Civil War Union Army Soldier. Private of Company M, 1st New Jersey Cavalry. "Editor, Orator and Poet" Benjamin B. Edsall, son of Benjamin and Nancy (Denton) Edsall, was born at Maspeth, L.I., on the 25th of January, 1811. His father was a sea-captain, and died when Benjamin B. was about ten years of age. His mother was a woman of great moral worth and Christian excellence, a member of the Middle-village Methodist Episcopal Church, on Long Island, and in his early life educated her son in the principles of morality and integrity. She died in Newton, N.J., at the age of seventy-five.
At the age of seven young Edsall, as if by intuition, showed the bent of his mind by ingeniously constructing a miniature printing-press, and thus early began to lay the foundation for a life business, in the faithful prosecution of which he afterwards became so noted in Northern New Jersey, and especially in Sussex County.
His parents were poor and unable to afford him even a common-school education. Upon the death of his father he commenced an apprenticeship with Joseph Harper, now the well-known Harper & Brothers, printers of New York City, who was an own cousin of his mother. Here he remained until he was twenty years of age, and became thoroughly educated as a printer by profession. For some time thereafter he was employed on the Orange County Patriot, at Goshen, but in 1833 was introduced by the editor of that paper- Mr. Hendric— to Judge John H. Hall, then editor and proprietor of the Sussex Register, at Newton, N.J. Here a new field of usefulness was opened to him; he embraced it with all the fervor of an ardent nature, and subsequent events showed he was eminently qualified to fill it. Nothing could have been more fortunate than his association with Judge Hall in the control and management of the Register, which from a struggling, obscure newspaper was ultimately, through their joint management, made a prosperous and thriving journal.
The judge's sober age, his mild and gentle manner, and his experience in life were well calculated to moderate Mr. Edsall's naturally sanguine temperament, and as years passed on this early acquaintance ripened into firm and earnest friendship; and, in 1855, Mr. Edsall was offered an equal copartnership in the Register office, which continued until the death of Judge Hall, and to the last each maintained the greatest respect for the other. We relate these events in Mr. Edsall's earlier career as an incentive to other young men who, without friends to aid them, are about to assume responsibility, and to show that patient industry and economy, in the long run, form the surest road to competency and fame.
So thoroughly was Mr. Edsall identified with the paper that his name became a household word wherever it circulated. He continued in charge of the Register, after Judge Hall's decease, until his own death, which occurred March 27, 1868. Mr. Edsall was exceedingly industrious; he prepared all, or nearly all, the editorial matters for his paper, and selected with great care the miscellaneous reading which rendered its columns so attractive. Yet he still found time to do a large share of the severe physical labor of the office, and many of his readers remember him toiling at the large hand-press upon which the paper was printed during nearly the whole time of his connection with it. Without any of the aids now within the reach of the humblest, he stored his mind with a vast fund of information, from which a wonderful memory enabled him to draw at will as from an inexhaustible fountain. His style of writing was terse and forcible, and so peculiar to himself that the habitual reader could easily detect the occasional articles from other pens which appeared in editorial garb.
In politics Mr. Edsall was a Whig of the Henry Clay school, and followed the fortunes and earnestly advocated the measures of that organization until it sank beneath the heavy load which its pro-slavery adherents sought to place upon it. When the Republican party rose out of its ruins, he was among the first in New Jersey to join in this new movement, and by his pen and voice contributed in no inconsiderable degree to its success. Firm in his adherence to principle, bold in his advocacy of measures which met his approval, fearless in his denunciation of corrupt and venal men, he was nevertheless fair and honorable with political opponents, giving praise wherever due; so that among his warmest personal friends were numbered many with whom he combated strenuously. Among the members of his own party he had the love and respect of all. He was so far above the tricks of the mere politician that no one ever accused him of duplicity or unfairness.
Up to 1846 the discussion of public questions was frequently marked with the grossest personalities. Political lampooning was the fashion of the age, but as Mr. Edsall grew older and ripened in experience he changed his manner and style to strictly polemic discussion. Here he displayed the greatest strength and vigor of his masculine mind. Naturally analytic and vituperative, he seldom resorted to these weapons unless hardly pressed by his opponent, and then no one knew better than he how to use them. He might wound, but it was not in his nature to trample upon a fallen enemy. Upon the contrary, his strong arm and generous heart were invariably extended to lift one up.
