Person:Thomas Edwards (12)

Obituary

Thomas Jefferson Edwards, son of James A. and Mary Edwards of Cap, Carroll County, Va., was born April 15, 1853, and departed this life on Monday Jan. 6, 1930 at 3:15 p.m. at the home of his daughter Mrs. E. F. Hines, Radford, Va. age 76 years, 8 months, 22 days. On January 4, 1877 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth R. C. Edwards, daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Edwards of Woodlawn, Va. This marriage was a union of souls and after God's eternal plan, that divine institution, a christian home was established. To this union were born twelve children, six sons and six daughters, all of whom are living except one daughter who died in infancy. Besides the eleven children he is survived by his wife, two sisters, two brothers, and thirty grandchildren. The children are: Lawrence A. Edwards, East Moline, Ill., Mrs. Rhoda A. Henthorne, Harrisonburg, Va., Robert O. Edwards, Austonville, Va., Chester C. Edwards, Hibbing, Minn., Mrs. Lula Mae Jones, Coal Creek, Va., Mrs. Annie Hines, Radford, Va., Thomas H. Edwards, Cloquet, Minn., Mrs. Maude Ruth Freeman, Winston-Salem, N. C., Roy Edwards, St. Louis, Mo., Mrs. Linnie Pauline Bottomley, Galax, Va., Iver C. Edwards, Galax, Va. The sisters and brothers are Mrs. J. W. Chrisley, Woodlawn, Va., Mrs. R. S. Cain, Akron, Ohio, W. C. Edwards, Burden, Kans., and J. D. Edwards, Woodlawn, Va. All the children were present at the funeral except Lawrence and Roy. Mr. Edwards had been in declining health for nearly two years being afflicted with high blood pressure and all its attendant evils. He had been an invalid for several weeks and the end was not altogether unexpected. He was a kind, loving and devoted husband and father, a neighbor above reproach and a Christian without hypocrisy. Mr. Edwards united with the Church of Christ at Old Glade Creek, the oldest church of Christ in Carroll county and was baptized October 9, 1877 by T. J. Stone. Like Enoch of old he walked many, many years with God. He had lived in three communities of Carroll county and had been affiliated with three different congregations, holding the office of elder or deacon continuously, the last being the Coal Creek Christian Church, where he was greatly beloved, and his untimely departure sadly lamented by the entire church. He was never known to have a part in a church disturbance, but radiated peace, good-will, and patience and love as a devout, humble servant of his Lord. The funeral service was conducted from the Radford Church of Christ by Rev. N. A. Cox of Coal Creek, a lifelong friend and former pastor of the deceased, interment made in Radford cemetery. The grave was literally covered with beautiful flowers, tokens of love from relatives and friends. Mr. Edwards was a loyal Odd Fellow and had been a member of Coal Creek Lodge for nineteen years. A large delegation from this lodge attended the funeral and had charge of the burial rites. We cannot conclude these lines in memory of our departed friend without referring to his home and family. The good woman who has walked by his side down through the years, and who is left to mourn, "yet a little while," has been a Hannah, a Mary and a Martha all in one. She and Mr. Edwards had the care of the aged in their home for 36 years. The last being his Mother who died tow years ago at the age of 96 years. The writer visited this home in those different localities and always there was an older person who was ministered unto by them. The last visits always seemed the sweetest, for as the threads of white showed plainer on their brows, their steps became slower and the children one by one left the home-nest until there were left alone, the companionship and devotion of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards seemed more heavenly. To be in that home impressed the visitor that a halo, a blessed benediction rested there, which comes with duty well done. The children are all cultured, prosperous and we believe Christians. At one time they were scattered over the U. S. from Seattle Washington to Virginia. Yet the home-tie was so strong that it brought most of them back to the parental home to a family reunion every two or three years. This and the family letter which went its round semi-annually were two beautiful customs which brought unbounded joy to their aged parents. Now the circle has been broken and we know the tenseness of the heart-strings at this hour, yet we trust that those who mourn may ever bear in mind another reunion just beyond the shadows of life's journey where the happy meetings are not recorded by, nor limited to, the brief days and then "goodbye" but where farther and ere long the mother shall sit in the Sylvan Shade of The Tree of Life and wait for the children to come home one by one, where one glad day is as a thousand years in the City of God. Children, you must not disappoint them-- every one of the twelve must be in that reunion, "over there." Over the river they beckon me, Loved ones who have crossed to the farther side; The gleam of their snowy robes I see, But their voices are lost by the dashing tide. I sit and think when the sunsets gold Is flushing river and hill and shire, I shall one day stand by the waters cold, And list for the sound of the boatman's oar. I shall catch a gleam of the flapping sail I shall listen for the boat as it gains the strand; I shall pass from sight with the boatman pale, To the better shores of the spirit Land. There I'll know the loved who have gone before, And joyfully sweet will the meeting be, When over the River the peaceful Rive, The angel of death shall carry me. by Bertie Larue Cooley

Census

U.S. Federal Census 1880 Carroll County, VA 152/152

     Edwards	Thos. J.     		wm	26	m	Works on Farm
                       Elizabeth R. C.     	wf       21         w m  	Keeping House
                       Lawrence A.     	wm      2          s s