• David Edwards, Sr.
  • Elizabeth Morris

David Edwards, Sr.,
of Orange County, NC

David Edwards, Sr., son of John EDWARDS, Sr. & Mary STOKES, was born c.1740's, maybe in Virginia, and died Dec. 6, 1782, in Orange Co., NC. He married Elizabeth Morris. She was born. c.1740's and died Oct. 13, 1827, in Bedford, Lawrence Co., IN. After David Edwards' death, Elizabeth married Richard WILLIAMS and moved to Indiana.

Children of David Edwards, Sr., & Elizabeth Morris:

  1. Archibald Edwards
  2. Nathaniel Edwards
  3. John Edwards. Maybe the "Jno. Edwards" listed in the 1820 census of Ashe Co., NC?
  4. Susan Edwards, b. 1765-1774, Orange Co., NC; d. 1840-1850, Lawrence Co., IN; m. Charles TOLIVER (b. 1765-1774, VA or NC; d. 1832, Lawrence Co., IN).
  5. Starling (Sterling) Edwards, b. Feb. 6, 1768, Orange Co., NC; d. 1818, Ashe Co., NC; m. Salena COBB, Mar. 17, 1793, Lincoln Co., NC (b. 1770-1780; d. Oct. 1859).
  6. +David Edwards, Jr., b. Apr. 16, 1774, Orange Co., NC; d. Oct. 5, 1828, Ashe Co., NC; m. (1) Elizabeth ANDREWS, daughter of William ANDREWS & Mary LLOYD(?), Aug. 28, 1792, Orange Co., NC (b. 1776; d. Jan. 10, 1817); m. (2) Jane OSBORNE REEVES, daughter of Enoch OSBORNE & Jane HASH, Nov. 8, 1818, Ashe Co., NC (Aug. 18, 1777; d. June 24, 1851); bur. David Edwards, Jr., Cemetery, Hwy 21, 8 miles west of Sparta, Alleghany Co., NC. Jane Osborne was the widow of George Reeves, Jr. (d.1811).
  7. Mary "Polly" Edwards, born abt. 1775, Orange Co., NC; d. aft. 1820; m. Sylvanus BREWER, Mar. 30, 1793, Orange Co., NC (b. abt. 1775; d. aft. 1820).
  8. +William Edwards, b. Oct. 15, 1776, Orange Co., NC; d. Nov. 21, 1869, Alleghany Co., NC; m. Nancy CARTER, abt. 1798 (b. abt. 1776; d. 1860-1870).
  9. Elizabeth Edwards, born c.1770's, Orange Co., NC; d. in Wilkes Co., NC; m. Henry BREWER.
  10. +Sarah Edwards, b. abt. 1780, Orange Co., NC; d. 1870-1880, Alleghany Co., NC; m. Jacob CROUSE, abt. 1797 (b. abt. 1775; d. bef. 1840).

Notes

David Edwards, Sr., was probably born during the 1740's based on the ages of his children. His wife (Elizabeth MORRIS) and children are identified in an affidavit dated Mar. 24, 1892, which was prepared by his granddaughters Sarah (EDWARDS) CHOATE, Nancy (EDWARDS) FENDER, and Jane (EDWARDS) DUNCAN, in Alleghany County, NC. In the affidavit, the three women state that their father was William EDWARDS, born Oct. 15, 1776, in Orange Co., NC, and that William's brothers and sisters were Starling, David, Elizabeth who married Henry BREWER, Polly who married Syl or Cil BREWER, Susan who married Charles TOLIVER, and Sally who married Jacob CROUSE. They also state that their grandmother was Elizabeth or Betsy MORRIS. The document does contain one major inaccuracy: it incorrectly identifies the father of William (b.1776) as "William Edwards," a supposed brother of the legendary "Robert Edwards" of New York. The affidavit was most likely prepared in connection with litigation over the legendary "Edwards Fortune" which has periodically captured the attention (and money) of hundreds of people named Edwards throughout North America. A correction to the document made in the 1950's states that David Edwards, Sr., was the son of John Edwards. (Alleghany Co., NC, Deed Book 33, pp.524-525.)  Click here to read the entire affidavit.

It is possible that David Edwards is the individual who helped disperse the Regulator rebels of Orange County on April 30, 1768, as described by Eli W. Caruthers in Sketch of the Life and Character of David Caldwell (1942), p.119: "In 1768, the Regulators met on April 30 and 12 deputies were chosen, but before the day appointed the Govenor, William TRYON, having heard of the disturbance, sent David EDWARDS with a proclamation summoning the Regulators to disperse and calling on the officers of the Province to assist the Sheriff in suppressing the insurrection."

Mar. 24, 1778, David EDWARDS served as Juror for the Superior Court of Orange Co., NC, Hillsborough Dist. (Orange Co. Court Minutes 1777-1788, Part 1, p.15, Folio I.)  David EDWARDS and others were ordered to lay off and value one acre of land of George MOORE on which to build a grist Mill on the South Side of Haw River. (Id., p.19.)

David EDWARDS appears on the 1779 Tax List of Orange Co., NC.

The Court records of Orange Co., NC, contain an inventory of the "property of David EDWARDS deceased Dec. 6th, 1782." Among those buying property at the estate sale were Elizabeth EDWARDS, Sterlin EDWARDS, John EDWARDS, Junr., and John EDWARDS, Senr.

The will of John EDWARDS, Sr., dated April 2, 1796, leaves a slave to unnamed children of David EDWARDS. (Orange Co., NC, Will Book D, p.56.)

On Jan. 14, 1804, Sterling EDWARDS of Wilkes Co., NC, executed a deed to Nathaniel EDWARDS, William EDWARDS, Archibald EDWARDS, and John EDWARDS of Orange Co., NC, for £500, a tract of land containing 231 ½ acres beg. at the mouth of Collins Creek known by the name of the Dividing Line, adj. John EDWARDS, Stokes EDWARDS, and Allen EDWARDS, it being part of a tract surveyed and deeded to David EDWARDS, the father of Sterling EDWARDS. Signed: Sterling EDWARDS. Wits: Joshua CARTER, William CARTER. (Orange DB 11, p.342.)

Thanks to Ray K. Edwards for much of the above info. See also Alleghany County Heritage (Alleghany Co. Hist.-Gen. Society, 1983) p.196.

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