Starting out in life a Democrat, contrary to the generally-received opinion he gave his first vote, in 1832, in favor of Gen. Andrew Jackson for President. He also was opposed to the re-charter of Biddle's Bank, was opposed to high protective tariffs, favored the repeal of the law imprisoning men for debt, and advocated the adoption of the present New Jersey State constitution. In fact, in habits, manners, and associations he was the antipodes of an aristocrat, and enjoyed himself best in the company of plain, straightforward men.
He was a patriot and well-wisher of his country, and no man held more exalted views of personal rights than he. In the exigencies of the war he believed it to be conscientiously his duty to go with the anti-slavery party, without reference to its ulterior effect upon a Union of the States. In the fall of 1860, Mr. Edsall was placed in nomination for member of Congress in his district (Fourth) by the Republicans, but, the party being largely in the minority, he failed of election, although he ran far ahead of his party vote.
In dealing with public questions his method was always straightforward and manly. Possessing retentive memory, great power of language, and always "well read," he usually had the advantage of an opponent from the outset in dealing with figures and facts. To this he united the severe analytical knowledge of the printing-office, which can nowhere be learned so well in any other school; so that in encountering his opponent, if opportunity presented, he overwhelmed him with a regular broadside of Paixhan guns. This was the secret of his sarcastic power, and those who had to confront him in the political arena preferred to draw his fire rather than rush up in the face of a masked battery.
This was Benjamin B. Edsall in the editorial sanctum; out of it, he was the kindest and most genial of men. A friend or a stranger was ever welcome to partake of the hospitality of his home, which he had surrounded with many comforts. Political differences were never allowed to sever his personal friendships. His opinions of men and things were seldom changed in the light of either prosperity or adversity.
So strong a hold had this man upon public opinion, even in a county where he was never an acknowledged political leader, that he may be said to have moulded public sentiment upon many subjects in a manner quite unconscious to those who supposed they entertained different sentiments from his. This was the result of an integrity of character never questioned.
Although not a member of any church, he had for a long time prior to his decease been a generous supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the secular affairs of which he took a deep and active interest.
His wife was Eliza A., a daughter of Smith F. and Phebe (Walling) Williams, whom he married Jan. 24, 1852. She was born in Morris County, April 20, 1822, and survives in 1880, residing in Newton, N.J.
Mrs. Edsall is a woman of keen foresight, possessed of more than ordinary business ability for her sex, and to her frugality and constancy her husband was largely indebted for his accumulations. They had no children, but an adopted daughter was an inmate of their home.
At the age of seven young Edsall, as if by intuition, showed the bent of his mind by ingeniously constructing a miniature printing-press, and thus early began to lay the foundation for a life business, in the faithful prosecution of which he afterwards became so noted in Northern New Jersey, and especially in Sussex County.
His parents were poor and unable to afford him even a common-school education. Upon the death of his father he commenced an apprenticeship with Joseph Harper, now the well-known Harper & Brothers, printers of New York City, who was an own cousin of his mother. Here he remained until he was twenty years of age, and became thoroughly educated as a printer by profession. For some time thereafter he was employed on the Orange County Patriot, at Goshen, but in 1833 was introduced by the editor of that paper- Mr. Hendric— to Judge John H. Hall, then editor and proprietor of the Sussex Register, at Newton, N.J. Here a new field of usefulness was opened to him; he embraced it with all the fervor of an ardent nature, and subsequent events showed he was eminently qualified to fill it. Nothing could have been more fortunate than his association with Judge Hall in the control and management of the Register, which from a struggling, obscure newspaper was ultimately, through their joint management, made a prosperous and thriving journal.
The judge's sober age, his mild and gentle manner, and his experience in life were well calculated to moderate Mr. Edsall's naturally sanguine temperament, and as years passed on this early acquaintance ripened into firm and earnest friendship; and, in 1855, Mr. Edsall was offered an equal copartnership in the Register office, which continued until the death of Judge Hall, and to the last each maintained the greatest respect for the other. We relate these events in Mr. Edsall's earlier career as an incentive to other young men who, without friends to aid them, are about to assume responsibility, and to show that patient industry and economy, in the long run, form the surest road to competency and fame.
