Richard Elbert Edwards

Treaty Hill

by France Epperson Winslow

(second of a series about people and houses on Lake Maxinkuckee)

In sides the walls of a Victorian cottage a firm, but derermined mother persuaded her twelve-year old (1892) son to call at the house "on the point" (Peoples Point). Marie Stuart of Lafayette was visiting at the Brownell'a summer home. Even a boy was expected to do the socially correct thing, in the late eighteen hundreds. Emotional life was laid on the sacrificial alter of good form. Richard Edwards would make the call and get it over, but he considered it a waste of time. The slender boy rigged his sailboat, tossed his fair hair in the breeze, and wathed with keen, blue eyes his craft skim over the azure, ruppling water.

Shortly he brought his boat to an egg-shell landing along-side the pier, climbed from the cockpit, and with shy, furtive glances smiled as he met his neighbor's house guest. To go sailing seemed to be the thing to break the adolescent embarrassment.

Together, Dick and Marie climbed aboard, not realizing that they were starting friendship which would influence theri lives. The lassie was a glamour girl with magnificent, understandeing, lustrous eyes. She understood a fellow too Dick was proud, for he was a good sailor, and felt neither appologetic nor ill at ease on Maxinkuckee.

Time slipped away. The sail was over and the visit ended all too soon. Both youngsters returned to their winter homes, and went merrily through the educative process. Grade school, high school, and college they took in their stride. Dick graduated from Harvard with honors, and Marie compeieted Smith ' with Charm.

Twelve years after this first sail together, the "take off" again, he as skipper and she as crew, on a different sea. They return to Maxinkuckee for a honeymoon at the Victorian cottage, with its balconies, porches and towers. Over thirty years ago in the rambiling house, they relaxed between sails.

The cottage was built in 1893 on the crest of a gentle, sloping hill at the foot of which gurgled a spring. This historic spot; here the Indians had signed their final treaty with the white man.

The Edwards summer home on Treaty Hill has been a haven of rest and recreation. It has been hositable, and vibrant with live and activity. Three generations have gone through its doors in the firty nine years of occupancy. Today, its owner is the oldest, living resident, who comes to Lake Maxinkuckee each summer, Mr. R. A. Edwards was ninety years old in November, 1941.

October the Eleventh has beccome the traditional feast day for the family and friends in this house. In all these years, the wedding anniversaries have been celebrated with mirth and frivolity, in the cottage where Mrs. R. A. Edwards persuaded her young son to make a call on the Brownell's house guest.

From Treaty Hill, Richard, the grandson, has gone to sea, as a Lieutenant of the U. S. S. Wichita. He loves the water jast as his grandfather, Mr. R. A. Edwards did when he built on the lake in 1893, and as his father, Richard E. Edwards enjoyed it, when he sailed into romance at the age of twelve

Richard Elbert Edwards Birth: Oct. 10, 1880 Galesburg, Illinois

Richard E. Edwards - One of the important insdutrial enterprises that contridutes materially to the commercial prestige of the city of Sault St. Maire in is the Wolverine Cedar & Lumber Company, which there maintaines its headquarters.

The company manufactures lumber and lath and draws it supplies from reserve sources in the Georgian Bay District of Ontario, Canada, and has other holdings in upper Michigan. Of this well known concern, Richard E. Edwards is vice-president and general manager and he now maintains his home in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, though he still retains close association with the business and civic interests of Menominee, which was long his place of residence.

Richard E. Edwards was born in the city of Galesvurg, Illinois on the 10th of October, 1880, and is the son of Richard A. and Alice (Shirk) Edwards.
The father was born in the historic old city of Salem, Massachusetts, and is a representative of one of the old honored families of New England, with whose annals the name has been identified since the colonial era.

He was born in the years 1852 and now maintains his home at Peru, Indiana. He is president of the Wolverine Cedar & Lumber Company.

