CHURCH OLD FoxT 1s FiLLo!IIGLE\" CHURCH • SoUTHW,\RD VIEW OP STREET WEST OP FILLOSGLEY CHURCH M1:NUTE l!11 TowN BooK OP SALEM SITE OP DEACO!II SAllUEL EDsos·s lllLL HOUSE OP REV. JAMES KEITH 107 S.UIUEL EDsos's Ho!IIESTEAD Ill EDsox'ToMB 137 KEITH To!IIB 137 To!lle oP S,\l!UEL ASD SusASSA Eosos 138 FIRST ,\!IID SECOND PII.OTESTAST EPISCOPAL CHCRCHES, BRIDGE· WATER 171 ToMB OP SAMUEL EDso:-i. 30 173 CHORISTER'S C~.MPANION • 324 "'LE:NOX" (THE TU!IIE) 326 "BRIDGE-WATER" (THE TUNE) 328 "MUSICAL MONITOR" (TITLE) 345 xiii xiv LIST I W 11.1.USTR.\'l'lONS l'Alil Cl.l!Ml!NT 1\IASSILLON Eusos 356 W,\LL ST1<1!l!'r • ,158 !\lmu·11.,sTs' l~xn1.,sc:I! Bu11.01NG, N1nv Y1111K 3fJ0 1'1un· R. lfosuN 364 W1LLI.\M J,\H.\'111 EDSON 385 1\11111. \\'ILLl,\M J,un·,s EDSON 389 II l!NH.Y AUl:USTUS l~DSON • 399 Znus1TI! Wow.Ks, llASSACIIUSl!TTS 402 Mw.s. Eow,,w.o MAXWELL Ri.m 404 !\L\H.MONT BH.YAN Eosos • 405 MRS. MAUIOST BRYAN EDSON 407 M,\RY AUGUSTA EDSON 41 I SusAN MARI.\ EDsoN 413 JAR\"IS B. EDsos's Ci.RTll'ICATE u•· APPOISTMENT IN u. s. 1\',\VY. 419 LA ADU,\lllA, !\loSTE\'IDEO, URUGUAY 423 ]AK\'IS BoSESTEEL EDSON 424 Eosox's RECORDISG AND ALAR11 PRESSURE GAUGE 426 !\IRS. ]AR\'IS BoXESTEEL EDSON 427 J,\XET DE KAY EDSON 428 llRS. HAKRY SMITH KELTY 429 l\faDELON KELTY 430 HEK:\IAX ALDRICH EDsox • 431. 432 l\lAR:\IONT EDsos 433, 434 EDsox COTTAGE, SHELTER lsLAXD HEIGHTS 435 AsoTIIER V1EW oF THE SA:\IE 436 l\lA1x HALL, EDsoN COTTAGE 437 EDsox REslDEXCE, XEw YoRK 438 Eosox RESIDE:s'CE, RECEPTION RooM 439 FIKE-PROOF CoXSTRUCTION 440 STE,\)! YACIIT "CLAYMORE" 440 EXTRAXCE HALL 441 STEAMSIIIP "ADRIATIC" 442 BEoRoo:\1 ox TmRD FLouR 443 l\Lux HALL 444 VIEW •·RoM LIBRARY \Vn:oow 446 J.