So thoroughly was Mr. Edsall identified with the paper that his name became a household word wherever it circulated. He continued in charge of the Register, after Judge Hall's decease, until his own death, which occurred March 27, 1868. Mr. Edsall was exceedingly industrious; he prepared all, or nearly all, the editorial matters for his paper, and selected with great care the miscellaneous reading which rendered its columns so attractive. Yet he still found time to do a large share of the severe physical labor of the office, and many of his readers remember him toiling at the large hand-press upon which the paper was printed during nearly the whole time of his connection with it. Without any of the aids now within the reach of the humblest, he stored his mind with a vast fund of information, from which a wonderful memory enabled him to draw at will as from an inexhaustible fountain. His style of writing was terse and forcible, and so peculiar to himself that the habitual reader could easily detect the occasional articles from other pens which appeared in editorial garb.
In politics Mr. Edsall was a Whig of the Henry Clay school, and followed the fortunes and earnestly advocated the measures of that organization until it sank beneath the heavy load which its pro-slavery adherents sought to place upon it. When the Republican party rose out of its ruins, he was among the first in New Jersey to join in this new movement, and by his pen and voice contributed in no inconsiderable degree to its success. Firm in his adherence to principle, bold in his advocacy of measures which met his approval, fearless in his denunciation of corrupt and venal men, he was nevertheless fair and honorable with political opponents, giving praise wherever due; so that among his warmest personal friends were numbered many with whom he combated strenuously. Among the members of his own party he had the love and respect of all. He was so far above the tricks of the mere politician that no one ever accused him of duplicity or unfairness.
Up to 1846 the discussion of public questions was frequently marked with the grossest personalities. Political lampooning was the fashion of the age, but as Mr. Edsall grew older and ripened in experience he changed his manner and style to strictly polemic discussion. Here he displayed the greatest strength and vigor of his masculine mind. Naturally analytic and vituperative, he seldom resorted to these weapons unless hardly pressed by his opponent, and then no one knew better than he how to use them. He might wound, but it was not in his nature to trample upon a fallen enemy. Upon the contrary, his strong arm and generous heart were invariably extended to lift one up.
Starting out in life a Democrat, contrary to the generally-received opinion he gave his first vote, in 1832, in favor of Gen. Andrew Jackson for President. He also was opposed to the re-charter of Biddle's Bank, was opposed to high protective tariffs, favored the repeal of the law imprisoning men for debt, and advocated the adoption of the present New Jersey State constitution. In fact, in habits, manners, and associations he was the antipodes of an aristocrat, and enjoyed himself best in the company of plain, straightforward men.
He was a patriot and well-wisher of his country, and no man held more exalted views of personal rights than he. In the exigencies of the war he believed it to be conscientiously his duty to go with the anti-slavery party, without reference to its ulterior effect upon a Union of the States. In the fall of 1860, Mr. Edsall was placed in nomination for member of Congress in his district (Fourth) by the Republicans, but, the party being largely in the minority, he failed of election, although he ran far ahead of his party vote.
In dealing with public questions his method was always straightforward and manly. Possessing retentive memory, great power of language, and always "well read," he usually had the advantage of an opponent from the outset in dealing with figures and facts. To this he united the severe analytical knowledge of the printing-office, which can nowhere be learned so well in any other school; so that in encountering his opponent, if opportunity presented, he overwhelmed him with a regular broadside of Paixhan guns. This was the secret of his sarcastic power, and those who had to confront him in the political arena preferred to draw his fire rather than rush up in the face of a masked battery.
This was Benjamin B. Edsall in the editorial sanctum; out of it, he was the kindest and most genial of men. A friend or a stranger was ever welcome to partake of the hospitality of his home, which he had surrounded with many comforts. Political differences were never allowed to sever his personal friendships. His opinions of men and things were seldom changed in the light of either prosperity or adversity.
So strong a hold had this man upon public opinion, even in a county where he was never an acknowledged political leader, that he may be said to have moulded public sentiment upon many subjects in a manner quite unconscious to those who supposed they entertained different sentiments from his. This was the result of an integrity of character never questioned.
Although not a member of any church, he had for a long time prior to his decease been a generous supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the secular affairs of which he took a deep and active interest.
His wife was Eliza A., a daughter of Smith F. and Phebe (Walling) Williams, whom he married Jan. 24, 1852. She was born in Morris County, April 20, 1822, and survives in 1880, residing in Newton, N.J.
Mrs. Edsall is a woman of keen foresight, possessed of more than ordinary business ability for her sex, and to her frugality and constancy her husband was largely indebted for his accumulations. They had no children, but an adopted daughter was an inmate of their home.