The mother was born in Peru, Indiana and finds satisfaction saitsfacion of retaining her home in her native city.

The father is one of the substantial capitalists and leading bankers of his city, being an officer and director of the Peru Trust Company and the First National Bank of the place.

He is a director in several public-utility corporations and also in various manufacturing concerns, and has had much to do with the growth of his city's prosperity. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and both her and his wife hold membership in the Baptist Church.


Richard E Edwards received his early educational training in the public schools of Indiana and supplemented this by college preparatory work in the Worchester Academy, at Worcester, Massachusetts.

In 1898 he was amtriculated in Harvard University, in which he complered the academic course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1902. He received from this historic institution the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts.

Mr. Edwards assumed a clerical position in the office of the First National Bank of Peru, Indiana, in which he was later promoted to the office of teller, a position which he resigned in 1903, when he became manager of the Peru Heating company, with the handling of whose business he continued to be thus actively identified until the spring of 1904, when he came to Menominee, Michigan, and assumed the duties of the office of secretary of the Wolverine Cedar & Lumber Company.

In 1905 he removed to Chicago, having charge of the company's in that city until July, 1907, when the Chicago office was closed and he returned to Menominee. He succeeded to the general management of the company in the summer of 1909, when his father purchased the interests of J. M. Thompson in the corporation.

On the 23d of September, 1909, the general offices in Menominee were closed and the headquarters of the company were removed to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where Mr. Edwards has since continued in active charge of the business which is one of broad scope and importance.

He is a member of the directorate of the Peru Heating Company and the Peru Mercantile Company, both of Peru, Indiana, and also is a director of the Citizens; Electric Company, of Lebanon, that state.

Mr. Edwards iinidentified with the University Club of Chicago and also with the University Club of Indianapolis, besides whixh he is a valued member of the Harvard Clubs of Chicago and Michigan.

In polictics he gives his allegiance to the Republican Party.

On the 11th of October, 1904, was solomnized the marriage of Mr. Edwards to Miss Marie Stuart, who was born in the city of Lafayette, Indiana, and who is a daughter of Thomas A. and Ada (Ellsworth) Stuart, the former of whom died in 1895 and the latter resides in Lafayette. Mr. Stuart was a representative member of the bar of Indiana and was a prominent factor in connection with public affairs in that state, having been a staunch Democrat in hhis political prodivities.

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have one son, Ruchard A. H. -- A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and its People, ALvah L Sawyer, Lewis Publishing Company of Chicago. Ill

Death: Apr. 9, 1969 Peru, Miami, Indiana Burial: Mount Hope Cemetery Peru Miami County Indiana son of Richard Arthur Edwards & Alice Shirk

Peru - Funeral services for Richard E. Edwards, 88, 50 N Hood St., prominent Peru resident will be 10:30 a. m. Saturday in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church with the Rev. Lewis Payne officiating. Burial will be in Mounty Hope Cemetery.

Friends may call at the Eikenberry-Murry Funeral Home after 7:30 p.m. Friday

Active for many years in local and state organizations, he served on various local war boards and bond drives in World Wars I and II and was a member of the original organizations for Peru flood control and Peru Manufacturers Association.

He was a past president of the Peru Rotary Club and was a vice president of the Peru Chapter of the Navy League

Mr. Edwards graduated in 1898 from Worcester Academy, Worcester, Mass. He attended Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., graduating with honors from there in 1902. He was awarded two degrees from there

He also obtained a degree from Prudue University in Agricultrual economics and received Purdue's distinguished agricultural award in 1942.

A member of the American Econmic Association, he was also a member of the American Farm Economics Association, the Royal Economic Society, the Columbia Club at Indianapolis, the University Club of Chicago, the American Legion and the Society of Indiana Pioneers.

Several years ago he was named to Purdue University's Hall of fame.

