Charles Edson was born in Woodstock, Windsor county, Vermont, August 4, 1799.  He was of English ancestry.  In his boyhood days he removed with his parents to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where, in later years, he made the acquaintance of and wedded Susan Stevens, daughter of Thomas and Lucy Stevens.  They reared a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, viz.: Harriet C. (now Mrs. H. C. Eddy, residing at the home at Gazelle, Shasta valley), Sarah B., deceased, Josiah R., Charles Thomas, deceased, Epaphras Wadsworth, now at Sterling, Illinois; Lucy A., now Mrs. Jerome Fay; Eliphalet B., Clinton A., now of Alameda; and Susan E., now Mrs. L. M. Foulke, of Nevada.  J. R. was born near Muncy, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, the three youngest in Lee county, Illinois, near Dixon, and the balance of the family in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania.  Their father died at Dixon, Illinois, in the month of March, 1854; their mother at Gazelle, the present family home, on the eleventh day of October, 1880.  Josiah R. and his sister, Mrs. Eddy, crossed the plains in 1852, direct to Yreka.  In 1853 they purchased the ranch on which they now reside, known then as the Brady ranch, and one of the first located in Siskiyou county.  In 1863, the balance of the family followed them to California, where they have since continued to live, except three years' absence in the East.  The farm contains about 3,500 acres, is located on a beautiful plain in Shasta valley, on the California and Oregon stage road.  The post-office is called Gazelle, Mrs. Eddy being postmistress, and is kept in their residence.  Ever since the location of the place it has been kept as a public house, and well deserves the name of popular place.  The house is surrounded with a fine lawn, flower gardens, and beautiful shade trees.  A pleasing sight to the weary stage traveler, is this oasis on the plain.  In religion, they are Protestants, in politics, staunch Republicans.  Their grandfather Stevens was seven years in the revolutionary war.  Two of the brothers were in the late war of the rebellion; Epaphras was with the Sturges rifles and on McClellan's body guard, and Eliphalet was in Sherman's army.  From the residence the famous Mount Shasta is in full view, also the peak of Mount Pitt or McLaughlin, nearly 100 miles away in Oregon.

Recently we received an email from Sue Lucas of New Jersey offering copies of the obituaries of Eliphalet Edson and Harriet Eddy.  In her email she explained the circumstances of finding these treasures:

I'm so glad to find a home for Harriet and Eliphalet. I came into possession of an old family scrapbook that my cousin had found in my grandfather's attic in Pennsylvania when we were kids (early 60's). When my mother cleaned out my grandfather's home she looked for the scrapbook to no avail. I have become the family genealogy fanatic so my mother has been helping me by gradually passing on all kinds of material. My mother told my aunt about my obsession and she remembered the scrapbook in her daughter's possession.  Lucky for me my cousin packed it up and sent it from Washington back across the country to my home in New Jersey. The scrapbook dates from late 1890's.  My cousin was attracted to the cute picture on the cover I guess but had no interest in the contents. I found it to be a treasure trove and have spent a year pouring over every inch to find the links to our family tree. I have finally pieced together the connection to Siskiyou County .

My great great great grandmother was Harriet Stevens Harrison. The Stevens and Harrison families were among the Connecticut families that migrated to and settled Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Some of Harriet's children stayed in Pennsylvania ( easier for me) but others kept going. Harriet's sister Susannah Stevens Edson was the mother of Harriet Edson Eddy, Eliphalet Edson, Lucy Edson and Elizabeth Edson( Mrs. L. M. Foulke). Their cousin Mary G. Harrison glued the clippings into her scrapbook.

You can click Eliphalet Edson and Harriet Eddy for a view of their scanned obituaries.  There is also another news article here about the Edson home.

The above drawing and biographical text are from: History of Siskiyou County, Harry L. Wells, D. J. Stewart & Co., 1881; pp. 144B, 180A.

Obituaries and news article are used by permission of Sue Lucas, New Jersey.

Harriet Eddy, Eliphalet Edson and Josiah Edson are buried at Foulke Cemetery, Gazelle, CA

Copyright February 16, 2002

Siskiyou Cemeteries Online

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