Civil War Union Army Soldier. Private of Company M, 1st New Jersey Cavalry. "Editor, Orator and Poet" Benjamin B. Edsall, son of Benjamin and Nancy (Denton) Edsall, was born at Maspeth, L.I., on the 25th of January, 1811. His father was a sea-captain, and died when Benjamin B. was about ten years of age. His mother was a woman of great moral worth and Christian excellence, a member of the Middle-village Methodist Episcopal Church, on Long Island, and in his early life educated her son in the principles of morality and integrity. She died in Newton, N.J., at the age of seventy-five.
At the age of seven young Edsall, as if by intuition, showed the bent of his mind by ingeniously constructing a miniature printing-press, and thus early began to lay the foundation for a life business, in the faithful prosecution of which he afterwards became so noted in Northern New Jersey, and especially in Sussex County.
His parents were poor and unable to afford him even a common-school education. Upon the death of his father he commenced an apprenticeship with Joseph Harper, now the well-known Harper & Brothers, printers of New York City, who was an own cousin of his mother. Here he remained until he was twenty years of age, and became thoroughly educated as a printer by profession. For some time thereafter he was employed on the Orange County Patriot, at Goshen, but in 1833 was introduced by the editor of that paper- Mr. Hendric— to Judge John H. Hall, then editor and proprietor of the Sussex Register, at Newton, N.J. Here a new field of usefulness was opened to him; he embraced it with all the fervor of an ardent nature, and subsequent events showed he was eminently qualified to fill it. Nothing could have been more fortunate than his association with Judge Hall in the control and management of the Register, which from a struggling, obscure newspaper was ultimately, through their joint management, made a prosperous and thriving journal.
The judge's sober age, his mild and gentle manner, and his experience in life were well calculated to moderate Mr. Edsall's naturally sanguine temperament, and as years passed on this early acquaintance ripened into firm and earnest friendship; and, in 1855, Mr. Edsall was offered an equal copartnership in the Register office, which continued until the death of Judge Hall, and to the last each maintained the greatest respect for the other. We relate these events in Mr. Edsall's earlier career as an incentive to other young men who, without friends to aid them, are about to assume responsibility, and to show that patient industry and economy, in the long run, form the surest road to competency and fame.
So thoroughly was Mr. Edsall identified with the paper that his name became a household word wherever it circulated. He continued in charge of the Register, after Judge Hall's decease, until his own death, which occurred March 27, 1868. Mr. Edsall was exceedingly industrious; he prepared all, or nearly all, the editorial matters for his paper, and selected with great care the miscellaneous reading which rendered its columns so attractive. Yet he still found time to do a large share of the severe physical labor of the office, and many of his readers remember him toiling at the large hand-press upon which the paper was printed during nearly the whole time of his connection with it. Without any of the aids now within the reach of the humblest, he stored his mind with a vast fund of information, from which a wonderful memory enabled him to draw at will as from an inexhaustible fountain. His style of writing was terse and forcible, and so peculiar to himself that the habitual reader could easily detect the occasional articles from other pens which appeared in editorial garb.
In politics Mr. Edsall was a Whig of the Henry Clay school, and followed the fortunes and earnestly advocated the measures of that organization until it sank beneath the heavy load which its pro-slavery adherents sought to place upon it. When the Republican party rose out of its ruins, he was among the first in New Jersey to join in this new movement, and by his pen and voice contributed in no inconsiderable degree to its success. Firm in his adherence to principle, bold in his advocacy of measures which met his approval, fearless in his denunciation of corrupt and venal men, he was nevertheless fair and honorable with political opponents, giving praise wherever due; so that among his warmest personal friends were numbered many with whom he combated strenuously. Among the members of his own party he had the love and respect of all. He was so far above the tricks of the mere politician that no one ever accused him of duplicity or unfairness.
Up to 1846 the discussion of public questions was frequently marked with the grossest personalities. Political lampooning was the fashion of the age, but as Mr. Edsall grew older and ripened in experience he changed his manner and style to strictly polemic discussion. Here he displayed the greatest strength and vigor of his masculine mind. Naturally analytic and vituperative, he seldom resorted to these weapons unless hardly pressed by his opponent, and then no one knew better than he how to use them. He might wound, but it was not in his nature to trample upon a fallen enemy. Upon the contrary, his strong arm and generous heart were invariably extended to lift one up.
