Thomas Edmunds' Short Life in Norwood & a Tragic Mishap
- Patricia Fanning
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Thomas Waldo Edmunds (1874-1876)
Thomas Waldo Edmunds was the son of George W. S. Edmunds and Alice L. Baker Edmunds. George Edmunds was born in Lowell in 1843; his parents were born in New Hampshire. By the U.S. Census of 1860, George was living in West Dedham, where his father, H. W. Edmunds, was the Almshouse Overseer. When the Civil War broke out, George enrolled in Co. D of the 43rd Massachusetts Infantry on August 24, 1862 in Dedham. He was discharged on July 30, 1863.
He married Alice L. Baker, who was born in Providence, RI, on October 4, 1864 in Dedham. They had four children: Alice (1865-1954), George W. (1867-1919), Thomas Waldo (1874-1876), and Louis Edwin (1878-1958). In 1870 George W. S. Edmunds, a wood carver, and his family were living in South Dedham.
In November of 1876, Thomas Waldo Edmunds died of diphtheria, a common but dangerous childhood illness. He was two years and nine months old. In the Norwood Annual Report, the death of Frank W. Edmunds, 2 years and 9 months old, was recorded on November 3, 1876. Since that date matches the birth of Thomas Waldo Edmunds, which was recorded in the town’s annual report of 1874, it is probable that his name was erroneously entered as Frank in the 1876 report. There is also a discrepancy in the exact date of death. Recorded as November 3 in the annual report, it appears as November 23 on the gravestone.
By the 1880 census George W. S. Edmunds was working in the tannery. Shortly thereafter, Edmunds was involved in one of Norwood’s most tragic events.
On June 19, 1882, Jarvis Gay, an elderly veterinary surgeon, was called to attend a sick horse in Canton. As he made his way, he apparently became disoriented by the fog along the road to Canton. Perhaps hoping to get directions, or recognizing the house he had grown up in, Gay hitched his horse in front of what had been his father’s house on Neponset Street, and went up to the door. Inside, George Edmunds, who had only recently moved into the house with his wife and three children at the request of his elderly parents, was awakened by his wife and parents shouting that someone was trying to break into the house.
Edmunds heard knocking and saw the light of a lantern flashing in the yard. He went into the kitchen and repeatedly called out to ask who was there. He got no response, just more knocking and footsteps. Startled and a bit frightened, Edmunds got his father’s gun, loaded it, stuck the barrel out the kitchen window and shouted, “Who’s there? If you don’t answer, I’ll shoot!” Receiving no reply, Edmunds shot at a passing shadow. He then sat in the kitchen with the gun on his knee, still thinking someone would try to enter the house. At around 3:30 am, Edmunds’ father looked out and said there was a man lying on the ground in the driveway. It was Dr. Jarvis Gay. Dead.
An inquest was held in Dedham. The Gay family, town officials, and Justice Ely in Dedham, all agreed the killing was not intentional, but a tragic accident. George Edmunds said he was “deeply sorry” for his action.
By the early 20th century, George and Alice Edmunds had moved their family to Los Angeles, California, where George died in 1923. Alice Baker Edmunds died in 1935, also in Los Angeles. Little Thomas Waldo Edmunds’ grave stands alone in Old Parish Cemetery.
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