This family was founded in America prior to the revolution by William Edwards, of whom little can be learned further than he was born in Wales and emigrated when a young man. He settled in Ulster county, was later of Livingston Manor, Columbia county, where he married and died. His wife was a Miss Smith, and he reared a family including sons John, William, Solomon, and daughters Nellie, married William Hubbs, and Polly, married Thomas Hubbs.
(II) John, son of William Edwards, was born in Livingston Manor, New York, in 1791, where he was reared and educated. He settled in Glen, Montgomery county, New York, about 1810. He was a farmer of Montgomery county the remainder of his life, owned a good farm, and was a man of superior attainments and highly respected in the town. He married Ann Van Schaick, born on Staten Island, New York, 1790, died in Glen, 1876. John Edwards died in 1877 and both are buried in the Glen cemetery. Children:
- William H., see forward.
- Anna M., born March, 1818, died September 26, 1899; married Stephen Ostrom.
- Margaret L., born October 17, 1819, died January 20, 1908.
- John V. S., born February 17, 1822, died July 2, 1887; married Mrs. Mary (Hosford) Mitchell; children: J. S. G., a leading citizen of Glen; Edward, Mary E. and Geddes H.
- Eleanor E., born 1824, died unmarried October 5, 1896.
- Thomas, born in 1827, died unmarried, 1852.
- James, died in infancy.
- Antoinette E., born May 22, 1831, died August 25, 1889; married James Barhyte, deceased, leaving a daughter, Julia V., who married ———— Wright, of Cleveland, Ohio; children: Antoinette and Wright.
- Jane, born July 9, 1833; married Newton Van Derveer, whom she survives, a resident of St. Joseph, Michigan; children:
- Grace, married Anthony Canavan, of St. Joseph, Michigan;
- Jane, married Professor George Wagner of the Northwestern University, Madison, Wisconsin; children: Newton, Carl and Grace Wagner.
After the death of Mr. Van Derveer, his wife assumed the management of his affairs, succeeded him as director of the First National Bank, which he organized at Benton Harbor, and has proved herself a capable woman of affairs.
(III) William H., eldest son of John and Ann (Van Schaick) Edwards, was born in Glen, Montgomery county, New York, January 2, 1817, died June 25, 1881. He was reared on the farm, and after marriage settled on his own farm in Glen, where he lived and died a farmer. He married, in Glen, March 22, 1842, Eleanor S. Mount, born in Glen, April 22, 1823, died April 25, 1874, daughter of Matthias and Elizabeth (Van Vetchen) [Van Vechten?] Mount. This marriage connects the Edwards family with some of the oldest Dutch blood in the Mohawk Valley. Matthias Mount, born October 5, 1787, died in his native town, Glen, January 19, 1862, son of John Mount, died 1844. Elizabeth Van Vetchen was the daughter of Anthony and Mary (Fonda) Van Vetchen, the latter a daughter of Jellis Fonda, and granddaughter of Hamilton Fonda, born in 1701. Jellis Fonda was an early pioneer settler in Montgomery county, and a noted character in the days of the revolution.
Children of William H. and Eleanor S. (Mount) Edwards, born in Glen:
- Henrietta, born January 18, 1843, died October 5, 1861; married Fletcher Van Wie, left no issue.
- John, born February 5, 1844, died unmarried, May 5, 1900.
- Anna M., born December 14, 1845, became the second wife of Fletcher Van Wie.
- Elizabeth, born April 1, 1848, died unmarried, February 4, 1901.
- William H. (2), see forward.
- Louise, twin of William H., died in infancy.
- Matthias M., August 12, 1852; married Elizabeth Vedder, no issue.
- Stephen O., January 22, 1855; graduated from Brown University and the Boston Law School; member of the well-known law firm of Edwards & Angel, Providence, Rhode Island; married Ellen Chace; children:
- Walter A., born May 19, 1888;
- Helen C., born September 22, 1889;
- Edith W., August 14, 1890.
- Frank, born March 7, 1857; a farmer of Glen; married Hannah Van Horne; children:
- Elizabeth, born August 9, 1885; married Edward Milas, of Palmer, New York; child, Lucy;
- Irene, born September 25, 1889;
- Anna, born April 9, 1893.
- Eleanor, born December 6, 1863; married Louis E. Lounsbery, of Randall, New York, rural mail carrier; child, Mary E., born November 22, 1905.
- Seeber, born October 7, 1869; graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School, is an attorney of Providence, Rhode Island; married Sarah E. Gurney; children:
- Charles G., born May 25, 1897, and
- William Henry, born December 5, 1898.
(IV) William H. (2), son of William H. (1) and Eleanor S. (Mount) Edwards, was born in Glen, New York, May 23, 1850. He was reared on the farm, educated in the Glen schools and is one of the successful agriculturalists of the town. He is a man of superior mental ability and is modern in thought, keeping abreast of the times in all things. He is a Republican in politics. He married, in Root, Montgomery county, January 18, 1883, Mary E. Lounsbery, born in Root, March 19, 1858; educated at Hungerford Collegiate Institute; a person of education herself, as is her husband, they have bestowed the same advantages upon their children, making theirs a home of culture and refinement. Mrs. Edwards is a daughter of Louis (2) and Mary A. (Martin) Lounsbery, and a granddaughter of Louis (1) Lounsbery, of Ulster county, New York. Louis (2) Lounsbery was born in Onondaga county, New York, July 6, 1813, died in Randall, Montgomery county, November 27, 1894. He was prominent in political and public life; was port warden of New York City; superintendent of canals, and filled various other public positions of trust. He married (first) Cornelia Van Valkenburg; children of this marriage:
- Helen M., born November 7, 1840;
- John E., born November 29, 1842, died May 26, 1868;
- Elizabeth, born September 7, 1844, died December 10, 1844;
- Jacob, born September 24, 1845, died February 20, 1846;
- George H., born February 23, 1847, died January 25, 1890;
- Louis, born May 12, 1850, died March 24, 1851.
He married (second) Mary A. Martin, born November 13, 1825, died in Root, April 18, 1900; children:
- Williard B., born February 14, 1854, died January 20, 1891, unmarried;
- Louis E.. born October 8, 1856, married (first) Isabelle Bevins and had Leroy, Louis and Walker; married (second) Eleanor Edwards, and has Mary E., born November 22, 1905;
- Mary E., married William H. Edwards, aforementioned;
- Thurlow Weed, born February 6, 1860, died January 23, 1901, unmarried;
- Louisa A., February 18, 1866, died December 25, 1902, unmarried; she was a teacher in the public schools;
- Daisy E., August 23, 1867, graduate of the Boston School of Oratory, is a gifted elocutionist and teacher at Fulton, New York.
Children of William H. and Mary E. (Lounsbery) Edwards:
- Lucy, born April 1, 1884; is devoted to the home.
- John L., born August 14, 1885; graduate of Worcester Academy, class of 1904, now a student at Albany Medical College.
- Eleanor M., born September 3, 1888; now (1910) a student of Cornell University, class of 1911.