Starting out in life a Democrat, contrary to the generally-received opinion he gave his first vote, in 1832, in favor of Gen. Andrew Jackson for President. He also was opposed to the re-charter of Biddle's Bank, was opposed to high protective tariffs, favored the repeal of the law imprisoning men for debt, and advocated the adoption of the present New Jersey State constitution. In fact, in habits, manners, and associations he was the antipodes of an aristocrat, and enjoyed himself best in the company of plain, straightforward men.
He was a patriot and well-wisher of his country, and no man held more exalted views of personal rights than he. In the exigencies of the war he believed it to be conscientiously his duty to go with the anti-slavery party, without reference to its ulterior effect upon a Union of the States. In the fall of 1860, Mr. Edsall was placed in nomination for member of Congress in his district (Fourth) by the Republicans, but, the party being largely in the minority, he failed of election, although he ran far ahead of his party vote.
In dealing with public questions his method was always straightforward and manly. Possessing retentive memory, great power of language, and always "well read," he usually had the advantage of an opponent from the outset in dealing with figures and facts. To this he united the severe analytical knowledge of the printing-office, which can nowhere be learned so well in any other school; so that in encountering his opponent, if opportunity presented, he overwhelmed him with a regular broadside of Paixhan guns. This was the secret of his sarcastic power, and those who had to confront him in the political arena preferred to draw his fire rather than rush up in the face of a masked battery.
This was Benjamin B. Edsall in the editorial sanctum; out of it, he was the kindest and most genial of men. A friend or a stranger was ever welcome to partake of the hospitality of his home, which he had surrounded with many comforts. Political differences were never allowed to sever his personal friendships. His opinions of men and things were seldom changed in the light of either prosperity or adversity.
So strong a hold had this man upon public opinion, even in a county where he was never an acknowledged political leader, that he may be said to have moulded public sentiment upon many subjects in a manner quite unconscious to those who supposed they entertained different sentiments from his. This was the result of an integrity of character never questioned.
Although not a member of any church, he had for a long time prior to his decease been a generous supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the secular affairs of which he took a deep and active interest.
His wife was Eliza A., a daughter of Smith F. and Phebe (Walling) Williams, whom he married Jan. 24, 1852. She was born in Morris County, April 20, 1822, and survives in 1880, residing in Newton, N.J.
Mrs. Edsall is a woman of keen foresight, possessed of more than ordinary business ability for her sex, and to her frugality and constancy her husband was largely indebted for his accumulations. They had no children, but an adopted daughter was an inmate of their home.
At the age of seven young Edsall, as if by intuition, showed the bent of his mind by ingeniously constructing a miniature printing-press, and thus early began to lay the foundation for a life business, in the faithful prosecution of which he afterwards became so noted in Northern New Jersey, and especially in Sussex County.
His parents were poor and unable to afford him even a common-school education. Upon the death of his father he commenced an apprenticeship with Joseph Harper, now the well-known Harper & Brothers, printers of New York City, who was an own cousin of his mother. Here he remained until he was twenty years of age, and became thoroughly educated as a printer by profession. For some time thereafter he was employed on the Orange County Patriot, at Goshen, but in 1833 was introduced by the editor of that paper- Mr. Hendric— to Judge John H. Hall, then editor and proprietor of the Sussex Register, at Newton, N.J. Here a new field of usefulness was opened to him; he embraced it with all the fervor of an ardent nature, and subsequent events showed he was eminently qualified to fill it. Nothing could have been more fortunate than his association with Judge Hall in the control and management of the Register, which from a struggling, obscure newspaper was ultimately, through their joint management, made a prosperous and thriving journal.
The judge's sober age, his mild and gentle manner, and his experience in life were well calculated to moderate Mr. Edsall's naturally sanguine temperament, and as years passed on this early acquaintance ripened into firm and earnest friendship; and, in 1855, Mr. Edsall was offered an equal copartnership in the Register office, which continued until the death of Judge Hall, and to the last each maintained the greatest respect for the other. We relate these events in Mr. Edsall's earlier career as an incentive to other young men who, without friends to aid them, are about to assume responsibility, and to show that patient industry and economy, in the long run, form the surest road to competency and fame.
