William Riley Edmonds and Sarah Catherine Edmonds

William Riley Edmonds and Sarah Catherine Edmonds were my 3x great-grandparents through my great-grandfather Jacob Fulton Garrison.

William Riley Edmonds was born on 7 January 1839. He was the second of nine children born to Robert William Edmonds and Cynthia P Hyatt. Sarah Catherine Edmonds was born on 14 May 1844. Her father was William Edmonds, Jr, the brother of Robert William Edmonds, and her mother was Nancy Reese. William and Sarah were first cousins, both raised in Buncombe County, NC. They married on 3 February 1861, and, like most of the Edmonds family, they were farmers.

Two months after their wedding the Civil War began. On 15 July 1862, at the age of 23, William enlisted in the Confederate Army along with his younger brother, Robert Chrisley, at Marshall, NC. Their enlistment was for a term of three years or the entirety of the war, and it appears they did not officially report for duty until around November 1862. They were assigned to the 64th Regiment North Carolina Infantry, Company D. The unit was part of the 11th Battalion NC Infantry, also known as Allen's Regiment. Both men were part of a group of Confederate soldiers that surrendered at Cumberland Gap on 9 September 1863. They spent the rest of the war as prisoners at Camp Douglas (Fort Douglas) near Chicago. This camp was notorious for its horrendous living conditions and high prisoner mortality rate. Four letters William wrote to Sarah were found in a trunk and have been transcribed as fully as possible; they were not in good condition.*

William Riley Edmonds*

  

Clinton Ten  on the -----4   1863

dear Wife it is with pleasure that i seat my self to let you now that i am well at this time  hopeing those few lines may find you enjoying the same blesings  i hav nothing of importance to write at this time  i want you to take good care of your self  i dont now when i will get to come to home  i am going to try to get a furlough to come to home but i dont now whether i will get it or not and if i dont i dont now what i will do for it dont seem to me like i Can stay her and think of you having to get ------ of your wood your self  Cris is tolerble bad off with his leg  it is some thing like the rheu nitids but it has swelled a bout as tite as it can and dis-grter of to purple Color  it has been So-- ever sense Sunday

page 2

i Can tell you that i have got close  penty  i have got four shirt and three par of drawers and three par of  pants  i think they will do me for as long as i will hav to stay in this ----- for i think A g----t they ---are out i will be --------------------------- i want you to write to me every week i hav not ---- this makes -----  letters and i now ------ more has got be -------- that you sent --------- --------- Well i Can tell you i begin to want to here from you  i want you to write to me as often as you Can  tell W.E. Eller that i have wrote him two letter  tel him that i hav ----- his close yet  i must close for this ------ of time so now more at ------- ------- i remain yours till deth   W. R. Edmonds

Camp Douglas Ill 

June 12th 1864

Dear wife it is with treate plesure that I am a gain permit to write you I am well at this time hoping this time will finde you all well I wold like to see you very much I have not heard from you since the tenth of april I wold like to heair from you again sone I am doing very well I have anuff to Eat a plenty of close Crisley is well the boys is jinerley well the wilds boys is well W.M. Davis is well  So I will Close Write Sone and as ofton as you can I remain your Husband til Death.

W.R. Edmonds

to S.C. Edmonds

Camp Douglas Ill 

June 12th 1864

Dear wife it is with treate plesure that I am a gain permit to write you I am well at this time hoping this time will finde you all well I wold like to see you very much I have not heard from you since the tenth of april I wold like to heair from you again sone I am doing very well I have anuff to Eat a plenty of close Crisley is well the boys is jinerley well the wilds boys is well W.M. Davis is well  So I will Close Write Sone and as ofton as you can I remain your Husband til Death.

W.R. Edmonds

to S.C. Edmonds

Camp Douglas Illinois

Feb. The 4th, 1865

Dear Catherine I seat my self to answer your verry kind letter receive a few days ago  I am glad to hear that all the folks are well  Kiss our little babe for me I think I will get out of prison when the war ends  I will have to tell you very sad news  brother Crisley is dead  died the 3rd of January I am fairing verry well I hope and trust to god it will not be long till peace is made. So we can enjoy the society of our friends  write often as you can short letters come best  I have had my health well ever since we came here I will close giving you all my best wishes my love all  your true husband

William R Edmonds

Com D.  4th N.C.  Regtm

Barracks No 25

William was released after the war, came home, and regained his health. The 1900 Census lists them as the parents of ten children, but only three were still living. The identity of only four children is known: James Wesley, Hester Priscilla, Asker Fulton, and Eura Lala.

