A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
NameLevi Cornelius Edson 
55
55Birth11 Jul 1835, Muddy Point, Coles Co, Illinois
Death21 Feb 1893, Brooklyn, Harrison Co, Missouri Age: 57
BurialBrooklyn Cemetery, Brooklyn, Harrison Co, Missouri410
FatherDaniel Thomas Edson (1802-1875)
MotherRachel Ann Needham (1806-1888)
Spouses
Marriage1 Aug 185811
ChildrenNancy Eveline (1861-1941)
William (1862-1863)
Arminta Abigail (1867-1903)
Mary Emma (1868-1958)
Notes for Levi Cornelius Edson
Levi Cornelius Edson was born in a primitive pioneer settlement. In his boyhood days he helped in his father's general store and helped work the farm with oxen.
He was nineteen years old when in the spring of 1855 the family in-their ox-drawn covered wagons again became a part of that army of restless, adventurous pioneers whose axes and rifles opened a path through the wilderness, ever pushing the frontier westward. Their destination was Harrison County, Missouri, in the Grand River country.
His father had entered for land north of Bethany. There in the frontier wilderness Levi helped his father erect a comfortable two story double log home and to clear the land for cultivation.
His mother's sister, Angeline (Needham) Gibbs, and her husband, Rev. Elijah Elias Gibbs, had immigrated to Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebraska Territory, from the Springfield, Illinois area. Perhaps other Needhams also immigrated there. Levi Edson was visiting these relatives in Nebraska Territory when he became acquainted with the William Parman family of Plattsmouth.
Levi Edson soon became an employee of William Parman who owned the steamboat landing and warehouse there. Merchandise for the pioneers and tons of government supplies for the Western forts began arriving by steamboat as soon as the river ice broke in the spring. Then prairie schooners loaded freight for Western destinations from the Parman wharf and warehouse. The steamboats that carried merchandise for the pioneers were described by William Parman's daughter, Nancy, as similar to department stores. Samples were on display on the main deck, orders were filled from below. The captain sent notice of the date of arrival of a steamboat by horsemen to the Parman office.
Then Levi Edson dispatched a horseman with notices to be posted on all trails through-out the countryside, announcing the date of arrival and type of merchandise carried. Some of the steamboats had steam calliopes and as Plattsmouth was approached played popular tunes of the day. A large crowd awaited the arrival of each steamboat. They came in all manor of conveyances (many were homemade), encamped nearby, and social life blossomed.
Levi Edson kept a crew busy during the winter months preparing cord wood to replenish the steamboats fuel supply. The wood lot was on an island about a quarter mile south of the wharf. The island disappeared many years ago.
On the first day of August 1858 Harriet, William Parman's daughter, and Levi Edson were married at the home of the bride by Levi's uncle, Rev. Elijah Elias Gibbs, one of the founders and the first pastor of the First Baptist Church in Plattsmouth. John Jackson was best man and was given the honor of signing the wedding certificate as witness.
December 23, 1858, at the land office in Nebraska City, Levi Edson entered for the following land in Cass County, Nebraska Territory, N. E. 1/4, N. E. 1/4, Sec. 6, Twp. ll, R.l4, containing forty-two acres, which was near William Parman's place. There Levi and Harriet established their first home in a small cottonwood log cabin.
Indians passing through the area on the way east to visit former homes and burial grounds were very troublesome. The situation grew worse each year. Therefore, in 1860 many of the settlers decided to leave that area.
Harriet Edson and her folks had suffered a number of tragedies. Harriet's baby sister, age about three had burned to death in a prairie fire. The little sister had followed older visiting children some distance from the house. Suddenly a raging prairie fire was upon them. All reached safety except Harriet's little sister. The handmade yellow and white check gingham dress with it's precision stitching, worn on that tragic day, by the little pioneer child who lost her life to one of the perils of the frontier was found in Hiley Parman's old trunk following her death. Another died of the measles just a few days before the date set for her wedding. She was buried in the dress that was to have been her wedding dress.
