Viola Mae Edwards

Viola married Edward Miller Doidge 17 Aug 1921, Haddonfield, NJ. Edward was born , New Bedford, MA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The birth record in Providence. 7 Aug 1865, names his parents as James and Penelope.

In the 1900 FC, the family is in Philadelphia as follows: James Edwards 34?, Aug 1865 RI; Mary 27, Mar 1873 PA; James 3, Jan 1897 PA; Edna 5, Nov 1894 PA. It's difficult to read, but I think his occupation is "fitter in shipyard."

In the 1910 FC, the family is in Somerville, Middlesex Co., MA: James L. Edwards 43 RI, Mary E. 37 PA, Edna M. 15 PA, James D. 13 PA, Viola A. 8 PA, George W. 5 PA, and Alvin J. Gindhart 21/7 PA brother-in-law. James and Mary have been married 17 years. James is a ship builder in iron work industry, as is his brother-in-law.

In the 1915 NJ SC, the family is on South Atlantic Ave. in Haddonfield, Camden, NJ: James L. Edwards 48 RI, Aug 1866 (pars b Wales & Ireland); Mary E. 42 NJ, Mar 1873; James D. 18 PA, Jan 1897; Viola M. 13 PA, Feb 1902; George W. 11 PA, May 1904.

In the 1920 FC, the family is at Camden, NJ: James L. Edwards 54 RI (pars b Eng & Ire), Mary E. 46 NJ, James D. 22 PA, Viola May 17 PA, and George W. V. 15 PA.

By 1930 James has died; see notes for his wife Mary.

James — Mary E. Gindhart. Mary (daughter of Isaac Dare Gindhart and Alwilda Floyd) was born Mar 1873, NJ; died 1969; was buried , Lawnside Cemetery, Woodstown, NJ. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the 1930 FC, Mary E. Edwards is a widow age 57 (NJ) living in Oldmans, Salem Co., NJ. With her are James D. 33 PA and George W. 26 PA.

In the 1940 FC, Mary E. Edwards is a widow age 67 (NJ) living in Haddonfield, Camden Co., NJ. With her are: James D. 43 PA. Mildred (his wife) 35 PA, George W. 35 PA, Constance (his wife) 27 PA, Connie May 8 NJ (granddaughter), and James 3 NJ (grandson).

Notes:

Baptism: 27 Jan 1839, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom (familysearch.org)

The 1851 England census gives James' birthplace as Broadmoor Common, Herefordshire.

"Broadmoor Common, England is a village in Herefordshire, England. It is 111 miles (179km) west of London and 43 miles (69km) south west of Wolverhampton."

He arrived in USA in August 1855.

In the 1860 Federal Census, the "Edward" family is living in Ward 6, Providence, RI: James 23 Eng, Penlope 25 Ire, & Henrietta 9 mos NY. James is a picture framer. In 1865 he is a picture frame manufacturer.

In the 1870 Federal Census, the Edwards family is living in Ward 1, Providence, RI: James 33 Eng, Penelope 38 Ire, Henrietta 11 NY, & James 5 RI. James Sr. is a picture frame maker.

In the 1880 Federal Census at Providence, Providence County, RI, the Edwards family is as follows: James 42 Eng, frame maker; Nappy P. 50 Ire, keeping house; Henrietta 21 NY, works in screw factory; James 15 RI, frame maker.

I was told that James and his second wife had a son George and three other sons, names unknown. However, I tend to doubt that information, as they were married somehwat beyond childbearing age.

James was baptized twice as a member of the LDS church in Providence, RI. His second marriage was performed by an LDS reverend or elder. (source: ancestry.com)

James married Penelope "Nappy" Unknown Abt 1859, NY. Penelope was born Between 1830 and 1832, Ireland; died Aft 1 Jun 1880. [Group Sheet]

Isaac married Alwilda Floyd 14 Apr 1873, Salem Co., NJ. Alwilda was born Oct 1854; died 1944; was buried , Lawnside Cemetery, Woodstown, NJ. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

England census of 1841 at Ledbury, Herefordshire: George Edwards 60 soldier born England, Abegal 35 born Ireland, Susan 7 Ireland, Eliza 5 Ireland, and James 2 England.

England census of 1851 at Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire: George Edwards 61 (after that illegible), Abigal 47 Ireland, Harriet 19 Ireland, Susan 16 Ireland, Eliza J. 14 Ireland, James 12 born Brood Moor Common, Herefordshire; plus two lodgers, Jane Lynch 36 and John Mcalister 25.

