My Family Quest

Charles Wesley Edmondson, my great-grandfather, the father of Ruth Marie Edmondson my paternal grandmother. There are not many stories or memories of Charles that can be found. This is my attempt to write his life history based on the bits and pieces of his life in North Carolina, Texas, and Idaho. The information has come from the backs of photos, my research, research done by other family members, and the life history of his son Tom Edmondson, or “Uncle Tom” as he was kindly called.

In compiling my notes for this story, I started with a timeline and then began to add information and records as I found them. This is my attempt to know him and give meaning to his life. So Let’s Begin!

Charles Wesley Edmondson

Charles Wesley Edmondson was born May 11, 1874, to Joseph J Edmondson (1840-1905) and Margarete Hodges (1842-1888) in Palmyra Township, Halifax County, North Carolina. He was 1 of 6 children Margarete had before her passing in about 1888; Joseph Pollard Edmondson (1866-1952), Lucy C Edmondson (1862-1923), Alonzo Marion Edmondson (1871-1925), Alma C Edmondson (1877-1921), and Ader M Edmondson (1879-).

After the death of Charles’s mother, his father married E Nina Hodges, Margarete’s niece. Nina is the daughter of Mack Gilbert Hodges and Martha Ann Staton. Joseph and Nina had 3 children; Pattie Edmondson (1895-1976), Gordon A Edmondson (1897-1955, and Rhesa Edmondson (1898 -).

The town of Palmyra was incorporated in 1883. Before 1883 it was a Township in Halifax County. Halifax County was formed in 1758 from Edgecombe County. It is bounded by Bertie, Martin, Edgecombe, Conoconnara, Enfield, Faucett, Halifax, Littleton, Palmrya, Roanoke Rapid, Reseneath, Scotland Neck and Weldon. – The North Carolina Gazetteer

1880 Census, Goose Nest Township, Martin, North Carolina

In the 1880 census taken on 3 June 1880 in Goose Nest Township, Martin, North Carolina, Charles was about 6 years old. He had 2 younger sisters, Alma C age 3, and Ader M who was just born. He also had 2 older brothers, Joseph P age 13, and Alonzo M age 9, and an older sister Lucy C age 11. To support the family, his father Joseph, worked as a blacksmith and farmed. His mother Margarete was sick with neuralgia.

Goose Nest today is known as Oak City. The area received the name Goose Nest by a Union soldier on a raid during the Civil War. It was incorporated as Conocho, in 1891. The name changed to Oak City in 1905 because of confusion with Conetoe.

Charles Moves in With the Early Family

In 1887/1888, Charles was about 13 years old and his mother Margarete Edmondson had recently passed away. For some reason unknown to us, he moved from his home and began living with Earlie/Early family. We know this from the back of a photo my grandmother Ruth Marie Tolman had, who put notes there and when we don’t know.

We can only speculate why Charles might have moved in with the Earlie family. It was not uncommon for young men of this period to be found living with neighbors as hired hands working the fields. It could also be that Joseph, his father didn’t have the means to keep the family together, we don’t know.

Wife Martha Clementine Puckett & Son Thomas Witten Edmondson.

Their first child Thomas Witten Edmondson was born on the 9 September 1899 in Blevins, Falls County, Texas. Thomas wrote in his life story that his father had to ride a mule 2.5 miles for the Dr. and by the time the Dr. arrived he had been born. Thomas says that the house he was born in was built with 1×12 boards that stood end on end, placed next to each other, and covered with a batten to keep the wind and cold out. The house consisted of a bedroom, a kitchen, and a porch. Water was hauled from a well.

1900 Census Blevins, Falls County, Texas

The 1900 census was taken in Pricent 8 in Blevins, Falls County, Texas on the 18th day of June, noted that Charles and Martha had been married for 2 years, with one son Thomas who was 8 months old. In addition to them, Martha’s mother Margaret Ann Puckett was living with them. Martha’s mother was a widow born in October of 1836 in Tennessee. Charles was renting the farm, and they were struggling to make a livelihood.

Shortly before the second daughter Vera Texanna was born, they moved to the area around Marshall, Texas. Vera was born on the 28th of January 1901. Here on this farm seven miles from Marshall, they gave up farming and moved to the city, I assume it was Marshall. Charles took a job as a delivery boy before working for the Texas & Pacific Railway as a car carpenter.

