Edwards · Wilt · Railey · Avent · Brett
Where we come from.
Stories, records and photographs of the families behind the Edwards crew, from Lancashire mill towns and Pennsylvania coal country to the Florida coast and the North Georgia mountains.
686
ancestors and relatives documented
295
families linked together
1576AD
earliest birth on record, in Groningen, Netherlands
56
living relatives, kept off public pages
Family stories
Chapters from The Edwards Family: A History, each linked to the records behind it.
Wilt line · 1910 – 1994
The Latin teacher from Brownsville
Mary Kathryn grew up in Brownsville, a river town in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Harry Stehman Wilt and Mary Ellen Brown. She had two older brothers, Raymond and Harold, and a younger sister, Gladys.
Edwards line · 1904 – 1976
A Lancashire boy bound for New York
John William Edwards Sr. was born in England in February 1904, the son of William Wilbraham Edwards of Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, and Anne Bruce of Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Edwards line · 1944 – 1995
Jack, the twin who lived
John William Edwards Jr., known as Jack, was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, on 20 November 1944. His twin brother, David Bruce, died the same day.
Railey line · 1907 – 1968
A home builder from Como, North Carolina
Granville Brett Railey was born on 20 April 1907 at Como, a small community in Hertford County, North Carolina, the third of five children of Edward Jester Railey and Elizabeth Maud Brett. The 1910 and 1920…
Avent line · 1882 – 1942
The banker from Micanopy
George Jacob Avent was born on 8 August 1882 in Micanopy, a village in Alachua County, Florida, the son of William Marion Avent and Catharine 'Kate' Winecoff. His mother died in 1891, when he was eight, and his…
Railey line · 1876 – 1957
Eddie and Lizzie of Como
Edward Jester Railey, known as Eddie, was born at Como, Hertford County, North Carolina, on 7 March 1876, the fourth of seven children of John Wesley Railey and Martha Ann Brett. Elizabeth Maud Brett, known as…
Four family lines
Where each branch came from.
Edwards & Bruce
Eccles and Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, to Pittsburgh, then West Palm Beach.
Wilt & Brown
York County farms in the 1700s, then Somerset and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania.
Railey & Brett
Southampton, Virginia, and Como in Hertford County, North Carolina, then Jacksonville.
Avent & Mundle
Micanopy, Florida, and Ontario, Canada, by way of Brooklyn, meeting in Jacksonville.
The road south
How the Edwards line moved, generation by generation.
- 1830sEccles, Lancashire, England
- 1907Arrival in New York
- 1910sWashington County, Pennsylvania
- 1950West Palm Beach, Florida
- 1990sBlairsville, Georgia
The full tree is for family
Living relatives never appear on public pages. Family members sign in with a one-time code sent to their email to see the complete, searchable tree.