Now that relatives had decided to leave Plattsmouth many were to go their separate ways. Harriet Edson's. brother, Giles Parman, had married Rev. E. E. Gibb's daughter, Sarah Elizabeth (cousin of the Edsons). They accompanied her parents to the Stanner Valley in Johnson County, Texas. Harriet Edson's parents moved to Monroe County Missouri, near Shelbina. Harriet's sister, Amanda Jane, had married Chester Woolcut of South Bend, Nebraska Territory. They immigrated with Levi and Harriet to Harrison County, Missouri. Both couples settled near Snell's Mill on Big Creek, an important trading post on the Old St. Joe Trail, and one of the oldest settlements in Harrison County. After the Civil War the settlement was given the name of Brooklyn but was soon dubbed Lick Skillet.
Levi Edson erected a square hewed log house on the north line of his eighty acres, S. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4, Sec. 4, Twp. 64, R. 28, which had been acquired by him. November 30, 1857. His house was erected just north of an old trapper's cabin that was on the land when the Edsons first came to Missouri. The logs for Levi's house were selected from the nearby virgin woods, felled, hewed into square logs, and hauled to the site by oxen. Levi's house, much larger than the average pioneer erected, faced the north. West of the front door was a window with twelve panes of glass. There was a back door and a window on the south. In the east corners were two full size beds with a large trunk and chest in between. Trundle beds were added later. There was a fireplace at the west end equipped for cooking, a cupboard in one corner, a spinning wheel in the other, and a large dining table in front of the fireplace.
Levi and Harriet were hardly settled in their new home in Missouri when the Civil War started. Levi enlisted at Gallatin, Missouri, for six months service under officer Allen, in the Harrison County Batt., Reg't E, Co. A, Mo. M. He was honorably discharged March 14, 1862. Then on August 30, 1862, he enlisted at Bethany for three years in Co. B, Reg't 2, Missouri Cavalry, Merrill's Horse. He served under Capt. George Washington Elwell. This famous regiment effectually checked the guerrilla raids in Missouri and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes. Levi was discharged in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 30, 1865. It was said, "He served with distinction.” His army papers gives his description as height five feet, seven inches, reddish complexion, light hair, and blue eyes. His health began to break in the summer of 1864, during the Camden Campaign in Arkansas. He was in the Regimental Hospital at Cavalry depot on the White River two miles below Devall Bluff, Prairie County, Arkansas, several times during the summer and fall of that year.
After Levi enlisted his wife tried bravely to carryon alone. Their one child, little Eva, was about a year old when the father left with the Missouri Cavalry. The nearest neighbor was Timothy Edson's wife, Caroline, whose cabin was a mile or more to the southwest. She too was alone for Timothy had also enlisted. Times were trying for the young wives. They had many terrifying moments. The country was a wilderness. Samll bands of Indians passing through the area were often seen. Bobcats, fierce panthers, wolves, and coyotes were numerous. A panther habitually slept on the cabin roof near the warm chimney. This placed it directly over the cabin door. It's favorite place to let forth screams was from a hugh tree near the corner of the cabin. Often the dogs barked all night down by the barn. Someone was down there!
Bushwhackers went through the country stealing horses and at the least provocation burned the settler's home. If there was evidence of large scale farming the Bushwhackers knew there was a man about the place, and they made a thorough search for him. If they found a man of army age they hung him on the nearest tree in the presence of his family. If they failed to find the man they set fire to the home and other buildings in order to flush him out. Then, when he ran out of the flames they shot him.
Harriet, like the other wives, had to depend completely upon her own resources for food, for wood for the fireplace, and for winter feed for the livestock. There was no one to hire to cut firewood or to work the oxen in the fields as all able bodied men were away with the army except a few who remained in hiding. Very little merchandise reached the Brooklyn store during the war.
Little William, their first son, was born after Levi left with the army and died of the croup before Levi had an opportunity to see him. Harriet was alone that night in the log cabin home in the wilderness far from any help when tragedy struck.
Word reached Harriet of the death of her father in Monroe County, Missouri, on Easter Sunday during the first part of the Civil War. Her brother-in-law, Chester Woolcut, and another relative went there by covered wagon and moved the widow, Hiley Parman, and her children to Harrison County. For the two young men of army age this journey across the state in war time was fraught with danger. Harriet's sister, Nancy, then made her home with Harriet for the duration of the war.
Harriet and Nancy tried to get all the outside chores finished before dark and any that were not finished, were left, as it was extremely dangerous to be outside after dark.
