Edwin Emerson (1823–1908)

For his youngest son, see Edwin Emerson, Jr.

Edwin M. Emerson (b. 2 July 1823 in New York, USA; d. 4 November 1908 in Tokyo, Japan) was an American professor, clergyman (Reverend), editor, author, poet, lawyer and secret envoy.

Life

As a boy he worked for Harper's and paid his way thru Princeton graduating head of his class in 1846. He studied law and became a partner with the offices of Noah Webster in New Haven, Connecticut. During the American Civil War he was on a secret diplomatic mission in London and Paris to keep the Confederacy from being recognized by the major European Powers. He was in Europe during the period of the Franco-Prussian War living in Paris and Berlin. He returned to America in 1889. He remained in America until 1897 when he went to Japan. He was close to world leaders such as Gladstone, Herbert Spencer, and Bismarck.

The Emersons were an American family who lived in Europe and Japan and traveled widely during the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The family consisted of Edwin Emerson, 1823-1908, his wife Mary Ingham Emerson, d. 1883, and their children: Harrington, 1853-1931; Samuel D.I., 1855-circa 1930; Alfred, 1859-1943; Margaret, b. 1863; George Hale, b. 1866; and Edwin Jr., 1869-1959. Alfred Emerson became an archeologist and married Alice Edwards Emerson in 1887. Most of the later material in the collection is that of Alfred and Alice's children: Edith, a noted artist; Gertrude, a writer and editor in Asia; Willard, a banker and soldier; and Alfred Jr., an entomologist. The Emerson family was originally from New York City, but in 1862 they moved to Europe, settling in Paris in 1863. The children went to schools in France and Germany. Edwin contributed articles to French journals and became the editor of the "British Journal of Photography", though he gave up the post six months later. The family then traveled around Europe for several years, eventually settling in Germany, where they lived for 22 years. In 1876, Harrington and Samuel returned to the United States. Then, in 1883, Mary Emerson died, and in 1894 Edwin and Margaret Emerson also returned to the United States, where they traveled a bit, staying with several members of the family and friends. They returned to Paris in 1899, and Margaret graduated from the Sorbonne in 1901. In that year father and daughter moved to Tokyo, Japan (they later lived in Yokohama) to join Samuel who had already settled there. Edwin Emerson died in Japan in 1908.

Family

He married Mary Louise Ingham the daughter of Samuel Ingham who was Secretary of the Treasury during the Andrew Jackson administration. His wife died in 1886. They had one daughter and five sons:

• Harrington Emerson
• Samuel D. I. Emerson
  • Samuel D. I. Emerson, b. 1855, grew up in Europe and attended the Knaben-Anstalt der Brudergemeinde (School of the United Brethren) a Moravian boarding school at Neuwied, Germany. When he returned to the U.S., Samuel lived in Denver, Colorado. Samuel eventually ended up in Nebraska, forming a bank at Milford. Harrington and George both eventually joined Samuel in the banking business in Nebraska. Together the brothers became involved in other banks, and in business ventures, land speculation, and mining in Nebraska and Colorado. Samuel then worked as an architect in New York, in partnership with his brother Harrington, a civil engineer. Samuel also had a career as a lawyer in Philadelphia, and by the turn of the century was involved with a business venture in Tokyo, Japan.
• Alfred Emerson
• Margaret Genevieve Emerson
• George Hale Emerson
• Edwin Emerson, Jr.