Yeomans, Edward, 1865-1942

Edward "Ned" Yeomans was born in 1865 to Rev. Alfred Yeomans, a Presbyterian minister and graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, and Elizabeth Ramsay Yeomans. Frustration with his own learning experience at the Philips Academy at Andover and at Princeton University inspired a life long interest in education reform. Yeomans also studied engineering at the Stevens Institute and learned about heavy-duty water pumps and sewage ejectors while working as an assistant manager for the Quinby Pump Co. of Buffalo. Ned along with his brothers, Alfred and Charles, founded the Yeoman Brothers Company in Chicago. While in Chicago, Ned met Jane Addams and was drawn into the larger orbit of life at Hull House where he met his wife, Julia Day. Ned and his wife helped to found the progressive Ojai Valley School in Ojai, California.