My great-grandfather, George Elmus Edwards, was born 145 years ago on 7 February 1880 in Williamson County, Illinois. He was the third child and oldest son of Hugh Richard and Martha (Rains) Edwards. There is some confusion surrounding George's birthdate.
GEORGE’S BIRTH DATE
The family has always celebrated the birthday as 7 February 1880, but the birth certificate dated 7 February 1880 lists the child’s name as John.[1]
- The 1900 census lists Elmus' birth as February 1882 and Marshal (John Marshall was the next son) as October 1883.[2]
- When he married in 1907, he gave his age as 27, which puts his birth year as 1880.[3]
- When he married again in 1910, he gave his age as 30, again putting his birth year as 1880. The 1910 census also lists his age as 30.[4]
- In 1918, George confused things even more when he registered for the draft. He listed his age at 38, which indicates an 1880 birth date. But he lists his date of birth as 7 February 1882.[5]
- In January of 1920, he is listed as 39 on the census, which would agree with a February 1880 birth date.[6]
- A death certificate has not been found, but his tombstone reads 1880-1923. [7]
When presented with conflicting evidence, his daughter Stella Edwards Butzek was adamant that his birthdate was 7 February 1880. This mystery may never be sorted out—the name John on the birth record can't be explained. But it is clear that George was born before John. George may not have really known what year he was born in, and his parents may have decided to change his name after it was registered. (Or the registrar just made a mistake.)
GROWING UP
George grew up on a farm in the Northern Township of Williamson County. He had seven siblings; two (Mary and Henry) died at birth, but the others all lived to adulthood. He was called both George and Elmus throughout his life. It's unclear where the name Elmus came from. There doesn't appear to be any familial connection to the name, and it seems an uncommon name in Illinois at the time. And there was only one Elmus Edwards found in the area.[8]
THE QUAIL PROBLEM
In 1900, the Lacey Act was adopted, which prohibited shipping live or dead animals across state borders without a federal permit, and in the early 1900s, many in southern Illinois ran afoul of this law.[9] In 1903, Noah Moore attempted to ship 1,200 quail from nearby Franklin County to St. Louis -- in a coffin.[10] In 1904, a man with two trunks containing 700 quail was arrested near Creal Springs.[11] A 1905 article noted that J.P Odell was arrested for shipping 556 quail to St. Louis. The penalty was $12,300 [12] Others were arrested for shipping large amounts of quail to St. Louis.[13]
George Elmus Edwards was in the middle of all this. He was arrested for shipping several hundred quail out of Williamson County. Out on bond, he was arrested again in January of 1905 for attempting to ship more quail. The bond for the second offense was set at $2,800.[14] When shipping the quail, he apparently used the alias W.W. Stone and, in April, was found guilty of twenty counts of violating the Lacey Act. He still faced an additional 172 counts.[15] No further mention of his quail shipping exploits has been located.
WHO IS LOREN EDWARDS?
The next bit of trouble George Elmus got into was apparently fathering a child out of wedlock. On 12 September 1906, Loren Henry Edwards was born in Franklin County, Illinois. His birth certificate listed his mother as Alice Stubblefield, maiden name Alice Stubblefield. His father was listed as Elmas Edwards, a farmer.[16] Alice was the daughter of Thomas James and Louisa (Kirkpatrick) Stubblefield. She may have married, around 1900, to a James or Hiram Stubblefield, who was a next-door neighbor in 1900. She married a second time in 1919 to Louis Cloyd. Loren used the name Stubblefield in his early life. In 1940, he gave his name as Loren Edwards on the census. His surname had been written as Stubblefield, but it was crossed out. Loren was the informant.[17] In 1940, he used the name Loren Henry Edwards when registering for the draft.[18] His obituary stated he was born to Elmas and Alice Stubblefield Edwards.[19] No record of a marriage between Elmus and Alice has been located. DNA evidence seems to bear out the fact that Loren was related to George’s family.
AMANDA WILLIAMS, A MYSTERY WIFE
In September of 1907, Elmus Edwards, aged 27, married Amanda Williams, aged 19.[20] It is unclear what happened to Amanda, but there is an unphotographed entry on Find a Grave for Amanda Edwards, who died on 22 March 1908 at the age of 19 years, 7 months, and 3 days. This would fit with the age given at marriage. It also lists the inscription as the wife of C.E., but since there is no photograph, that can’t be verified, and it could likely be G.E. Whatever happened, Amanda seems to have disappeared.
MARRIAGE TO MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
In March of 1910, 30-year-old G.E. Edwards of Corinth married 17-year-old Belle Pogue of Thompsonville. They were married by John Borum, a clergyman in Williamson County. His parents are listed as Richard Edwards and Martha Rains. Her parents are listed as Joseph Pogue and [illegible] McClaran. It was his second marriage, her first.[21] They set up house in Corinth, where they were enumerated in the 1910 census less than a month after marriage. Elmus, as he was listed, was working as a farm laborer, and they were renting. They lived next door to Elmus’ father, Richard.[22] George Elmus Edwards had finally settled down to a wife and raising a family.
When he registered for the draft in September of 1918, the family was living in Thompsonville, Franklin County, Illinois. He was self-employed as a farmer.[23] By 1920, they had three children, son George, and daughters Stella and Hazel.[24] Ruby Laura was born shortly after the census was taken in 1920. The following year, his five-year-old daughter Hazel died from burns suffered when her clothes caught on fire while she was drying her hair in front of the fire.
George Elmus Edwards died in March of 1923. No death record has been found. His widow, Belle, went on to marry at least two more times.
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
GEORGE ELMUS EDWARDS, born 7 February 1880 or 1882 in Williamson County, Illinois; died 12 March 1923 in Williamson County. He married 1) 20 September 1907 in Williamson County to Amanda Williams, daughter of Millard M and Edna J. Williams. He married 2) 31 March 1910 in Williamson County, Illinois to Olive Isabel Pogue (1892-1959), daughter of Josiah and Mahala Jane (McClerran) Pogue. He is buried in County Line Cemetery in Franklin County, Illinois. They had four children.
Children of George and Olive Isabel:
- George Everett Edwards, born 1 October 1910, Corinth, Williamson County, Illinois; died 15 July 1939, Corinth, Williamson County, Illinois. Married 3 July 1931 in Cook County, Illinois to Clara Jane Martin (1912-2009), daughter of William and Caroline (Clayton) Martin. No children.
- Stella Mae Edwards, born 23 July 1912, Corinth, Williamson County; died 1 January 1989 in Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois. Married 9 May 1931 in Chicago, to Anton Marcinek/Butzek (1907-1943). Two children.
- Hazel Lucille Edwards, born 23 July 1916, Corinth, Williamson County, Illinois; died 12 November 1921, Corinth, Williamson County.
- Ruby Laura Edwards, born 22 April 1920, Corinth, Williamson County; died 29 April 2011, Bartlett, Cook County, Illinois. Married 22 June 1940 in Chicago, Cook County to Charles A. Kroll (1919-1974) son of Francis and Anna Kroll. Five children.
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