One day late in the fall storm clouds gathered and darkness came early. Nancy Parman was attending subscription school and had not arrived home. Harriet watched and listened for her in vain and became quite alarmed. Although it was very dangerous, Harriet prepared to go in search of her sister. She fed baby Eva, put her to bed with extra covers and fixed the fire so it would keep a long time. She did not like to leave the baby alone but hesitated to take her from the safety of the cabin. Harriet hoped if any thing had happened to her some one would come by and find the baby before she died of starvation. Harriet then dashed out into the darkness and down the trail through the timber screaming, "Nan, Nan." She was about a half mile from the cabin when she heard the sound of Nan’s running feet. Nan heard Harriet and began screaming, "Harriet, Harriet," with each step. Harriet then turned back for the cabin, but Nan caught up with her long before the cabin was reached.
The struggle alone became unbearable for Caroline Edson, Timothy’s wife. She moved -- cabin, livestock, and all to Harriet’s place. This was a much better arrangement for all.
Levi Edson returned home from the army in broken health. He was able to do very little work for several years and never again enjoyed good health. When he left his home for duty with the Union army he was a strong, healthy, robust man. He had been born and reared on a frontier accustomed to heavy outdoor work and all the hardships of frontier life. During his army duty he slept on frozen ground, on rain soaked ground, and spent long exhausting hours in the saddle in driving freezing rain, snow, and the blazing hot sun of summer. He was improperly clothed, lived mostly on beans, and at times suffered acutely from hunger. Those years were more than even his robust constitution could endure.
Levi Edson was a farmer, cattle feeder, and also raised horses. He did extensive business with H. C. Hefner at Beatrice, Nebraska, and 0. 0. Hefner at Bethany, Missouri, importers and breeders of Norman and English draft horses. Bees wax was sold at twenty- five cents per pound to Gillien & King in Brooklyn or used as a medium of exchange at Snell’S mill. Harriet raised geese and sold feathers. One of the important items in every young girl’S hope chest was a feather-bed.
Levi Edson built a second house on his land for the family of the hired-man. Also he usually retained two single men as hired-hands. E. E. Gibbs (brother of Mrs. James Parman and brother-in-law of Isaac Edson) and his wife, Annie (Wright), worked for Levi several years. Annie helped with the house work and with the children. The children were very fond of her. The Gibbs family left for Sheridan, Kansas, in the late 188O’s. The nephews, Wesley and Wilson Edson farmed for Levi when they were young.
Many years later Levi Edson’s son William Wesley, said, "My mother told me many stories about the Indians and the panthers. Father told me about working oxen and breaking out his farm with six yoke of cattle and plowing big brush under. Some of the brush was five to six feet high."
Levi Edson and this brother-in-law, Chester Woolcut, were stricken with the gold fever Gold had been discovered in the Black Hills. Chester moved his family in with Levi’s, and the two old army buddies joined the thousands scurrying blindly west. Then came the spring rains and floods. They were trapped between two flooding rivers! Discouraged by the delay which would cause them to be late in the season reaching the gold diggings, thoughts turned to home. Their goal now was to reach home in time to put in a crop. In order to travel light and fast, the two ex-cavalrymen sold their wagon and supplies and came home horseback, stopping only when the horses were in dire need of food and rest.
In 1873 Levi Edson constructed a "sawmill house" one half mile south and one mile west of Brooklyn on forty acres he had purchased to the north of his original eighty acres. The lumber came from Alonzo Edson’s sawmill on Little Creek. Elijah Elias
Gibbs (namesake of his uncle the Baptist preacher); James Parman, brother of Harriet Edson, storekeeper and post master at Brooklyn; and other old army buddies helped construct the frame house. The men would saw a few boards, then gather in a group and sing, nail up a few boards, then sing. Harriet, naturally eager to move into the new house said, "I do believe they sing a song for each board they nail." This suggested their song, "Sing, Saw, Sing, and Nail." Those days became happy memories in the heart of the old pioneer.
An orchard was planted at the new location. There was a windlass well with two tall slim buckets. The well was covered with a hinged lid inside the cribbing. The logs from the old cabin were used to construct an ice house and a smoke house. During the winter months the ice house was stocked with blocks of ice sawed from Big Creek. The angle iron and striker that hung on a post near the back door was used to signal the men in the field that dinner was ready. There was the usual ash hopper in the back yard. The cellar for storage of food was under the back part Of the house. The yard and garden were fenced with a split rail fence. The top row of rails crossed high at the
joints. A mean butting sheep and a goat kept boys out of the watermelon patch and the dog, Beaver, kept strangers out of the yard. Levi Edson purchased more land for a total of two hundred and fifty acres.
On May 5, 1875, Levi Edson was appointed administrator of the estate of his father, Daniel Edson, by Probate Judge W. R. Robinson.
In 1884 Levi Edson leased his farm for a year to his nephew, Isaac Millard Edson. He loaded the household goods and family in two covered wagons and headed for Western Kansas. Arriving at the ferry near Mound City, Missouri, they learned the Missouri River was at flood stage. After the flood receded the ferry was found to be badly damaged and there was another delay while repairs were made. By the time they could reach western Kansas it would be too late to put in a crop. Therefore, Levi decided to wait over a year in Mound City.
A house was rented and the children enrolled in the Mound City School. Levi and his eldest son, William Wesley, who was old enough to handle a team, hauled lumber for a sawmill that year. With the approach of spring thoughts turned again to Western Kansas. Harriet and the children were homesick for Harrison County. Their plea to return home was only temporarily resisted by Levi.
Levi was kind hearted and always happy to help others. An old lined calico drawstring bag hung on a nail on the kitchen wall. It was well stuffed with persona1 notes Levi had co-signed and tax receipts he had paid for others. It seems most every time he attended a sale he co-signed a note for someone for a cow. He could not say, "No". His excuse to his wife was, "Well all those children -- and they had no milk cows." Sometimes when the cow quit giving milk it was sold and the money pocketed by the party. Harriet finally forbid him to attend sales. There was also a note that was never collected for what in those days was a substantial sum. The loan had been made to a John Eberhart of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Levi liked to gather his relatives and friends around him. On Sundays it was a common thing to have twenty or more guests in to take dinner. During the summer months gallons of ice cream was made on Sundays. A birthday in the family was a special occasion. Friends and relatives for miles around were invited for an all day celebration.
Levi Edson was a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and attended all the reunions of his army buddies. These were dubbed "Bean Suppers" in memory of their regular diet of beans while in the army.. Their song was, "Beans for breakfast, Beans for Dinner, Beans for Supper, Beans, Beans".
Levi Edson called affectionately Uncle Levi by the community was a man greatly admired by his neighbors and acquaintance.
(Levi Edson retained his Colt revolver and Cavalry saber when discharged at a cost to him of twelve dollars. His service revolver was given to Ray Edson and passed on to Ralph Edson).
Source: (Daniel Edson Story by Opal Soetart)171
He was nineteen years old when in the spring of 1855 the family in-their ox-drawn covered wagons again became a part of that army of restless, adventurous pioneers whose axes and rifles opened a path through the wilderness, ever pushing the frontier westward. Their destination was Harrison County, Missouri, in the Grand River country.
His father had entered for land north of Bethany. There in the frontier wilderness Levi helped his father erect a comfortable two story double log home and to clear the land for cultivation.
His mother's sister, Angeline (Needham) Gibbs, and her husband, Rev. Elijah Elias Gibbs, had immigrated to Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebraska Territory, from the Springfield, Illinois area. Perhaps other Needhams also immigrated there. Levi Edson was visiting these relatives in Nebraska Territory when he became acquainted with the William Parman family of Plattsmouth.
Levi Edson soon became an employee of William Parman who owned the steamboat landing and warehouse there. Merchandise for the pioneers and tons of government supplies for the Western forts began arriving by steamboat as soon as the river ice broke in the spring. Then prairie schooners loaded freight for Western destinations from the Parman wharf and warehouse. The steamboats that carried merchandise for the pioneers were described by William Parman's daughter, Nancy, as similar to department stores. Samples were on display on the main deck, orders were filled from below. The captain sent notice of the date of arrival of a steamboat by horsemen to the Parman office.
Then Levi Edson dispatched a horseman with notices to be posted on all trails through-out the countryside, announcing the date of arrival and type of merchandise carried. Some of the steamboats had steam calliopes and as Plattsmouth was approached played popular tunes of the day. A large crowd awaited the arrival of each steamboat. They came in all manor of conveyances (many were homemade), encamped nearby, and social life blossomed.
Levi Edson kept a crew busy during the winter months preparing cord wood to replenish the steamboats fuel supply. The wood lot was on an island about a quarter mile south of the wharf. The island disappeared many years ago.
