Franklin Edson (April 5, 1832 – September 24, 1904) was an American merchant who served as the 85th

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

from 1883 to 1884.

Early life

Edson was born in

Chester, Vermont Chester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census. History The town was originally chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth as Flamstead in 1754. The terms of the charter were n ...

on April 5, 1832, where his father had a farm. A descendant of the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

, he was the son of Soviah ( née Wilson) Edson and Opher Edson. He was educated at the local schools and at the Chester Academy in Vermont.

Career

Business

At age twenty, Edson moved to Albany to work in his brother Cyrus' distillery, becoming a partner three years later. He left the distillery after his brother's death and started a produce business, which he relocated to New York City in 1866. His venture proved successful during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, making Edson wealthy and enabling him to engage in civic, religious and charitable causes. He was an active Episcopalian and a member of Saint James Church, Fordham, in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. In 1873, he became one of the city's most important business leaders when he was appointed President of the

New York Produce Exchange The New York Produce Exchange was a commodities exchange headquartered in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It served a network of produce and commodities dealers across the United States. Founded in 1861 as the New Y ...

Politics

An anti-

Tammany Tamanend (historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, "the Affable," ) (–) was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the Peace Treaty with ...

Democrat, in 1882 he was nominated for Mayor through the efforts of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

boss John Murphy to avoid a Democratic Party split between organization loyalists and reformers. Upon taking office in 1883, he angered reformers by appointing Tammany men to key jobs, but he soon embraced civil service reform and other honest government measures. During his term the Brooklyn Bridge was dedicated, the

Manhattan Municipal Building The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhat ...

was constructed, and work was completed on the city's new water supply, the

Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fro ...

. He appointed the commission responsible for the selection and location of public lands for parks in the Bronx, which came to include Van Cortlandt,

, Pelham Bay,

Crotona Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and '' comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages u ...

, Claremont and St. Mary's Parks, and the Mosholu,

Bronx River The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river in ...

, Pelham, and Crotona Parkways. After Edson split with Tammany the 1884 Democratic nomination for Mayor went to

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the C ...

, who had also preceded Edson as Mayor, and Edson retired from politics at the completion of his term in 1885. After leaving the mayor's office, Edson returned to his business interests and continued his philanthropic activities.

Personal life

In 1856, Edson was married to Frances Cameron "Fannie" Wood (1835–1893), the daughter of Benjamin Howland Wood. Fannie was the granddaughter of Jethro Wood, inventor of the cast-iron

moldboard plow A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

. They owned a homestead in

Morris Heights, Bronx Morris Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and ...

that consisted of three acres, a stately residence, stable and barn, which he exchanged for 247

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

, two doors south of the corner of 85th Street, in 1893. Together, Fannie and Franklin were the parents of: * Cyrus Edson (1857–1903), a doctor who married Virginia Churchill Paige (1853–1891). He served as the President of the Board of Health. * Franklin (1859-1926), who married Elsie Squier. * David Orr Edson (1862–1923), a doctor. * Henry Townsend Edson (1864–1903), who married Margarita Diehl. In 1903, Henry Edson murdered his friend's wife and then committed suicide. * Edith Edson (b. 1870), who married Willis Benner. * Robert S. (1873-1941), who married Fanny Ropes. * Ethel Townsend Edson (b. 1877), who married Arthur Hoffman Van Brunt (b. 1865). He died at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on September 24, 1904. He was buried in Section 15, Lot 16 at

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical A ...

Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. H ...

Legacy

Edson Avenue in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

is named for him.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edson, Franklin 1832 births 1904 deaths People from Chester, Vermont Politicians from Albany, New York New York (state) Democrats Mayors of New York City Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery