Julia Orr Manierre (Edson)

Julia Orr Edson was born on August 29, 1851, in Albany, NY, the daughter of Cyrus Edson and Mary Davison Edson.

See a photo of Julia Orr Edson at the age of four, in 1855, as it appeared in a newspaper c. 1910-20. This clipping says, “She spent her childhood east and was five years in a French convent. She was particularly fond of poetry and stories of the most imaginative kind. Her favorite poems were ‘Wreck of the Hesperus’ and ‘Lucile.’ She enjoyed out of door life more than anything else and, after all, most of the Chicago girls did, even though they didn’t have golf links. But they rode more than they do now and they were great walkers, although there wasn’t much said about it. In those days it passed unnoticed, or at least unrecorded.”

That “French convent” was not Pete Seeger’s grandfather Charlier’s school in New York City, because all of that school’s students were boys.

The year after this photo was taken, Julia’s father was killed in an accident at the whiskey distillery he owned and operated beside the Hudson River. He was 35.

Julia’s mother later remarried to a man named Lennox, another source says his name was Nelson. Julia had two siblings, John Tracey Edson and Anna Maria Worden (Edson).

There is a photo of Julia Orr Edson at the age of twenty-one, 1871.

Julia Orr Edson met William Reid Manierre aboard a ship when both Americans were sailing to Europe. They were married April 20, 1875.

See the photo of her holding her first born, George Manierre II, when he was ten weeks old, in 1876, five years after the previous photo.

Julia and William had seven children. They and her grandchildren called her “Beau Mama” (pronounced BOH-m-MÄH) — French for Good Mother.

She died on August 28, 1911, in Chicago, IL, at 60 of cancer

Julia’s obituary appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Aug 28, 1911, page 2.

It began,

MRS. JULIA E. MANIERRE DIES

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Well Known Chicago Clubwoman and Social Worker Succumbs.

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DEATH ENDS LONG ILLNESS.

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Retains Interest in Philanthropic Work to Last; Lived in City Many Years.
Mrs. Julia Edson Manierre, clubwoman, social worker, and suffragist, died yesterday morning at her home, 1507 Dearborn parkway. She was the wife of William R. Manierre, owner of the Central Warehouse company and wealthy real estate dealer.
Julia Edson Manierre’s uncle, Franklin Edson (1832 - 1904) was the Mayor of New York from 1883 to 1884. He was present at the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883. As a congressman (1891) he served as secretary to the committee on the Erie Canal. [It continues. See scan of the story in the newspaper.]

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Reference:

Mann, Julie Edson Manierre. The Edson story.

Publisher: [Bridgewater, Mass.], Printed by Bridgewater Independent, c1949.

Description: 16 p. illus., coat of arms 24 cm.

OCLC: (OCoLC)18831529

Subjects: Edson family.

Location: Historical Society Library Stacks

Catalog: UW Madison

Call Number: CS71.E25 1949

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