On the first day of August 1858 Harriet, William Parman's daughter, and Levi Edson were married at the home of the bride by Levi's uncle, Rev. Elijah Elias Gibbs, one of the founders and the first pastor of the First Baptist Church in Plattsmouth. John Jackson was best man and was given the honor of signing the wedding certificate as witness.
December 23, 1858, at the land office in Nebraska City, Levi Edson entered for the following land in Cass County, Nebraska Territory, N. E. 1/4, N. E. 1/4, Sec. 6, Twp. ll, R.l4, containing forty-two acres, which was near William Parman's place. There Levi and Harriet established their first home in a small cottonwood log cabin.
Indians passing through the area on the way east to visit former homes and burial grounds were very troublesome. The situation grew worse each year. Therefore, in 1860 many of the settlers decided to leave that area.
Harriet Edson and her folks had suffered a number of tragedies. Harriet's baby sister, age about three had burned to death in a prairie fire. The little sister had followed older visiting children some distance from the house. Suddenly a raging prairie fire was upon them. All reached safety except Harriet's little sister. The handmade yellow and white check gingham dress with it's precision stitching, worn on that tragic day, by the little pioneer child who lost her life to one of the perils of the frontier was found in Hiley Parman's old trunk following her death. Another died of the measles just a few days before the date set for her wedding. She was buried in the dress that was to have been her wedding dress.
Now that relatives had decided to leave Plattsmouth many were to go their separate ways. Harriet Edson's. brother, Giles Parman, had married Rev. E. E. Gibb's daughter, Sarah Elizabeth (cousin of the Edsons). They accompanied her parents to the Stanner Valley in Johnson County, Texas. Harriet Edson's parents moved to Monroe County Missouri, near Shelbina. Harriet's sister, Amanda Jane, had married Chester Woolcut of South Bend, Nebraska Territory. They immigrated with Levi and Harriet to Harrison County, Missouri. Both couples settled near Snell's Mill on Big Creek, an important trading post on the Old St. Joe Trail, and one of the oldest settlements in Harrison County. After the Civil War the settlement was given the name of Brooklyn but was soon dubbed Lick Skillet.
Levi Edson erected a square hewed log house on the north line of his eighty acres, S. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4, Sec. 4, Twp. 64, R. 28, which had been acquired by him. November 30, 1857. His house was erected just north of an old trapper's cabin that was on the land when the Edsons first came to Missouri. The logs for Levi's house were selected from the nearby virgin woods, felled, hewed into square logs, and hauled to the site by oxen. Levi's house, much larger than the average pioneer erected, faced the north. West of the front door was a window with twelve panes of glass. There was a back door and a window on the south. In the east corners were two full size beds with a large trunk and chest in between. Trundle beds were added later. There was a fireplace at the west end equipped for cooking, a cupboard in one corner, a spinning wheel in the other, and a large dining table in front of the fireplace.
Levi and Harriet were hardly settled in their new home in Missouri when the Civil War started. Levi enlisted at Gallatin, Missouri, for six months service under officer Allen, in the Harrison County Batt., Reg't E, Co. A, Mo. M. He was honorably discharged March 14, 1862. Then on August 30, 1862, he enlisted at Bethany for three years in Co. B, Reg't 2, Missouri Cavalry, Merrill's Horse. He served under Capt. George Washington Elwell. This famous regiment effectually checked the guerrilla raids in Missouri and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes. Levi was discharged in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 30, 1865. It was said, "He served with distinction.” His army papers gives his description as height five feet, seven inches, reddish complexion, light hair, and blue eyes. His health began to break in the summer of 1864, during the Camden Campaign in Arkansas. He was in the Regimental Hospital at Cavalry depot on the White River two miles below Devall Bluff, Prairie County, Arkansas, several times during the summer and fall of that year.
After Levi enlisted his wife tried bravely to carryon alone. Their one child, little Eva, was about a year old when the father left with the Missouri Cavalry. The nearest neighbor was Timothy Edson's wife, Caroline, whose cabin was a mile or more to the southwest. She too was alone for Timothy had also enlisted. Times were trying for the young wives. They had many terrifying moments. The country was a wilderness. Samll bands of Indians passing through the area were often seen. Bobcats, fierce panthers, wolves, and coyotes were numerous. A panther habitually slept on the cabin roof near the warm chimney. This placed it directly over the cabin door. It's favorite place to let forth screams was from a hugh tree near the corner of the cabin. Often the dogs barked all night down by the barn. Someone was down there!
