Edwards Family Ancestors

By far the best document describing my family history was written by Don Sagatun-Edwards when he was 16 years old (his teacher gave him a score of 209 out of 200! ) Read it here.

Some notable family members (click any underlined name for more information).

• The earliest ancestor I have found information on is Richard Haven, who came from England and settled at Lynn, Mass. in 1645.  He lived nine generations before me.  Click here to see his will.

• Elias Haven, Richard Haven's grandson.  One of the Minute Men.  He fell at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775, among the first to die in the Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot militias from America's thirteen colonies.  

• Zebulon Butler, forefather of John Butler Reynolds, my mother's grandfather, was a colonel under General George Washington.  

• John Butler Reynolds was married to Emily Dane.  One of her forefathers was a soldier in the Battle of Saratoga, which took place in 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution.  The battle was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

• Philo Haven, great-great grandson to Elias Haven.  He was the first member of our family to visit Gold Lake.  In 1851 he struck it rich mining for gold nearby.  He was a Founding Father of Downeyville, and there is a plaque with his name on the main street.

• Sam Dyer, my namesake.  The husband of my mother's mother, he died of tuberculosis shortly after she was born.

• Don Edwards, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years, and father of Len, Sam, and Bruce Edwards.  He was named after his grandfather, William Donlon, who signed up for the Civil War on the Confederate side (!), at the age of 14. 

• Mary Amanda Haven, my great grandmother, went to Hawaii in 1873 at the age of 20 to teach at Punahou School in Honolulu.  Today it is ranked the Greenest School in America.