JAMES E. N. EDWARDS. After practicing before the bar of Union county for
nearly a quarter of a century, during which time he has been elected to
serve in various high positions of honor and trust, the Hon. James E. N.
Edwards has gained an enviable reputation in the ranks of his profession and
is one of the best known men in Anna, his field of practice. Mr. Edwards is
a native of the Prairie state, having been born in Pulaski county in 1854,
and is a son of Ezra W. and Elizabeth (Hoopbaugh) Edwards, natives
respectively of Kentucky and South Carolina.
The early education of Mr. Edwards was secured in the common schools of his
native county, after leaving which his father, who was a well-known
physician and surgeon of his day, desired that he should take up a
professional career. He came to Union county in 1874, but it was not until
1888 that he was admitted to the bar, after having studied law in the
offices of M. J. Inscore. Since that time he has carried on a general
practice alone, and few in this section have met with such conspicuous
success. In a number of noted cases he has proven himself one of the ablest
practitioners of this part of the county, and his clientele has been large
and steady. A logical and forceful speaker, Mr. Edwards early entered the
political field, and soon convinced his fellow townsmen of his ability to
fill public office, and was sent to the legislature on four different
occasions, his last term expiring in 1903, since which time he has resided
in Anna, where for five terms he has served as city attorney, being the
present incumbent of that important position. While a member of the
legislature he was fearless in championing the rights of his constituents,
promoting several successful bills of an important nature and serving on the
.judiciary and several other committees. He has been active in his support
of Republican principles, and is justly considered one of the able leaders
of his party in this section of the state. His fraternal connections are
with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has a number of warm, personal
friends, who in their friendship only echo the sentiments of a wide number
of acquaintances in the professional and civic fields. Mr. Edwards is the
owner of a valuable tract of one hundred acres of finely-cultivated land in
Pulaski county, not far from the city of Anna, and this land he has rented
out, his professional and public duties demanding all of his time and
attention. All movements tending to be of benefit to the community have
received his hearty co-operation and support, and the enterprises with which
his name has been associated have always been of a progressive nature.
Mr. Edwards was married in Anna, Illinois, in 1891, to Miss Mary Winters,
who is a native of this county, and one daughter has been born to this
union: Miss Elizabeth, now eighteen years of age, who resides with her
parents.
Extracted 16 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 2, pages 1070-1071.
| Jackson | Williamson | |
| MO |
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Johnson |
| Alexander | Pulaski |