Bushwhackers went through the country stealing horses and at the least provocation burned the settler's home. If there was evidence of large scale farming the Bushwhackers knew there was a man about the place, and they made a thorough search for him. If they found a man of army age they hung him on the nearest tree in the presence of his family. If they failed to find the man they set fire to the home and other buildings in order to flush him out. Then, when he ran out of the flames they shot him.
Harriet, like the other wives, had to depend completely upon her own resources for food, for wood for the fireplace, and for winter feed for the livestock. There was no one to hire to cut firewood or to work the oxen in the fields as all able bodied men were away with the army except a few who remained in hiding. Very little merchandise reached the Brooklyn store during the war.
Little William, their first son, was born after Levi left with the army and died of the croup before Levi had an opportunity to see him. Harriet was alone that night in the log cabin home in the wilderness far from any help when tragedy struck.
Word reached Harriet of the death of her father in Monroe County, Missouri, on Easter Sunday during the first part of the Civil War. Her brother-in-law, Chester Woolcut, and another relative went there by covered wagon and moved the widow, Hiley Parman, and her children to Harrison County. For the two young men of army age this journey across the state in war time was fraught with danger. Harriet's sister, Nancy, then made her home with Harriet for the duration of the war.
Harriet and Nancy tried to get all the outside chores finished before dark and any that were not finished, were left, as it was extremely dangerous to be outside after dark.
One day late in the fall storm clouds gathered and darkness came early. Nancy Parman was attending subscription school and had not arrived home. Harriet watched and listened for her in vain and became quite alarmed. Although it was very dangerous, Harriet prepared to go in search of her sister. She fed baby Eva, put her to bed with extra covers and fixed the fire so it would keep a long time. She did not like to leave the baby alone but hesitated to take her from the safety of the cabin. Harriet hoped if any thing had happened to her some one would come by and find the baby before she died of starvation. Harriet then dashed out into the darkness and down the trail through the timber screaming, "Nan, Nan." She was about a half mile from the cabin when she heard the sound of Nan’s running feet. Nan heard Harriet and began screaming, "Harriet, Harriet," with each step. Harriet then turned back for the cabin, but Nan caught up with her long before the cabin was reached.
The struggle alone became unbearable for Caroline Edson, Timothy’s wife. She moved -- cabin, livestock, and all to Harriet’s place. This was a much better arrangement for all.
Levi Edson returned home from the army in broken health. He was able to do very little work for several years and never again enjoyed good health. When he left his home for duty with the Union army he was a strong, healthy, robust man. He had been born and reared on a frontier accustomed to heavy outdoor work and all the hardships of frontier life. During his army duty he slept on frozen ground, on rain soaked ground, and spent long exhausting hours in the saddle in driving freezing rain, snow, and the blazing hot sun of summer. He was improperly clothed, lived mostly on beans, and at times suffered acutely from hunger. Those years were more than even his robust constitution could endure.
Levi Edson was a farmer, cattle feeder, and also raised horses. He did extensive business with H. C. Hefner at Beatrice, Nebraska, and 0. 0. Hefner at Bethany, Missouri, importers and breeders of Norman and English draft horses. Bees wax was sold at twenty- five cents per pound to Gillien & King in Brooklyn or used as a medium of exchange at Snell’S mill. Harriet raised geese and sold feathers. One of the important items in every young girl’S hope chest was a feather-bed.
Levi Edson built a second house on his land for the family of the hired-man. Also he usually retained two single men as hired-hands. E. E. Gibbs (brother of Mrs. James Parman and brother-in-law of Isaac Edson) and his wife, Annie (Wright), worked for Levi several years. Annie helped with the house work and with the children. The children were very fond of her. The Gibbs family left for Sheridan, Kansas, in the late 188O’s. The nephews, Wesley and Wilson Edson farmed for Levi when they were young.
Many years later Levi Edson’s son William Wesley, said, "My mother told me many stories about the Indians and the panthers. Father told me about working oxen and breaking out his farm with six yoke of cattle and plowing big brush under. Some of the brush was five to six feet high."
