Samuel H. Edwards (1842-1879) was born in New York City on August 20, 1842. He served with the United States Military Telegraphic Corps during the American Civil War and later became the chief telegraph operator of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company in New York. Thomas Edison is said to have described Edwards as "the best manipulator of wires in the United States." Edwards married Mary L. ("Molly") Hulse in 1866. He died on July 3, 1879 at the age of thirty-seven, several weeks after his son, Harry, had died at birth. A coroner declared "paralysis of the brain" as the cause of Edwards' death.
From the description of Samuel H. Edwards letters, 1862-1866, 1873, 1879. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 713659129
From the guide to the Samuel H. Edwards letters, 1862-1866, 1873, 1879, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)
