Richard
Arthur Edwards and Alice Shirk Edwards
Richard and Alice Edwards
attended the
organizational meeting of the Miami County American Red Cross in August
of
1916. The next January when officers
were chosen Richard was placed on the board of directors.
The couple were members of a prominent
family in the city of Peru that founded the First National Bank. Alice’s father, Elbert H. Shirk, settled in
Miami County, Indiana as early as 1844 and married his wife, Mary, in
1845. Upon arriving in the county, he
went into a partnership with a mercantile but the year in which he
married he
terminated his partnership and branched out on his own.
At one point, when
he was in New York to buy merchandize for his store, he was able to
obtain land
warrants that were in the hands of brokers and had depreciated from the
effects
of the Mexican War. He purchased
these
in cash and re-sold them to settlers wishing to go west.
He also had a great deal of money invested
in Chicago. In 1857, Elbert Shirk opened
a private bank for deposits and in 1864 this private bank became First
National
Bank of Peru. He made his money in three
areas - Merchandizing, Real Estate and Banking.
Alice’s father was a man of slight build with a nervous
energy.
Alice Mary Shirk was
born in Peru, Indiana on November 14, 1853.
Growing up, she had a brother Milton and a brother Elbert.
In the
late 1870’s Alice went away to school at The State Normal College in
Bloomington Illinois where she met a man who had dark brown hair and
eyes, and
stood 5”7”. He was the son of the
president of the college and his name was Richard Arthur Edwards. He had been born in Bridgewater,
Massachusetts on November 9, 1851 and was the son of a Congregational
Church
pastor who was also a university professor.
Richard’s father moved his family from Massachusetts to
St. Louis, and
then on to Illinois. In 1869,
Richard
graduated from Illinois Normal College, and, as a young man a mere eighteen years of age, became the
principle of Paxton, Illinois public schools.
He enrolled in Dartmouth College in 1872, but after one
year ran out of
funds, therefore during 1873 and 1874 he taught school and completed
home study
course work. Richard was able to
return
to school at Princeton University and graduated in 1876 with a Bachelor
of Arts
degree. After graduation Richard taught
Greek and Latin at Rock River Seminary until 1878 when he began
teaching
English and Rhetoric at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
On New Year’s Day
of
1880 Richard and Alice were married.
Richard continued to teach for one year in Illinois and
then the couple
moved back to Peru and Richard went to work in his father in law’s bank. They settled into life in Peru and enjoyed a
family of two sons and three daughters.
Alice and Richard were very active members of the First
Baptist Church. Alice was known to be
extremely family
oriented. Richard became president of
the bank in 1911, and eventually Alice served on the board of the bank
which
was a position few women held in that time frame. The
couple were known for their conservative
financial habits. During her lifetime,
she was a member of the Society of Colonial Dames of America, The
Society of
Indiana Pioneers, and the Indiana League of Women Voters.
She was a charter member of the Peru Reading
Club, The Peru Art Club and the Peru Drama League.
During his lifetime, Richard became president
of the Peru Flood Control Commission, he served on the Board of
Education and
the Chamber of Commerce. He also was president of Peru Reading Club and
a
member of the Moose Lodge. The couple
celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1930.
At 76 years of age, on the ninth of January
in 1931, Alice passed away at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Richard lived on for sixteen more years
before
passing away on February 16, 1947. He was
96 years old. The couple is buried
in
Mount Hope Cemetery.
Researched, written
and submitted by Mary Rohrer Dexter
Works
Cited
Bodurtha,
Arthur. “History of Miami County, Indiana :
a Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its
Principal
Interests : Bodurtha, Arthur L. (Arthur Lawrence), b. 1865 : Free
Download,
Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive,
Chicago : Lewis Pub., 1 Jan. 1970,
archive.org/details/historyofmiamico02bodu.
pages 563 - 565
COMPANY,
LEWIS PUBLISHING. BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON
COUNTIES, INDIANA. FORGOTTEN BOOKS, 2016. pages 35-38
“Golden
Wedding Is Celebrated At Edwards Home.” Peru Republican,
3 Jan. 1930.
“
‘Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992," Database,
FamilySearch (Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/XFND-N2B : 10 March
2018),
Richard A. Edwards in Entry for Richard E. Edwards and Marie Street, 11
Oct
1904; Citing Reference 13; FHL Microfilm 872,061.”
“
‘Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," Database
with Images, FamilySearch
(Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/FXC7-21P : 11
March 2018), Richard Arthur Edwards, 09 Nov 1851, Bridgewater,
Massachusetts;
Citing Reference ID #239, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL Microfilm
1,420,833.”
“
‘Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records,
1626-2001," Database with Images, FamilySearch
(Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/FH8H-J41 : 17 October 2017),
Richard
Arthur Edwards, 09 Nov 1851; Citing Birth, Bridgewater, Plymouth,
Massachusetts, United States, , Town Clerk Offices, Massachusetts; FHL
Microfilm 2,079,745.”
“Mrs.
R. A. Edwards; Beloved Citizen; Deeply Mourned.”
Peru Republican, 16 Jan. 1931.
“R.A.
Edwards; Retired Banker; Dies Monday; Rites
Thursda.” Peru DailyTribune, 18 Feb.
1947.
“Shirk
Edwards House.” National Register of Historic Places,
GOV,
npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/9ae51eb3-103b-4e0b-9d50-89ecb2f0d863.
“‘United
States Census, 1870," Database with
Images, FamilySearch (Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/MX63-5RY :
12 April
2016), Alice Shirk in Household of Elbert H Shirk, Indiana, United
States;
Citing p. 17, Family 132, NARA Microfilm Publication M593 (Washington
D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, N.d.); FHL Microfilm
545,842.”
"United
States Census, 1900," database with
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M9MX-28Z :
accessed
21 April 2018), Richard A Edwards, Peru Township Peru city Ward 4,
Miami,
Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 106, sheet 4B,
family
90, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National
Archives and
Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,393.
“
‘United States Census, 1910," Database with
Images, FamilySearch (Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/MK53-N8F :
Accessed
21 April 2018), Richard A Edwards, Peru Ward 4, Miami, Indiana, United
States;
Citing Enumeration District (ED) ED 132, Sheet 8B, Family 204, NARA
Microfilm
Publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, 1982), Roll 371; FHL Microfilm 1,374,384.”
“‘United
States Census, 1920," Database with
Images, FamilySearch (Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/MF7Y-9F1 :
Accessed
21 April 2018), Richard A Edwards, Peru Ward 4, Miami, Indiana, United
States;
Citing ED 161, Sheet 9A, Line 19, Family
230, NARA Microfilm Publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National
Archives and
Records Administration, 1992), Roll 441; FHL Microfilm 1,820,441.”
“
‘United States Census, 1930," Database with
Images, FamilySearch (Https://Familysearch.org/Pal:/MM9.1.1/X4YT-C1H :
Accessed
21 April 2018), Richard A Edwards, Peru, Miami, Indiana, United States;
Citing
Enumeration District (ED) ED 19, Sheet 11B, Line 88, Family 325, NARA
Microfilm
Publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, 2002), Roll 618; FHL Microfilm 2,340,353.”
“
‘United States Passport Applications,
1795-1925," Database with Images, FamilySearch
(Https://Familysearch.org/Ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9X7-H624?Cc=2185145&Wc=3XZ8-924%3A1056306401%2C1056419601
: 4 October 2016), (M1372) Passport Applications, 1795-1905 > Roll
500, Vol
861, 1898 Jan > Image 91 of 539; Citing NARA Microfilm Publications
M1490 and
M1372 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration,
N.d.).”