Levi Edson and this brother-in-law, Chester Woolcut, were stricken with the gold fever Gold had been discovered in the Black Hills. Chester moved his family in with Levi’s, and the two old army buddies joined the thousands scurrying blindly west. Then came the spring rains and floods. They were trapped between two flooding rivers! Discouraged by the delay which would cause them to be late in the season reaching the gold diggings, thoughts turned to home. Their goal now was to reach home in time to put in a crop. In order to travel light and fast, the two ex-cavalrymen sold their wagon and supplies and came home horseback, stopping only when the horses were in dire need of food and rest.
In 1873 Levi Edson constructed a "sawmill house" one half mile south and one mile west of Brooklyn on forty acres he had purchased to the north of his original eighty acres. The lumber came from Alonzo Edson’s sawmill on Little Creek. Elijah Elias
Gibbs (namesake of his uncle the Baptist preacher); James Parman, brother of Harriet Edson, storekeeper and post master at Brooklyn; and other old army buddies helped construct the frame house. The men would saw a few boards, then gather in a group and sing, nail up a few boards, then sing. Harriet, naturally eager to move into the new house said, "I do believe they sing a song for each board they nail." This suggested their song, "Sing, Saw, Sing, and Nail." Those days became happy memories in the heart of the old pioneer.
An orchard was planted at the new location. There was a windlass well with two tall slim buckets. The well was covered with a hinged lid inside the cribbing. The logs from the old cabin were used to construct an ice house and a smoke house. During the winter months the ice house was stocked with blocks of ice sawed from Big Creek. The angle iron and striker that hung on a post near the back door was used to signal the men in the field that dinner was ready. There was the usual ash hopper in the back yard. The cellar for storage of food was under the back part Of the house. The yard and garden were fenced with a split rail fence. The top row of rails crossed high at the
joints. A mean butting sheep and a goat kept boys out of the watermelon patch and the dog, Beaver, kept strangers out of the yard. Levi Edson purchased more land for a total of two hundred and fifty acres.
On May 5, 1875, Levi Edson was appointed administrator of the estate of his father, Daniel Edson, by Probate Judge W. R. Robinson.
In 1884 Levi Edson leased his farm for a year to his nephew, Isaac Millard Edson. He loaded the household goods and family in two covered wagons and headed for Western Kansas. Arriving at the ferry near Mound City, Missouri, they learned the Missouri River was at flood stage. After the flood receded the ferry was found to be badly damaged and there was another delay while repairs were made. By the time they could reach western Kansas it would be too late to put in a crop. Therefore, Levi decided to wait over a year in Mound City.
A house was rented and the children enrolled in the Mound City School. Levi and his eldest son, William Wesley, who was old enough to handle a team, hauled lumber for a sawmill that year. With the approach of spring thoughts turned again to Western Kansas. Harriet and the children were homesick for Harrison County. Their plea to return home was only temporarily resisted by Levi.
Levi was kind hearted and always happy to help others. An old lined calico drawstring bag hung on a nail on the kitchen wall. It was well stuffed with persona1 notes Levi had co-signed and tax receipts he had paid for others. It seems most every time he attended a sale he co-signed a note for someone for a cow. He could not say, "No". His excuse to his wife was, "Well all those children -- and they had no milk cows." Sometimes when the cow quit giving milk it was sold and the money pocketed by the party. Harriet finally forbid him to attend sales. There was also a note that was never collected for what in those days was a substantial sum. The loan had been made to a John Eberhart of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Levi liked to gather his relatives and friends around him. On Sundays it was a common thing to have twenty or more guests in to take dinner. During the summer months gallons of ice cream was made on Sundays. A birthday in the family was a special occasion. Friends and relatives for miles around were invited for an all day celebration.
Levi Edson was a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and attended all the reunions of his army buddies. These were dubbed "Bean Suppers" in memory of their regular diet of beans while in the army.. Their song was, "Beans for breakfast, Beans for Dinner, Beans for Supper, Beans, Beans".
Levi Edson called affectionately Uncle Levi by the community was a man greatly admired by his neighbors and acquaintance.
(Levi Edson retained his Colt revolver and Cavalry saber when discharged at a cost to him of twelve dollars. His service revolver was given to Ray Edson and passed on to Ralph Edson).
Source: (Daniel Edson Story by Opal Soetart)171