The Railraod & Farming, Texas

During the 5 years that the family lived in Marshall and while Charles continued to work for the railroad, two more daughters were born. Era May was born on 6 May 1903 and Ivy Margaret on the 8th June 1905. After the birth of Ivy, the family moved to Baird, Texas for about 6 months before Charles was transferred to Wichita Falls Texas. For the next 6 years, the family lived in Wichita and 2 more children were added to the family, Emma Christine on 21 October 1907 and Alvin Walker on the 19th of September 1909.

Charles took up farming again on the Red River near a county town called Thornberry a farming community that grew mostly corn and cotton. In Thomas’s writing, he said “I can well remember this adventure as I could almost see the corn turn brown when the hot wind moved across the cornfield..” In the fall after the failure of the crops the family moved back to Witchita Falls and Charles went to work for the railroad again.

1910 Census, Witchita Falls, Texas

By the time of the 1910 census, Charles had moved the family back to Witchita Falls, Texas and he had given up on farming once again and was back working for the railroad as a carpenter. The census shows that the couple had 6 children born to them and that all 6 children were living with the youngest being their son Alvin who was 7 months old.

Here in Witchita Falls, the couple had two more boys. The first was Paul Wesley Edmondson. Family records indicate that he was born on the 4th Feb 1913 and died on the 5th May 1913. The 2nd son born is Arvis Lee on the 30th of May 1914.

The Move to Oakley and Burley, Idaho & Sugar Beats

Around 1915, Charles packed up the family and moved to Idaho. It is said that he was convinced to move to Idaho by a family member who had already moved there. The moved to the area of Oakley, Idaho. Here he took up sugar beet farming for a season. Sugar beet farming was in the early stages of development. The sugar beets were grown in southern Idaho being in the early 1900s, Burley in 1912 and by the by 1916 in Twin Falls, Idaho

The first season wasn’t good for the family and the crops failed. The crop failed because the landowners failed to conserve the irrigation water and as a result, the beet tonnage was light and not very good. In the spring of 1916, the family moved from Oakley, Idaho to Burley, Idaho, and gave the beet crops another go. Tom says, “The crops seemed to grow better but the sugar company wouldn’t let the crop be harvested on time because the sugar content was too low.”

After about a two-week delay, Charles began harvesting the beets in the poorest parts of the field. In four or five days they had gotten about half the field harvested. By the time the first heavy freeze hit around mid-October 1916, they had only harvested about 3 rows of good beets and the rest were lost.

Birth of Ruth Marie Edmondson – Last Daughter

In the spring, on March 17th, 1917 Ruth Maire, my grandmother was born. The next spring Charles rented another farm for a season. The house needed work and a new room was added. The family moved in while the plaster was still wet on the walls. After that first night in the cold damp room of the new house, Charles became ill and on the 1st of February 1918, he passed away. He was 43 years old. His oldest child was 18 years and his youngest, my grandmother was almost 1 year old.

Charles Westley Edmondson’s Death – Ivy Maraget Edmondson

Ivy remembers being 12 years old and being woken up in the night and told that if she wanted to see her papa alive again to get up and come.  She went into the bedroom where the windows were open and a cold February wind was blowing through.  (That was what they did in those days for what they thought to be pneumonia [now they believe it was the flu – part of the great flu epidemic of 1918]).

Ivy also remembers that when they buried him, her younger brother, Arvis, fell to pieces when they could hear and see the shovels of dirt clods hitting the coffin.

Concluding Thoughts

During the short 43 years of life, my great-grandfather accomplished much. Born in the small town of Palmyra, North Carolina, then moved to Texas and then to Idaho all while raising a family. By today’s standards that is not an easy task, can you imagine doing that in the late 1800s and early 1900s? Today we have trucks and cars, but back then they didn’t have that luxury and what you could carry is basically what you moved.

As we can tell his life wasn’t simple, it was work and prone to failure more times than not. Today we live in nice, big, insulated houses where children have their rooms and maybe a spare room, but back then you had a 1 room house and if lucky maybe 2 rooms. He loved his family, as he kept trying to improve their lives. Thank you great grandpa for the lessons you have taught us all.