George Edwards was an English soldier. Because of his duties, he was away from home a lot. His daughter, Eliza Jane Edwards Andrews (the mother of Mary Elizabeth, the mother of Laura, the mother of Norman . . .), remembered him as a wonderfully kind and good man. It was said by her that he never knowingly killed a man in battle (did he just tell her that to calm her fears?). Once when he was assigned to guard duty over the bodies of some dead soldiers, he was very sleepy and dozed off. When another soldier came along and asked him the password, he didn't answer. He asked again, and still no answer. After the third time, he was supposed to be shot. George said he felt someone slap him with a cold hand, and he awoke just in time to answer with the correct password. He felt it was one of the dead soldiers that had somehow saved his life (an angel?).

He was at home on sick leave when he heard bells tolling, signifying the death of an important person. He looked up from his bed and asked his wife whom the bells were tolling for, and she answered, "The Duke of Wellington." George looked over at a picture of Wellington which hung on the wall; he had been his commanding officer in the army (perhaps at Waterloo? or later?). At that, George turned over and died.

It was sometime after that, I gather, that his family became very poor. They lived in the area of Herefordshire, as nearly as I can determine. The oldest daughter, Helen, by his first wife Charlotte, had married a wealthy man. At some point she must have either died or moved away, otherwise she would have helped the family. Eliza Jane worked in a factory, where she caught her finger in the gears. Her boss let her go to the doctor, who cut it off, bandaged her hand, and sent her back to work. It was probably the little finger of the left hand, as her daughter Mary Elizabeth remembered in later years.

The girls eventually traveled to America (Eliza Jane was probably not more than 17), around 1854 (below decks by steerage), to set up a home for their mother, Abigail, who came later with their younger brother, Jimmy. They settled in the area of Central Falls or Pawtucket.

Margaret, the oldest, married and went to Sacramento, California, where it is thought that she and her husband may have died in a flood. Susan married and moved to New York. Elizabeth, or Aunt Lizzie, married William Wardell and went to live in Bristol, RI, where she is now buried along with her husband and mother, Abigail Ray (Wray) Edwards. Harriet married Jacob Roe, and had a son, George, and two daughters, Margaret and Hattie. Uncle Jacob went to the Civil War along with his brother-in-law, William Andrews (Eliza Jane's husband). Sadly, Jacob was killed.

Eliza Jane, my great-great grandmother, married William Andrews, who had originally come from the area of Manchester/Lancashire, England. Besides fighting in the Civil War, he became an overseer at a mill in Centerdale, RI. During that time Eliza Jane took a charitable interest in her sister-in-law "Nappy," the deserted and destitute wife of James, her younger brother. He had taken his young son Jimmy and run off, leaving his wife with their daughter Etta. At Eliza Jane's encouragement, William gave Nappy a job and saw that she had a place to live in one of the mill tenements in Centerdale.

Years later, Uncle James wrote asking for help, so Eliza Jane and her niece (one of Harriet's daughters) traveled to Philadelphia to meet with him. After a long time they brought him back. They learned he had gone to Florida, married another woman, had four more sons, and now his second wife had died; money and food were scarce for James and the boys. By this time his daughter, Etta, was about 26, and was trying to care for her mother, Nappy, who had gone"crazy" with grief over the loss of her son over all the years. James married for a third time, so this wife was stepmother to his four boys (one of whom was named George, after Grandfather Andrews). The oldest boy, Jimmy (his son by Nappy), came back to Rhode Island and lived for a while with his mother and sister, Etta, but would wander off to Philadelphia, and eventually married a girl there. So there were some hard times and hard feelings in the family at that time. Mary Elizabeth later reflected that the families did better as time went on, and she hoped they would all know each other better in the next world.

George married Abigail Abby WRAY Abt 1825. Abigail (daughter of George WRAY and Betsey Unknown) was born Abt 1804, Ireland; died 10 Dec 1863, Thames Street, Bristol, RI; was buried , North Burial Ground, Bristol, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

My information on Abigail's life came primarily from the writings of my great-grandmother Chafee (nee Mary Andrews). I followed this up with two visits to the vault at the Bristol Town Hall in Bristol, RI, where I located and photocopied the death record, which gave additional facts such as date of death, age at death, parents' names, and place of birth. It says that her family was Scotch-No. Irish, and that she was born in Scotland. Gr-Grandma thought "her people were from the north of Ireland."

Abigail married the widower of her sister Charlotte.

(Bristol official record book #5, p.39)

According to the 1840 and 1851 England censuses, Abigail was born in Ireland. A posting on the Wray forum at genealogy.com says she was from Clonkirk, Ireland.

Abby Edwards age 48 housekeeper and James Edwards age 17 cotton spinner are listed on the ship's manifest, arriving in New York City on 27 August 1855. They sailed from Liverpool on the ship Thornton.

Notes:

I have estimated their year of marriage.