1Family Records.
John T. Edwards was born in Manti, Utah on November 1, 1877 to James P. Edwards and Catherine Petty Edwards. He was the eleventh child of fifteen children. When he was two years old his family moved to Sterling, Utah and later to Manti again where he started school. At the age of fourteen, he hired out to herd sheep for the Whitbeck Brothers. He spent the summers on what is know as the Manti Forest Reserve. Through this period of herding sheep, he acquired the desire to make the sheep and cattle business his life's vocation. When he was eighteen years of age, he moved with his family to Emery, Utah where he went to work for Mr. G. T. Olsen, a brother-in-law. He worked in his store das clerk and also was in charge of freight outfits, hauling grain from Emery to Price, Utah. In the year of 1896 he went on the desert to herd sheep for a Mr. Petty and remained there until the fall. On Sept 20th 1899, he was married to Mary Ann Williams in Emery, Utah. The following winter he clerked in the store again for Mr. Olsen. In the spring of 1900 he went on the mountain again with some sheep and remained there until Aug 10, the day their first child was born, John Hayes who was named after his paternal grandfather. He remained there working in the store until the Fall of 1901. At this time, a second child was born, a baby firl, whom they named Lenabellel -- born on the 9th of Oct 1901. In the Fall of that year he took his wife and babies to Provo, Utah in order to attend school. He attended school at the BYU for two years and in the spring of 1903 they left Provo and went to Henry Mountain in Utah to receive three bands of sheep purchased by G.T. Olsen and partner. He ran these sheep that season and in the fall of 1903 Mr. Olsen sold all of his sheep interests to Hailey and Saunders who hired him as foreman to winter the sheep, which numbered 13,500, on the desert. On April 1, 1904, he quit to come home to be with his wife who was expecting their third child. This child, Forest James, The latter name in honor of his grandfather on his father's side, was born on the 15th of April, 1904. At this time he and his brother, William F. Edwards, bought the mercantile interests of G.T. Olsen and G. M. Burr, and they operated that business until the spring of 1908, when they moved to Richfield, Utah and bought a home, and at that same time he went to Oregon and Washington for Bailey and Saunders to receive sheep for them. He moved the sheep to Soda Springs, Idaho and remained there that summer. In the Fall of 1906 he was sent to Spencer, Idaho to receive 18,000 ewes from Wood Livestock. After cleaning up that deal, he was sent to American Falls where he received and dipped 30,000 head of sheep. While he was in American Falls, their daughter Leah Catherine, the latter name in honor of her grandmother on the fathers side, was born on 1 Dec 1906. The later part of December he went home to Richfield and remained there until February. He then went to Nevada to receive 25,000 head of sheep for Hailey and Saunders. During March and April they sold all the sheep and he returned home. The latter part of April he came to Blackfoot, Idaho, Montana and Washington. He then received word to take his seven men who were working with him, and go to Butte, Montana. The last day of March 1906 he went to Three Forks and received 10,000 head of sheep and trailed them from Three Forks to Dillon in one band. He arrived in Dillon the 24 April and shipped wheep to Idaho Falls. Idaho Falls was a small town then of only 2500 people. Everything was open -- there was no forest range. They trailed the sheep to Soda Springs and sheared them on the 15 May. A bad storm came up and they lost 15,000 head of sheep. During the year of 1907 he handled for Bailey and Saunders over 300,000 sheep in Soda Springs. He bought most of them himself. At one time during the summer, he had 25 bands of sheep. In September of that year he delivered to Tim Kinney at Sokesville, Wyoming, 10,000 head of yearling ewes and purchased from him on the same trip 25,000 lambs. On Oct 25 he shipped a train load of lambs and he and Tim Kinney went to Chicago with them. He went back to Soda Springs and bought C.J. Grote's sheep outfit. While on that deal, Mr. Grote wtaked him and his son Con to a band of sheep and money to buy a ranch, which they bought in the Antelope District, 35 miles from Idaho Falls. On Jan 1, 1908 he moved his family to Idaho. They arrived in Rigby Jan 1 and went by sleigh to the ranch and remained there for the winter. In April of 1908 he was