The Colonial Edwards Family
Captain Edwards
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Author Ben L. Edwards was able to trace his Edwards ancestors back over three centuries. Four generations of his family lived in Boston between 1700 and 1852.
Ben's first ancestor in America was Captain Benjamin Edwards (1685-1751). From 1711-1722, Captain Edwards made numerous voyages from Boston to ports in Europe and the Caribbean. In 1722, his ship Greyhound battled the pirate ship Happy Delivery off the coast of Honduras. Details of this fight with pirate George Lowther are revealed during the tour.
Captain Edwards lived in Boston's North End. In later years, he served as a tax collector for the town. Records indicate that on March 7, 1749 he collected taxes from Thomas Hancock at his mansion on Beacon Hill. Living with Thomas at the time was his adopted nephew 12-year-old John Hancock.
Alexander Edwards - member of the Sons of Liberty
The Captain's son Dolling Edwards (1737-1773) was a mastmaker at a shipyard in the North End. Dolling's brother Alexander Edwards (1733-1798) was a cabinetmaker and member of the Sons of Liberty. When Dolling died in 1773, Alexander and his wife Sarah helped raise Dolling's orphaned children, including Benjamin Edwards (1765-1808) and his sister Sally Edwards (1761-1808).
On the evening of April 18, 1775, Benjamin Edwards (1765-1808) was 10 years old and living a few blocks down the street from Christ Church (Old North) when the signal lanterns where shown from its steeple and Paul Revere made his Midnight Ride. Young Ben had a front row seat to the British siege of Boston and the birth of the United States. Near the end of the American Revolution, Ben's sister Sally Edwards married Paul Revere Jr., first-born son of the famous patriot. The couple had 12 children.
Benjamin Edwards became a cooper in Boston and had 5 children, including a son named Joseph B. Edwards (1799-1852). Joseph worked as a paver who set granite paving stones in the city streets. He was also an innkeeper. Joseph lived in the West End, not far from Boston Common where today his g-g-great grandson Ben L. Edwards begins his one-of-a kind walking tour of historic Boston.
Resources to help you learn about your own ancestors.
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