James Wesley Edmonds was born 15 May 1863 while his father was away at war. He spent his whole life as a farmer in Buncombe County, NC. On 21 February 1885 he married Mary Dorcus Barnes. They had six children: 

• Vinnie, b. 25 October 1886, d. 15 October 1996; married William Alonzo Jones
• L.H., b. 20 December 1888, d. 10 April 1891
• William Edgar, b. 7 September 1891, d. 19 November 1932; married Leketh Rachel Eller
• Esley Elmer, b. 3 March 1892, d. 12 December 1950; married Minerva Ford
• Jessie May, b. 19 November 1897, d. 17 April 1898
• Hezron Holloway, b. 7 April 1899, d. 7 May 1964; married Jo Diora Gentry

James and Mary were married for 22 years. Mary died on 1 January 1907 at the age of 40. James lived as a widower until a stroke caused his death on 28 October 1931. He is buried in Weaverville, NC at Clarks Chapel Cemetery.

Children of James Wesley Edmonds, Left to Right: Hezron Holloway, Esley Elmer, William Edgar, Vinnie*

Hester Priscilla Edmonds. Click here for information about Hester.

Asker Fulton "Fult" Edmonds was born on 9 January 1870, and, expectedly, was a Buncombe County, NC farmer. He married Minnie Sue Rice on 4 November 1900. They had twelve children, many of whom died in infancy:

• Sadie, b. 5 November 1901, d. 9 July 1933; married James Herman Riddle (d. 1929) and Lee Sams
• Unnamed Infant Son, b. 25 August 1903, d. 25 August 1903
• Eva (“Evie”), b. 15 July 1904, d. 15 January 2007; married Cecil Alonzo Kent
• Unnamed Infant Daughter, b. 13 July 1907; d. 13 July 1907
• Cordia May, b. 29 May 1909, d. 9 October 1909
• Minnie Belle, b. 9 December 1912, d. 8 December 1988; married Oliver Alonzo Hensley
• James Fulton (“Big Jim”), b. 11 June 1915, d. 20 August 1993; married Meece Iola Sprinkle
• William Henry, b. 25 Dec 1918, d. 8 Jun 1945 (World War II casualty; Pacific Theater); married Blanche Chambers
• Nabula (twin of Vistula), b. 17 August 1921, d. 17 August 1921
• Vistula (twin of Nabula), b. 17 August 1921, d. 23 July 2015; married Carl Marcus Robinson
• Unnamed Infant Son, b. 2 May 1923, d. 2 May 1923   
• John Riley, b. 22 February 1926, d. 19 February 1997; never married

Asker died of a stroke on 9 October 1959. He is buried in Weaverville, NC at Clarks Chapel Cemetery.

Asker Fulton Edmonds and Minnie Sue Rice Edmonds*

Asker Fulton Edmonds Family, Left to Right: (kneeling) Vistula, Minnie Belle; (standing) Asker Fulton, James Fulton, William Henry, Minnie Sue, John Riley, Eva*

William Henry Edmonds*

Eva Edmonds and Cecil Kent*

Eura Lala Edmonds was born on 9 March 1872 and died on 19 September 1872 in Buncombe County, NC. She is buried in Weaverville, NC at Clarks Chapel Cemetery.

William and Sarah Edmonds spent the rest of their lives after the Civil War farming in Buncombe County, NC. Sarah passed away on 14 January 1923 at the age of 78. One year later William died of pneumonia on 2 January 1924. They are both buried in Weaverville, NC at Clarks Chapel Cemetery.

Shortly after William’s death a family friend, Gallatin Roberts, wrote the following letter to the editor of the local paper, The Citizen:

Editor the Citizen.

I have just learned of the death of my friend, Mr. William R. Edmonds, who lived in Flat Creek Township, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Since I was a little boy, forty years ago, he was my friend  --  a real friend.  I shall ever remember him and his good wife.  When I was a little boy, he would sit for hours in the evenings and tell me thrilling experiences he had during the War Between the States.