So thoroughly was Mr. Edsall identified with the paper that his name became a household word wherever it circulated. He continued in charge of the Register, after Judge Hall's decease, until his own death, which occurred March 27, 1868. Mr. Edsall was exceedingly industrious; he prepared all, or nearly all, the editorial matters for his paper, and selected with great care the miscellaneous reading which rendered its columns so attractive. Yet he still found time to do a large share of the severe physical labor of the office, and many of his readers remember him toiling at the large hand-press upon which the paper was printed during nearly the whole time of his connection with it. Without any of the aids now within the reach of the humblest, he stored his mind with a vast fund of information, from which a wonderful memory enabled him to draw at will as from an inexhaustible fountain. His style of writing was terse and forcible, and so peculiar to himself that the habitual reader could easily detect the occasional articles from other pens which appeared in editorial garb.
In politics Mr. Edsall was a Whig of the Henry Clay school, and followed the fortunes and earnestly advocated the measures of that organization until it sank beneath the heavy load which its pro-slavery adherents sought to place upon it. When the Republican party rose out of its ruins, he was among the first in New Jersey to join in this new movement, and by his pen and voice contributed in no inconsiderable degree to its success. Firm in his adherence to principle, bold in his advocacy of measures which met his approval, fearless in his denunciation of corrupt and venal men, he was nevertheless fair and honorable with political opponents, giving praise wherever due; so that among his warmest personal friends were numbered many with whom he combated strenuously. Among the members of his own party he had the love and respect of all. He was so far above the tricks of the mere politician that no one ever accused him of duplicity or unfairness.
Up to 1846 the discussion of public questions was frequently marked with the grossest personalities. Political lampooning was the fashion of the age, but as Mr. Edsall grew older and ripened in experience he changed his manner and style to strictly polemic discussion. Here he displayed the greatest strength and vigor of his masculine mind. Naturally analytic and vituperative, he seldom resorted to these weapons unless hardly pressed by his opponent, and then no one knew better than he how to use them. He might wound, but it was not in his nature to trample upon a fallen enemy. Upon the contrary, his strong arm and generous heart were invariably extended to lift one up.
Starting out in life a Democrat, contrary to the generally-received opinion he gave his first vote, in 1832, in favor of Gen. Andrew Jackson for President. He also was opposed to the re-charter of Biddle's Bank, was opposed to high protective tariffs, favored the repeal of the law imprisoning men for debt, and advocated the adoption of the present New Jersey State constitution. In fact, in habits, manners, and associations he was the antipodes of an aristocrat, and enjoyed himself best in the company of plain, straightforward men.
He was a patriot and well-wisher of his country, and no man held more exalted views of personal rights than he. In the exigencies of the war he believed it to be conscientiously his duty to go with the anti-slavery party, without reference to its ulterior effect upon a Union of the States. In the fall of 1860, Mr. Edsall was placed in nomination for member of Congress in his district (Fourth) by the Republicans, but, the party being largely in the minority, he failed of election, although he ran far ahead of his party vote.
In dealing with public questions his method was always straightforward and manly. Possessing retentive memory, great power of language, and always "well read," he usually had the advantage of an opponent from the outset in dealing with figures and facts. To this he united the severe analytical knowledge of the printing-office, which can nowhere be learned so well in any other school; so that in encountering his opponent, if opportunity presented, he overwhelmed him with a regular broadside of Paixhan guns. This was the secret of his sarcastic power, and those who had to confront him in the political arena preferred to draw his fire rather than rush up in the face of a masked battery.
This was Benjamin B. Edsall in the editorial sanctum; out of it, he was the kindest and most genial of men. A friend or a stranger was ever welcome to partake of the hospitality of his home, which he had surrounded with many comforts. Political differences were never allowed to sever his personal friendships. His opinions of men and things were seldom changed in the light of either prosperity or adversity.
So strong a hold had this man upon public opinion, even in a county where he was never an acknowledged political leader, that he may be said to have moulded public sentiment upon many subjects in a manner quite unconscious to those who supposed they entertained different sentiments from his. This was the result of an integrity of character never questioned.
Although not a member of any church, he had for a long time prior to his decease been a generous supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the secular affairs of which he took a deep and active interest.
His wife was Eliza A., a daughter of Smith F. and Phebe (Walling) Williams, whom he married Jan. 24, 1852. She was born in Morris County, April 20, 1822, and survives in 1880, residing in Newton, N.J.
Mrs. Edsall is a woman of keen foresight, possessed of more than ordinary business ability for her sex, and to her frugality and constancy her husband was largely indebted for his accumulations. They had no children, but an adopted daughter was an inmate of their home.
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