Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. was the father of Thomas Alva Edison (the great inventor).

Relationships/Marriages:
1. Wife Nancy Mathews Elliott, seven children issued
2. *Mary Sharlow, three daughters issued

* Unfortunately there is no proof of marriage for Samuel Edison Jr. & Mary Sharlow. In probate records for Samuel Edison Jr.'s estate; his world famous son (Thomas Edison) filed paperwork claiming Mary Sharlow was not Samuel's wife.

SOURCE, NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE: Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. was born on August 16, 1804 in Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada. His grandfather John Edeson (which they pronounced Ae-di-son), was a Loyalist during the American Revolution and left New Jersey for Nova Scotia in 1784. Throughout his life Samuel changed work several times, from splitting shingles for roofs to tailoring to keeping a tavern. Sometime after his marriage, Samuel moved the family to Vienna, Ontario where four of his seven children were born.

Ironically, Samuel Edison Jr. was not as loyal to the British crown as his grandfather. In 1837 he joined the Mackenzie Rebellion, a revolt inspired by democratic activist William Mackenzie in the south of Ontario. When the rebellion failed Samuel escaped to the United States, where he lived for the rest of his life. His wife and children later followed him to Milan, Ohio (pronounced MY-lan), where they had three more children including Thomas Alva Edison, their seventh and last child. (The other children were: Marion, William Pitt, Harriet Ann, Carlisle, Samuel and Eliza. Carlisle, Samuel and Eliza all died in childhood.)

American-born Nancy Mathews Elliott married Samuel on September 12, 1828. Her father had been a Revolutionary War hero. Unlike her husband, she was a devout Presbyterian with some formal education. She put that education to good use. When her son Thomas Edison left school, she taught him at home. Thomas Edison later remembered, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint."

Nancy suffered from symptoms of mental illness later in life. She died in 1871, when her son Thomas was 24. Samuel lived long enough to watch his youngest son succeed. He supervised the building of the Menlo Park laboratory. Three weeks after Nancy Edison's death, Samuel started a new relationship with his 16-year-old housekeeper, Mary Sharlow. During their twenty years together they had three daughters (Maryette, Maude and Mabel). Samuel died in 1896 at the age of 92. "I am a master of smoking, drinking and gambling, " he claimed. "I have smoked and drank whisky moderately when I needed it, and have known to let it alone."

SOURCE, FACEBOOK EDISON BIRTHPLACE ASSOCIATION: Samuel Edison Jr. was a part of the Mackenzie Rebellion, a revolt against the rule of the Crown in Canada. When it failed, he was forced to flee the country and left his family temporarily in Canada while he sought refuge in the United States. His friend, ship's Capt. Alva Bradley pointed him toward the thriving village of Milan, Ohio. Samuel built a small Greek Revival home on the high bank above the Huron River. Since the town was beginning a ship's canal (linking the town to the deeper part of the Huron River and Lake Erie for wheat and other grain trade), Samuel decided to start a shingle-making business. The last three of his children were born in Milan, including his youngest son Thomas Alva. After about 15 years, the business brought by the canal wasn't thriving anymore and Samuel moved his family to Port Huron, Michigan.