The Edwards family have four entries in Eljatha's Bouquet Album, and two are featured here (the other two will be in a later blog). M S Edwards and H C Edwards penned their entries apparently in the same pen — ink color identical and unique. While the entries were in separate locations and not side-by-side pages, there are some things in common more than just the common last name. In addition to the beautiful poems they chose, we will also explore who they were and what their relationship was to the Perry family.
H C Edwards: Peace Be Around Thee
H C Edwards chose a poem directed to Miss Eljatha as follows:
"Peace be around thee where thou rovest
— Kernersville, N.C. Your obt Servt, H C Edwards
May life be for thee one summer's day
And all that thou wishest, and all that thou loves;
Come smiling around thy sunny way!
If sorrow e'er this calm should break,
May even thy tears pass off so light,
That, like spring showers, they'll only make
The smiles that follow shine more bright."
This poem is almost verbatim Peace Be Around Thee (Scotch Air) by Thomas Moore from The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore (1779–1852), variously published, with some copies still available.
M S Edwards: The Charms of Women
The other Edwards poem selected and penned by M S Edwards is addressed To Miss Eljatha:
"When life looks lone and dreary
— M S Edwards
What light can dispel the gloom?
When time's swift wings grow weary
What charm can refresh his plume?
'Tis woman whose sweetness beameth
O'er all that we feel or see
And if man of heaven e'er dreamt
'Tis when he thinks of thee."
Both poems contain only the first stanza of the two-stanza poems and are arguably two of the most admired poems by Moore. One has to wonder if the two Edwards authors were using the same book that same day to write in Miss Eljatha's book?
Who Were the Edwards Brothers?
Henry C (HC) Edwards and Milton (MS) Edwards were brothers found on the 1860 census in Kernersville Post Office of Deep River, Forsyth County, NC — essentially near the main part of Kernersville. Research indicates their sister Emily also lived with them. Henry was 27, Milton 19, and Emily's father was James Edwards II and mother was Jane Meridith. This Quaker family, mostly buried at Dover Friends Meeting Cemetery in Colfax, Guilford County, NC, appear most connected to the Perry family by age and proximity — likely Emily was a schoolmate born about 1838, and like the Folger family, also married into the Watson family (Eljatha's mother's maiden name). We'll talk more about Emily in a future blog as she also signed the book.
The Land Connection
Henry C Edwards ended up buying land that was once owned by Solomon Perry, who was related closely to Ebenezer Perry — Eljatha's father. That land was located near the original land entries for the Perry family and Eljatha's grandfather Clayburn Watson. The black circle on historical maps marks the location of the Baker/Hull Perry burying ground at Smith-Edwards Road just over the line in Forsyth County, NC where Ebenezer is buried. It is likely that H C Edwards' property on the old Solomon Perry land was on this road — a future research project for those interested!
Genealogy is about storytelling and scrounging up details in hidden places that paint the real family story. The poems in Eljatha's album are a window into a tightly knit community of Quaker families whose lives intertwined across generations of land, faith, and friendship.