He had served as president of the Indiana Hereford Association and Indiana Livestock Breeders' Association; was a former chairman and for many years a director of the Indiana State Livestock Sanitary Board and a former member of the Governor's study commission on livestock disease control - - Kokomo Tribune - - 11 Aor 1969

married October 11th, 1904, at the St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana Marie Stuart

Marie Stuart Edwards, a leader in suffrage and other social movements, was born in 1880 in Lafayette. Her youth included many “firsts”. She was the first girl in Lafayette to ride a bike and the first to attend a women’s college.



In 1904, she married Richard E. Edwards, the grandson of the original builders of the house. The couple moved into this house (Shirk-Edawards House) in 1914 and Marie Stuart Edwards died there in 1970

.

Her first foray into social reform took place in Michigan when she was unable to find safe milk for her son. She organized a platform against infant mortality by abolishing unsanitary dairies and bad milk. The family moved back to Indiana in 1914 and Marie’s activity in the suffrage movement took off. She helped organize the Indiana Women’s Franchise League and served as president of the organization.

1920 was an important year for suffrage and a busy one for Marie Stuart Edwards. She was one of four women who organized the National League of Women Voters. At that time she was appointed the first treasurer of the League and she would later be appointed vice-president. The purpose of the League was to insure the passage of an amendment to enfranchise women, to educate voters on democratic responsibilities, and to push for social reform. Later that same year, Marie helped organize Social Justice Day in Marion, Ohio. Over 13,000 women gathered to meet with Senator Warren Harding, who was running for President. The efforts of Marie and others like her paid off. The 19th Amendment was passed on August 18, 1920.

Marie continued her efforts with women’s rights and social causes. She served on the Indiana State Commission for Mental Defectives, the Department of Government for the League of Women Voters, and the Indiana Board of Public Welfare. In Miami County, she was involved with the County Board of Associated Charities and led the local Works Progress Administration board during the Depression. -- Women in Indiana; in.gov

DEATH 17 Nov 1970 Peru, Miami County, Indiana, BURIAL Nov. 2 1970 Mount Hope Cemetery Peru, Miami County, Indiana daughter of Thomas Arthur Stuart & Ada Whidtredge Ellsworth Note: Marie Stuart was neice of Edward Augustus Ellsworth who was her mothers brother.

Rites Friday At Peru For State and Civic Leader

Peru - Marie Stewart Edwards, prominent civic and state leader, died 5:45 p.m. Tuesday in her home following several years; illness.

Mrs. Edwards was responsible for establishing the League of Women Voters in Indiana and held several state offices, being its first president.

In 1936 she was appointed to the Indiana Welfare Board because of her work with the League in establishing the act. She also assisted in writing the law for the State Board of Corrections and served on that board for many years

Mrs. Edwards also was secretary-treasurer of the National League of Women Voters and in the first two years of that organization, national headquarters was in her home.

She was active in the county board of Associated Charities and headed the local WPA's Prpject Administration established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide employment during the depression years.

She was appointed to Peru's first Civil Center Board and also worked in the county's Associated Charities and Red Cross.

She was married Oct 11, 1904 to Richard E. Edwards, local business man, who was named to the Purdue University Agriculture's Hall of Fame for his work on farm projects. He died April 9, 1989.

Surviving are a son, Richard E. Edwards, Davenport, Iowa and two grandsons.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, of which she was a member. The Rev. Lewis Payne will officiate and burial will be in My Hope cemetery - - The Logansport Press Logansport, Indiana 19 Nov 1970, Thu Page 17

Child
Richard Arthur Edwards BIRTH 14 May 1909 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois DEATH 20 Mar 1984 Alameda, Alameda County, California, BURIAL Riverside Cemetery Moline, Rock Island County, Illinoi s married Jan 11, 1936 Eloise Anita Bell Peek BIRTH 22 Feb 1911 Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois, DEATH 28 Mar 1982 Alameda County, California BURIAL Riverside Cemetery Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois,d/o Burton Francis Peek & Anita Bell