Researching the Common Surname Edwards

It is challenging to research an ancestor that has a common surname such as Edwards. It involves time and effort into researching others with the same surname who may or may not be connected to your Edwards line. That is a necessary step though to prove or disprove your line of Edwards. If you have details for your Edwards line this will help in narrowing the search and will lead you to search for records for your ancestor.

In 2012 my brother volunteered to YDNA test for our surname line.  When the results came back, I connected with a cousin who shared his Edwards and related families' information with me.  This information was valuable in jump starting research for the Edwards, Kelly, Slay, Teal, Wideman, and Baker family lines. There may be some challenges for researchers who have common surnames when trying to track down their ancestral lines. However, there are clues that have been used while researching my paternal line Edwards ancestors. Research began with Alfred Edwards and creating a profile for him using the information provided by my cousin. Detailed notes of Alfred Edwards was used to compare the information that my cousin provided with that of others with the same surname. His birth year, occupation, place of birth, spouse, and children’s names made it easy to identify Alfred Edwards from others with the same surname. There were other Alfred Edwards but they weren’t born circa 1791 in Virginia, with a wife named Mary “Polly.” They didn’t have sons with the names of Thomas and Charles. Creating a timeline of his life helped when looking at records. From those records I concluded that I had the correct ancestor.

Knowing the location for my ancestor was a help in narrowing the search and the people with the same name. Alfred Edwards migrated out of Virginia and died in Alabama so the timeline helped to see the places he lived, placing him in a certain area at a certain time. This allowed me to limit the search for Alfred Edwards in the locations within a given time period. This also helped in locating records for Alfred Edwards.

Alfred Edwards was a paternal third great grandfather. His descendant John Houston Edwards was my father’s biological father, my paternal grandfather and my great uncle. My father’s mother Alice Lee was the sister of John Houston’s wife Dollie Ophelia Lee. When I began researching there were several Alfred Edwards, but only one was found who was born circa 1791 in Virginia. Alfred Edwards was married to Mary Slay. Although a marriage record wasn’t found family stories has them getting married circa 1813 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. It isn’t known by this researcher how many children they had; however, there are two known children Thomas and Charles. Alfred Edwards died on May 10, 1873, in Elmore, Alabama, having lived a long life of 82 years.

The Edwards family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Edwards families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1840 there were four hundred twenty-nine Edwards families living in New York. This was about 13% of all the recorded Edwards's in the USA. New York had the highest population of Edwards families in 1840.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Edwards surname lived. You can see how Edwards families moved over time by selecting different census years. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations. What did Alfred Edwards do for a living? Alfred was a farmer.

In 1880, farmer, laborer and keeping house were the top three reported jobs worked by Edwards. A less common occupation for the Edwards family was farm laborer. The most common Edwards occupation in the United States was farmer. Thirty-nine percent of Edwards's were Farmers. 

The Edwards surname is a common English name and also common name in Wales. You can follow the migration of the Edwards family as they were enumerated in only two censuses that I have found. The 1860 and 1870 censuses. 

the 1860 census had valuable information about Alfred and his son Thomas. A.  Edwards is sixty-nine years old and living with Thos. Edwards age forty-four and Thos. was a physician. Thomas’s real estate value is $4000. And personal estate is $24,550.00. Thos. was born in South Carolina and attended school. There are ten other people living in the household. I did not recognize them. On the 1860 Rockford Post Office, Southern Division, Coosa County, Alabama, A. Edwards is a farmer with a real estate value of $1000.00 and his place of birth was Virginia.  His wife Mary “Polly” died about 1840 in Cherokee County, Georgia. Possibly she died after they left South Carolina headed west.

On the 1870 Township 20, Elmore County, Alabama census Alfred Edwards’ occupation was a farmer, with real estate of $400. And personal estate of $250. 00 states her birthplace is Virginia. He also states his father is foreign born and his mother is foreign born. That is a tip for me to look for immigration records for his parents. Alfred Edwards also states he cannot write. There is an Alfred Edwards listed on the 1870 Agriculture Census living in Township 20, Elmore County, Alabama.  The Agriculture Census was for the year ending June 1, 1870. The value of Alfred Edwards farm produce, including betterments and additions to stocks was $2050.00. The value of the animals that Alfred Edwards slaughtered or sold for slaughter was $235.00, and the value of home manufactures was $50.00. 

Research for Alfred Edwards produced fragments of a paper trail for this ancestor who lived a long and seemingly productive life. . I have exhausted all the records online for Alfred Edwards and haven’t found a marriage record, pre-1850, 1850 censuses, or land records for Alfred Edwards . Possibly he was born in England, Wales, or Ireland and brought to the colonies at a young age. On the 1870 census it stated his parents were foreign born so possibly they were the immigrant ancestors of the Edwards family line. 

Research is ongoing and as records are found information will be updated for Alfred Edwards.