He was a Confederate soldier, was captured at Cumberland Gap, and marched weary and foot sore through Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois to Fort Douglas where he was kept in prison for many months.  His description of his capture at Cumberland Gap, long march to Fort Douglas, and imprisonment, was intensely interesting to me as a boy, and would be to any one now.  Wish that I might write it out just as he related it to me then.  His description of the burning of the mill at Cumberland Gap by the advance guard of the Federal forces a few hours before his company was captured, was truly dramatic.  He suffered greatly during the long Winter at Fort Douglas, and in a measure lost his health, but after the war was over, he came home and his shattered health was restored.  Since 1865, Mr. Edmonds lived quietly on his farm three miles north of the Town of Weaverville.  I never knew anyone who would go farther to serve his fellow man in times of sickness and bereavement than Mr. Edmonds and his good wife who died only a few months ago.

They were substantial people, and this is my simple tribute to them.

GALLATIN ROBERTS

William Riley and Sarah Catherine Edmonds*

*Source of letters and photographs is Gwen Edmonds and various other Ancestry.com users.

Robert F Garrison & Hester Priscilla Edmonds

Robert F Garrison and Hester Priscilla Edmonds were my 2x great-grandparents. Their son, Jacob Fulton Garrison, was my great-grandfather.

Robert F Garrison

Robert F Garrison was the son of William John Mitchell Garrison and Elizabeth Elmira Ann Roberts (for information about "Mitch" and "Myra" Garrison click here). He was born on 1 February 1864 in North Carolina, most likely in Buncombe County. Robert was the third of the seven Garrison children. There is a good chance he was named after his uncle, Robert M Garrison, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg eight months before Robert's birth. There are many users on Ancestry.com that list his middle name as Franklin, but I have found no primary sources to confirm anything beyond a middle initial of "F". Robert had no formal education, but according to census records he was able to read and write. By age 16 he was working on the family farm in Buncombe County, NC, and he remained a farmer his entire life.

On 27 December 1882, at age 18, Robert married Hester Priscilla Edmonds in Buncombe County, NC. They had eleven children between 1885 and 1908. Around 1903 the family moved to Rogers County, OK. Census records show that Robert rented a farm and worked the land.

Robert died on 28 May 1913 at the age of 49. He is buried at Dick Duck Cemetery in Catoosa, OK.

Hester Priscilla Edmonds

Hester Priscilla Edmonds was born on 20 August 1866 in Buncombe County, NC to William Riley Edmonds and Sarah Catherine Edmonds (for more information on William and Sarah Edmonds click here). She was the second of four children in the family. Hester was 16 years old when she married Robert Garrison. She gave birth to eleven children, three of which died during childhood. 

One year after Robert's death, Hester married Marcus Y Leach on 29 May 1914. Marcus was 23 years older than Hester. He was the half-brother of Reuben Leach (grandfather of Minerva Leach Garrison, the wife of Hester's son, Jacob). He was also the father of Lola and Robert Leach who were married to Hester's children, William Cleveland Garrison and Mary Eva Garrison. It seems to be a strange match, and it looks as though it did not end well. By 1924, the couple had split up. Marcus Leach was living with his daughter, Lola, and her husband, William (Hester's son). Hester was back in North Carolina with her sons, Columbus and Wesley. Both parties told the 1930 census taker they were widowed.

Hester lived with her son, Wesley, until she died of a stroke at the age of 73 on 11 April 1940. She is buried at Clarks Chapel Cemetery in Weaverville, NC. Her death certificate makes no mention of Marcus Leach - it lists her husband as R.F. Garrison - and the name on her tombstone is Hester Edmonds Garrison.

The Children of Robert & Hester Garrison

 

The children of Robert and Hester Garrison were Elizabeth Sarah, William Cleveland, Charles E, Bennie K, Thomas Claiborne, Laura Mae, Mary Eva, Jacob Fulton, Robert Cornelius, Oliver Columbus, and James Wesley.

