TALIAFERRO COUNTY, GA - Bios Edwards, Ethelred ( 1783 -1866) ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Shannon Dale Byrd byrdman10@iname.com The Edwards Family Although not directly related to our branch of the Bird Family tree, the Edwards Family is an important one in our lineage. Three daughters of Etheldred Edwards married three sons of Buford Bird, Sr. and the former Miss Polly Keeling. One of those daughters, as mentioned in previous sections, was Martha Edwards, the second wife of Dr. George Lee Bird. Not only did she raise Dr. Bird’s first son, George Marshall, but she was the mother of Dr. Bird’s latter three children. For this cause alone, I thought it important to briefly mention this family. Etheldred Edwards, the son of Benjamin and Mary Edwards, was born in 1783, in Wilkes County, Georgia. He married Julia Ann Ogletree on December 9, 1823, in Green County, Georgia. Julia was born in 1804, in Wilkes County, Georgia. Etheldred and Julia had ten known children – Mary Elizabeth (c. 1825) Thomas Jefferson (1828), Martha (1829), Sarah Ann (1831), Mildred (1832), Harriet Zemma (c. 1834), Rebecca (1836), Cordelia (1838), William Cosby (c. 1842), and Emma (1847). The Edwards’ were apparently a very prominent family of the Taliaferro County area – owning, buying, and selling much property throughout the years. Julia Ann Ogletree Edwards died May 21, 1863, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Etheldred Edwards died August 17, 1866, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Both are buried in a private, family cemetery plot near the Taliaferro/Green County line. -Children of Etheldred Edwards and Julia Ann Ogletree- Mary Elizabeth Edwards was born circa 1825. She married John F. Brown on December 15, 1840. John and Mary had children – Ezekiel, Julia, and James Thomas. The Brown’s settled near Harris County, Georgia, prior to 1850, when they were enumerated in that year’s Census. Thomas Jefferson Edwards was born February 10, 1828. He married Mary Jane Portwood Jarrett, widow of George W. Jarrett, on April 22, 1858, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Mary was born March 18, 1832, to Dempsey and Delilah Portwood. Thomas was a school teacher and farmer and various time in his life. He and Mary had children – George Thomas, Etheldred, John William, Sarah Ann, Benjamin Lee, and Mary Thomas. Thomas was killed on July 24, 1869, while trying to protect a young black boy from an ex-Confederate Prisoner of War. The Confederate shot Thomas dead in the middle of Main Street. Thomas Jefferson Edwards was laid to rest in the Sandy Cross Baptist Church Cemetery in Sandy Cross, Georgia. Mary Jane Portwood Jarrett died October 3, 1916, and was also laid to rest at the Baptist Cemetery in Sandy Cross. Martha Edwards was born December 5, 1829, in Georgia. She became the second wife of Dr. George Lee Bird. More may be read about Martha Edwards Bird beginning on page 00. Sarah Ann Edwards was born June 17, 1831, in Georgia. Sallie, as she was commonly known, married William Bell, lawyer and friend of Alexander Hamilton Stephens. William, the son of Joshua and Lucy Bell, was born in 1819. William and Sarah were married on January 15, 1850, and had later had children – William B., Sarah, & Clinton. Sarah Edwards Bell died March 7, 1859. The Bells are buried in a private plot located directly behind Liberty Hall, the home of Alexander H. Stephens. Mildred Edwards was born August 12, 1832, in Georgia. She married Buford Bird, Jr. on April 10, 1851, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Buford, the son of Buford Bird, Sr. and Polly Keeling, was born August 29, 1824, in Georgia. Buford and Mildred had children – Gustavus E., and William Wiley. Mildred Edwards Bird died November 23, 1915, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. She is buried in Crawfordville, Georgia. Harriet Zemma Edwards was born circa 1834, in Georgia. She married Wiley Bird on December 13, 1855, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. Wiley, the son of Buford Bird, Sr. and Polly Keeling, was born October 9, 1828, in Georgia. Harriet and Wiley had children – Buford, Sheila, and Fletcher. Wiley Bird died October 14, 1862, in Nashville, Tennessee, after being wounded during the Civil War. After Wiley’s death, Harriet married John S. Clifton and had more children – Cordelia, Allie, and Rudolph. Rebecca Edwards was born circa 1836. She presumably did not marry as she is listed in the 1880 Federal Census as being single and living in the household of her younger sister, Emma Edwards Richards. Cordelia Edwards was born March 13, 1838. She married Lucious B. Standifer. In the 1880 Federal Census for Taliaferro County, Lucious and Cordelia are listed with no living children. Lucious Standifer died October 16, 1881, at the age of forty-two years. After Lucious’ death, Cordelia married P. Keith Boswell on June 13, 1883, in Taliaferro County, Georgia. P.K. Boswell died December 20, 1900, and was laid to rest in the Crawfordville Baptist Cemetery. Cordelia Edwards Standifer Boswell died April 17, 1916, and was laid to rest beside of Keith in the Crawfordville Baptist Cemetery. William Cosby Edwards was born circa 1842. He married Anne Cordelia Daniel on April 9, 1863. After Anne’s death, William married Priscilla Ogletree Lunceford on October 12, 1857. William and Priscilla had children – Thomas Henry, Lucious Standifer, Daniel Littleton, Samuel Shields, Annie Gertrude, and Etheldred Asbury Edwards. Emma Edwards was born June 2, 1847. Emma married Titus Richards on October 11, 1866, in Taliaferro County, Georgia, and had children – Hattie, Julian, Thomas, Garnett, Nora, Angus, Richard, and Franklin. Titus was born October 11, 1840, in Virginia. Titus Richards is enumerated in the 1880 Federal Census for Taliaferro County, Georgia, as a merchant. Emma Edwards Richards died November 12, 1891, and was buried in the Crawfordville Baptist Cemetery. After Emma’s death, Richard married Gussie A. Porter on December 10, 1906, in Taliaferro County. Titus Richards died May 23, 1914, and was laid to rest in the Crawfordville Baptist Cemetery.