<p>FAMILY HISTORY OF THE EDWARDS FAMILYwritten by William Watson Edwards &amp; compiled by Olive Gilbert*&quot;My grandfather, Dr Uriah EDWARDS, Sr. was born April 14, 1754.  Mary his first wife was born April 20, 1758. They were married on February 27, 1774.  It appears their married life was short, she dying Nov. 27 1775.  I think very likely that Uriah Edwards was living in or near the city of Philadelphia, PA at the time he lost his wife.  It does not appear that he remained a widower very long, as he married a young lady whose name was Sarah MATHENA in August 1777. Just previous to his second marriage he and one of his sisters, a young single lady, emigrated to South Carolina and settled about forty miles from Charleston City and he again went into the practice of medicine.  But war, with all its attendant miseries and sorrows was now, like a dark cloud, hanging over our beloved country and South Carolina, with the exception of a few brave men as Sumter, Marion and the brave men they led, was little better than a British province.Amongst the brave men of that time stood my Grandfather Edwards, who had the strongest hatred for the unjust course that the King and Parliament were taking against the American colonies.On the twenty-fifth of February 1781, my father, Uriah Edwards, Jr.  was born at the home of my Grandfather in So. Carolina.  His parents named him for his father, Uriah.  His parents named him for his father, because of the active part that Grandfather was taking with the true friends of liberty and freedom from the intended oppression of the British Government, the adherents of the King, the so-called Tories who became so angered at him that they would take favorable opportunity to destroy his life as well as his property. Accordingly, at a time when he was at home with his family they went to his house, armed and with such force that they expected to be able to master all opposition.  My grandfather had notice of their approach in time to escape to a place of safety, while the Tories entered the house and destroyed and carried off all his medicine and household goods, driving off his Negroes except two Negro boys whom they failed to find and who afterwards went with Grandfather to Kentucky.My Grandfather and family, soon after the close of the war, in 1784, in company with a party of immigrants led by Colonel Alexander McHatten, started for the beautiful plains of Kentucky, at that time almost an unbroken wilderness, the hunting ground of hostile, blood-thirsty savages who were ready at all times to take life and scalp regardless of age or sex.  In view of all the dangers and hardships attendant upon such a journey the company started, bidding farewell to their once happy homes in the sunny South, their small stock of goods carried on pack horses, the men walking and carrying their trusty rifles as a means of defense against the Indians, the ladies and children on horseback.  They took their wearisome way across the wilds of North Carolina and after enduring great hardship and danger finally reached the beautiful blue grass regions of Kentucky and settled in Scott County.There were altogether four children born to Grandfather: Uriah, William, Henry and Rebecca, afterward the wife of Judge John McLean.**  My Grandfather, broken down by the hardships he had passed through as a physician and soldier in the cause of liberty, lived but a few years after coming to Kentucky.  He died when my father was but nine years old, leaving my Grandmother the four children to care of as best she could; yet she brought them up respectably until they were of such an age to be able to take care of themselves.When nearly grown to manhood, Father learned the wheelwright trade, as at that time the ladies spun and wove the cloth that was used in their families, out of the lint of flax and cotton, which caused quite a demand for flax wheels by the ladies of that time and for years afterward.  After becoming master of his trade, Father and his Mother, with the younger members of the family, moved to the North part of the state that is now Campbell County, KY and settled in the neighborhood of Newport, where the family made their home for some years, Father building a small shop in which he conducted his trade of wheelwright and chair maker.  He also farmed to a limited extent.After becoming acquainted with the young people of that part of the country, he fell in love with Miss Nancy GRIGG, a young lady of more than ordinary beauty and merit, whose father had also been a soldier during the war against Great Britain, serving under the immediate command of General Washington.  My father and Miss Grigg were married June 30, 1803.&quot;(*NOTE:  the Edwards history was written by William Watson Edwards, dated 4 February, 1896, in the possession of Mrs. Olive (Stewart) Gilbert of San Rafael, California, now deceased)**Regarding the subject of Uriah Edwards, Jr's sister, Rebecca, who married Judge John McLean.  This John McLean became a member of the Supreme Court of the United States and also served as Postmaster General under President Adams.  The McLeans had two children: Nathaniel, who was a General in the Union Army during the War Between the States (he was a West Pont graduate, Class of 1848; and Evaline who was born at Louisville, Kentucky on January 31, 1831.</p>