Elizabeth Sarah Garrison was born on 20 January 1885 in Buncombe County, NC. She attended school and was able to read and write. In 1904 she married Charles E Morrison in Collin County, TX. Elizabeth and Charles had three children: 

• William R, b. 24 December 1908, d. 24 February 1970
• Binnie, b. 10 February 1912, d. December 1978; married Alphonso McMartin and Cecil Owensby
• Helen, b. 2 October 1919, d. 4 April 1960; married Everett Lindsay and Allen Lee

 It is unknown how Elizabeth's marriage to Charles ended. He disappears from the records after the 1920 census. Between 1920 and 1930 Elizabeth married Albert F. Allen. At the time of the 1930 census they lived in Blackwell, OK. There is no record of Elizabeth after 1930 until a death record in the California Death Index in 1959. The record lists Elizabeth Sarah Crawford, born 20 January 1885, died 27 February 1959 in Los Angeles, mother's surname: Edmonds, father's surname: Garrison. Thus far I have been unable to determine how Elizabeth ended up in California nor the identity of her apparent third husband, Mr Crawford. She was buried at Pacific Crest Cemetery in Redondo Beach, CA. 

William Cleveland Garrison was born on 23 December 1886 in Buncombe County, NC. He had at least five years of formal education, and then he began to work on the family farm. On 7 May 1911, at age 24, William married Lola M. "Lollie" Leach, the daughter of Marcus Y. Leach (William's future stepfather). They two sons:

• Marquis Fulton, b. 25 February 1914, d. 26 March 1989; married Edith M* and Mary G* (*last names unknown)
• Alvin Herbert, b. 9 January 1926, d. 11 December 2005, married Ruthie Marceen Hinman

William trained as a smelter and was working as laborer and smelter by 1918 when he completed his World War I draft registration card. On the card he describes himself as medium height and build with brown eyes and light brown hair. He also mentions a broken hip as a disability. In 1930 the family lived at 8 First Street in Schulter, OK, a home they owned worth $150. William continued his work as a smelter, and in 1942 he was employed by Eagle-Picher Lead Co. according to his World War II draft registration card.

William and Lola lived in Schulter, OK their entire married life. They had been married 52 years when Lola died in 1963. William lived another 18 years and then passed away in 1981 at the age of 94. William and Lola are buried side by side at West Lawn Cemetery in Henryetta, OK. 

 

Charles E Garrison was born in March 1889 in Buncombe County, NC. He attended school, was able to read and write, and worked on the family farm. Charles died in 1911 in Catoosa, OK at the age of 22. He is buried at Dick Duck Cemetery in Catoosa.

Bennie K Garrison was born in April 1891 in Buncombe County, NC and died in 1909 in Catoosa, OK. She was 18 years old. There is no further information known about Bennie, but it is worth noting that Elizabeth Sarah Garrison, had a daughter in 2012 and named her Binnie, perhaps after her late sister. Bennie is buried at Dick Duck Cemetery in Catoosa, OK.

 

Thomas Claiborne Garrison was born on 12 March 1893 in Buncombe County, NC and died on 14 August 1900 at the age of 7. He is buried at Clarks Chapel Cemetery in Weaverville, NC.

 

Laura Mae Garrison was born on 9 July 1895 in Buncombe County, NC and died on 25 August 1896. She was 13 months old. Laura is buried at Clarks Chapel Cemetery in Weaverville, NC.

 

Mary Eva Garrison was born on 29 June 1897 in Buncombe County, NC. Eva had a fifth grade education. She married Robert Leach, son of Marcus Y. Leach, in about 1918. They had three children:

• Mamie, b. about 1918, d. after 1940
• Clarence Elmer, b. 28 October 1919, d. 28 October 2008, married Fannie M Huffman
• Ray Franklin, b. 3 January 1922, d. 20 December 1986, married Margie Canipe 

Interestingly, the family seems to be missing in the 1920 census, but they are listed in the 1930 census as living in Schulter, OK. Robert Leach died on 29 February 1932 at the age of 43. In 1940, Eva is listed on the census with her children. They had moved back to North Carolina, presumably to be near the rest of the Garrison family, and were renting a house in Chadwick-Hoskins for $12 a month. Mamie was working in a bakery, and Clarence and Ray were steel workers. 

Eva died on 10 July 1994 in Charlotte, NC.  She was 97 years old. Eva is buried at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte.

 


Jacob Fulton Garrison. Click here for information about Jacob.