called by Hailey and Saunders to go to American Falls, so sold his interest in the ranch to Con Grote and moved his family to Salt Lake and he left for American Falls. While there he foreclosed on three bands of sheep which they had the mortgage on. He resold the sheep and went to Soda Springs. In July of that same year, he went to Southern Utah and received a sgtring of 10,000 weathers and shipped them to Tennessee Pass, Colorado. He remained there July and August and went back to Soda Springs to take charge of 72,000 head of sheep that Bailey and Saunders had purchased from Bob Noble in Boise. The latter part of October he started to Chicago with a car load of lambs. When he got as far as Laramie, Wyoming, he was asked to stay there and take charge of shpping from that point. He loaded 600 cars of lambs, fat ones, to market. He went on to LeGrand, Colorado and Albugurque, New Mexico and re4ceived lambs. He went back to Denver the 20th of Dec and made preparations to go home for Christmas but received word from his boss in Salt Lake to go to St. Paul, Minnesota, to feed out 10,000 weathers. Early in March he finished the deal up and went to Salt Lake to see his family. His daughter, Erma, was born 16 October 1908, while he was on this trip. In April of 1909 he was sent into Oregon to receive sheep which he loaded and sent to Soda Springs. During that season he bought several big sheep outfits for Hailey and Saunders including range rights and cleaned everything up. About the 25 of October he returned home to Salt Lake. In the winter of 1909 and 1910, he went with Same Edwards selling clothing in the mining communities of Milford and Newhouse, Utah. He sold underwear and suits on order. In March of 1910 he went to Elko, Nevada to buy 10,000 sheep from Frank Grass, a Frenchman, and as a partner with B.F. Saunders. As Mr. Saunders was a very sick man and had gone to Los Angeles, California, to a doctor, they did not buy any sheep at that time, so he and M. K. Parsons and Hi Hatch went in together as partners and he returned to Nevada and bought 10,000 sheep. He moved them to Soda Springs in the spring. A company was formed known as Hatch and Edwards. During that season they bought and sold over 100,000 ewes. He had plents of summer and winter range and forest reserve for all. In 1915 he sold out range rights andd sheep to a man by the name of SteyeKeyo of Burley, Idaho. In 1916 he bought more sheep and more range on the Caribeau. In November, he shipped 6000 head to Milford, Utah to winter. During this winter, he and M.K. Parsons contracted 150,000 lambs and 200,000 fleeces of wool for 1917 delivery and made aopproximately $250,000. In 1917 he had 15,000 ewes in Idaho and he and Caston Olsen went to Montana and bought a big outfit near Dillon. They bought 15,000 sheep, 500 cattle and range rights which they operated for two years as partners. In the spring of 1919 he bought Olsen's interest out and later sold his holdings to Robert Dansie. My memory of Dad Edwards is one of happiness, kindness, love for his family and helping the widows in the family, helping the children who were motherless. He loved nothing better than to have a bunch of relatives get together, sing and dance and feed them. He wlwaqys pcked up the check. Nothing exciting heppened until Dad arrived and then the fun began. All the relatives loved him, looked up to him as though he was the great patriarch of the family. It didn't matter if it was and "Edwards" reunion or a "William's" reunion, he loved them all the same and they loved him. At one time, when they lived in Oakland Valley, Montana, they had a large home with a dance floor on the second story. He loved to fill it with friends and family and have a party. They had an old chinese cook who feed them all. In the year 1915 on jAug 25 the great happy surprise came to the family when a baby boy came to the home and was named Garth Williams, the latter name in honor of his grandfather on the mother's side. By Coral Edwards, wife of Forest."
"This is part of the life story, the business part, of John T. Edwards; better known by all who knew him as "Jack", and most affectionately as "Dad" by all of his children and grandchildren. Just a few weeks before his death. His mind and his memory were remarkably clear up to the houor of his death.
1Cemetery Record, Cemetery Records Dickson County,Tennessee.
2Marriage Record, : Marriage Records Hickman County, Tennessee.
1Cemetery Record, Cemetery Records Hickman County, Tennessee.
2Marriage Record, : Marriage Records Hickman County, Tennessee.