Ernest Carl Edmands
Ernest and his wife were part of the reactive Lost Generation. His father was part of the nomadic, reactive Gilded Generation, and his mother was part of the adaptive Progressive Generation. His siblings were part of the idealistic Missionary Generation. His children were part of the heroic, civic-minded Greatest Generation.
Easy-going, soft-hearted, enterprising, outdoor-loving. Ernest was the last of a brood of children, all boys. He grew up on his parents' dairy farm on Route 1, just north of Main Street in Saugus, Massachusetts. His mother was a thorough housekeeper, who also strained and bottled the milk at the dairy. Here is a picture of Ernest as a small child (click it to see it enlarged).
Ernest had three older half-brothers and three older brothers. The eldest sibling, half-brother Arthur Seymour Edmands, 1862-1951 was 21 years 6 months older than him; the youngest of his siblings, brother Elbert H. "Bert" Edmands, 1878-1946, was 5 years 8 months older than him. Clearly, Ernest was the baby of the family. Here is a picture of him (ca. 1900) with his father and his brothers; Ernest, age 16, is the one on the right whose clothes don't fit too well.
Ernest played football at Saugus High School until he had a serious ankle injury. He graduated in 1902 and began attending Massachusetts Agricultural School in Amherst off and on. On Sunday 25 October 1903, at the age of 19, while he was working as a farmhand and groundskeeper on the Saugus farm of his brother Bert, 25, and his sister-in-law(?) Nellie, he met one of their friends, Mary Caroline Findley, 1887-1970, 16, who had ridden out on the electric car for a 20-cent fare from her home in Andover.
Ernest and Mary fell in love. (Click either picture to enlarge it.) Since Ernest was lonesome for his sweetheart when he was far away in Amherst, he did not finish at the Agricultural School, probably disappointing his parents thereby. In addition, they did not approve of Mary during the youngsters' long engagement, considering her too "unladylike." Mary's co-worker at the Andover Press, George Allan Christie (who was 15 years older than Ernest), enhanced the otherwise encumbered courtship by acting as a liberal chaperon. He was best man at their 1908 wedding, and the couple named their first son, Allan Christie Edmands I, 1911-1945, after him.
Ernest worked for the Eastern Massachusetts Railway and later for New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad as a motorman and surveyor. Here is a picture of him as a motorman (click it to enlarge).
Ernest and Mary lived in the Saugus area during the early years of their marriage. Ernest built them a stone cabin in North Reading (click to see a full-size picture); he worked at the North Reading town farm while Mary cooked on an outdoor fireplace.
Ernest loved the outdoors and often hiked in the New Hampshire and Vermont mountains. Unfortunately, when he was in his thirties, his health declined precipitously because of problem kidneys. In 1914 a doctor told him that he couldn't live more than 15 more years. When the doctor told Mary, Ernest was enraged and threw away his medicines.
Ernest was not drafted during the World War I callup, because of a persistent ankle injury from high school days and because he was the father of three young children. His health was none too good anyway. Soon after the war, during the terrible worldwide flu epidemic, baby Frances joined the family, but she died only two days after her birth.
In 1920 Ernest, at age 36, nearly succumbed to colitis and a ruptured ulcer. During his long recuperation, he could rarely bring in a paycheck, so Mary became the breadwinner, taking on more and more work as a proofreader for the Andover Press. His boys, Allan and John, were sent to live with Ernest's older brother Ellis and sister-in-law Annie on their Vermont farm. His eldest child, daughter Jean, stayed at home to help while Mary was working. Meanwhile, Ernest took up water colors and pen and ink drawings. He also learned how to knit, and he knitted several sweaters.
During those years, Ernest and Mary joined the Episcopalean Church.
Out of the proceeds from his inheritance (after his parents died), Ernest had a house built on Carmel Road in Andover, and in 1924 the reunited family moved in. Ernest did not enjoy the house very long, since his health continued to decline. Here is a picture taken in the summer of 1928 (click to enlarge), just months before he died of Brights disease (a form of nephritis) at the age of 44. He left his widow, Mary, at the age of 41, with three children (Jean, 19, Allan, 17, and John, 11); she needed to work all the harder, taking out loans and paying them off with small installments. Just to cover Ernest's funeral expenses, Mary paid $1-per-week installments for years until the bill was paid up.
![[ Ernest Carl Edmands, ca. 1889 ]](images/ernestcarlboyx.jpg)
![[ Artemas Seymour Edmands and his sons, ca. 1900 ]](images/artemasandsons.jpg)
Artemas Seymour Edmands and his sons, ca. 1900.
[Front] Arthur Seymour, Artemas Seymour, Edward Wesley.
[Back] Nelson Wilfred, Elbert H., Ellis Lincoln, Oscar Melvin, Ernest Carl.![[ Mary Caroline Findley, age 17, 1904 ]](images/marycaroline1x.jpg)
![[ Ernest Carl Edmands, age 19, 1903 ]](images/ernest1x.jpg)
![[ Ernest Carl as a railroad motorman, ca. 1909 ]](images/ernestcarlrrx.jpg)
![[ The stone cabin in North Reading, 1912 ]](images/cabinx.jpg)
![[ Ernest Carl Edmands with his family, 1928 ]](images/ernestandfamilyx.jpg)
Year by year in the life of Ernest Carl Edmands
The childhood of Ernest Carl Edmands in its historical context
The historical context of Ernest Carl Edmands's life (age 17 through 26)
The historical context of Ernest Carl Edmands's life (age 27 through 36)
The historical context of Ernest Carl Edmands's life (age 37 until his death)
| Birth of Ernest Carl Edmands | ||||||||||
| Born: | 19 June 1884 | |||||||||
| Birthplace: | Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
| Parents | ||||||||||
| Father: | Artemas Seymour Edmands, 1837-1920 (our ancestor), from Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
| Mother: | Ella Josephine Mansfield, 1849-1923 (our ancestor), from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and from Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
| Siblings | ||||||||||
| Half-brother: | Arthur Seymour Edmands, 1862-1951 | |||||||||
| Half-brother: | Edward Wesley Edmands, 1864-1956 | |||||||||
| Half-brother: | Ellis Lincoln Edmands, 1868-1947 | |||||||||
| Brother: | Nelson Wilfred Edmands, 1875-1950 | |||||||||
| Brother: | Oscar Melvin Edmands, 1876-1966 | |||||||||
| Brother: | Elbert H. "Bert" Edmands, 1878-1946 | |||||||||
| Spouse and children | ||||||||||
| Wife: | Mary Caroline Findley, 1887-1970
(our ancestor) (daughter of William F. Findley and Laura Caroline Bean Findley [our ancestors] from Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts) Engaged 25 October 1903 Married 24 June 1908 at Howell home in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
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| Other information | ||||||||||
| Education: | Saugus High School, Saugus, MA; Massachusetts Agricultural School, Amherst, MA (did not finish) | |||||||||
| Occupation: | Rail motorman and surveyor for the Eastern Massachusetts Railway and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad; farmworker, groundskeeper | |||||||||
| Religion: | Episcopalean | |||||||||
| Death of Ernest Carl Edmands | ||||||||||
| Died: | 19 October
1928 (from Bright's disease, a form of nephritis) (age 44 years 4 months) | |||||||||
| Deathplace: | Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
| Buried: | 21 October 1928 | |||||||||
| Burial place: | Spring Grove Cemetery, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts | |||||||||
| Back to the top | ||||||||||
![[ Jean and Allan, 1913 ]](images/jeanandallanx.jpg)
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