Robert Cornelius "Bob" Garrison was born on 9 September 1902 in Buncombe County, NC. When he was a baby the family moved to Rogers County, OK and Bob grew up there. Like his sister, Eva, he is missing from the 1920 census. By 1926, he was back in Buncombe County. He likely returned to North Carolina with his mother when her marriage to Marcus Leach dissolved. Bob married Irene Katherine Edwards on 21 October 1926. Bob was 24 years old, Irene was 17. They had five children:

• Rosa Lee, b. 12 Aug 1927, d. 16 May 2008, married Wayne Lowrey Richardson
• Clara Mae, b. 31 May 1929, d. 16 May 2008, married David Barron
• Robert Thomas "Tom", b. 15 March 1931, d. 9 July 1992, married Ruth Bernice Tucker
• James Gardner "Coach", b. 5 March 1933, d. 3 April 2015, married Joyce Malone
• Paul Killian, b. 8 July 1935, d. 24 August 2007, married Loyce Louis Tucker

Bob and Irene both had an eighth grade education. In 1930, they were living in Reems Creek, NC. Bob worked as a garage mechanic, and they rented a house for $10 a month. Between 1930-1935 they purchased a house worth $300. An interesting fact about Bob...according to his niece, Norma Garrison Jordan, Bob had a glass eye.

Bob died on 20 March 1990 at the age of 87 and is buried at Charlotte Memorial Gardens in Charlotte, NC. Irene lived to be 91 years old. She died on 22 April 2001. Bob and Irene were married for 64 years.

Oliver Columbus Garrison was born on 28 February 1905 in McKinney, TX. He grew up in Catoosa, OK. He had a sixth grade education, and by age 15 he was working as a farm laborer. When his mother's marriage to Marcus Leach broke apart he relocated to North Carolina with her. He is listed in the minutes of the Flat Creek Baptist Church on 7 September 1924 with a group of people who were baptized that day.

On 24 December 1926, Columbus married Mamie Katherine Rice. He was 21 years old; Mamie was 15. They were married for 11 years before their only child was born. Her name was Dorothy Daffine, born 31 January 1937. Dorothy never married and when she passed away on 3 April 1991 at age 54 her home is listed as a nursing home and her burial as "Burial in State". It appears that she may have been disabled and could have become a ward of the state after the deaths of her parents, but admittedly that is speculation on my part. 

Columbus was an iron and steel worker and was employed by Southern Engineering. He and Mamie were married for 50 years before she passed away on 27 December 1976. Columbus passed away on 29 January 1983 at the age of 77. He and Mamie are buried at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte, NC.

 

James Wesley Garrison was born on 22 December 1908 in Rogers County, OK. In the first four years of his life he experienced the death of his sister, Bennie, his brother, Charles, and his father. In 1920, at age 11, he was living with his mother and stepfather, Marcus Leach, and was attending school. Four years later he had moved with his mother and brothers to North Carolina. He was part of the group referenced above that was baptized on 7 September 1924 at  Flat Creek Baptist Church. 

Wesley married Orla Delitha Willis on 5 January 1927. He was 18; she was 19. Their first child was born later that year. They had three children in total:

• Lorraine Elizabeth, b. 9 Nov 1927, d. 19 May 2001, married Charles Ray Black
• Thelma Marie, b. August 1930, d. 9 July 1931
• Alma Maybelle, b. abt 1934, married Louis Ervan Outlaw (Date of death is unknown; Alma may still be alive at the time this post was written) 

It seems tragedy was fond of Wesley. His second daughter, Thelma, died at 11 months old of tuberculosis. His wife died of the same disease on 20 April 1935, shortly after their daughter, Alma, was born. Orla was 27 years old when she died.

A few months after Orla died Wesley married Sarah Anna Cochran on 5 February 1936. Wesley was employed as a steelworker at Southern Engineering (just like his brother, Columbus), and Sarah worked as a packer at a wholesale candy store. Wesley and Sarah had no children.

Wesley died of a heart attack on 27 January 1958. He was 49 years old. He was buried at Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mecklenburg County, NC. His wife, Sarah, remarried in 1964 to a man named James Harold Belk. Sarah passed away on 19 August 1996. She is buried at Prospect United Methodist Church Cemetery in Monroe, NC.  

 

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