EDNA VIVIAN ( THOMAS ) PETERS - Illinois, Florida, Washington - 1900's
(Other surnames - Edwards and Gerhart)
Prepared by LaVere Peters
October 20, 1995
[Edna's file is the thickest one I have, reflecting my efforts to identify her birth family; so far, I've been unsuccessful. The information below is based largely on what she told us.]
Edna Vivian and her twin, Edythe, were born January 22, 1901, to a family whom we believe to have been THOMAS. They had several older brothers and sisters, and we were told that they were Catholics. It's my guess that the twins were born in or near to Bloomington, Illinois, because that is where her adoptive parents lived, and they knew her birth parents.
Edna's twin, Edythe, died at about eight weeks.
[I have a picture of the baby, dressed for burial.]
[I also have a picture of a pretty lady, who may have been either Edna's mother or her adoptive mother.]
Both of Edna's parents died, possibly before she was two years old. [I have an item that may have been called a mourning brooch.
It consists of a design that appears to be made up partly of dark brown hair. The border reads, "In Memory of My Dear Mother".
Edna was taken into the home of George and Elizabeth Edwards, over the protest of George. Apparently Elizabeth was a persuasive lady; she had left her family to travel to London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. [I have a souvenir brooch that she brought back with her.]
The 1900 census for Bloomington, Illinois, shows the Edwards family living on N. Oak St. in a home that was nor mortgaged. Both Elizabeth and George were born in Wales; George came to America in 1885 and was naturalized; Elizabeth came to America in 1870 George listed his occupation as railroad engineer.
George was 40 years old (born Dec. 1859), and Elizabeth was 31 (born July, 1868); they had been married for 11 years, and Elizabeth had borne two childred (both living). Their sons were listed as Willie, age 10, born February 1890; and Glenn, age 7, born February 1893.
I don't know if Edna was legally adopted by the Edwards family. In December, 1903, an Indiana birth certificate was issued for her, saying that she'd been born in Huntington, Indiana, on January 22, 1901, to George and Elizabeth Edwards. [A certified copy of the birth certificate is in my file. It was copied July 26, 1961 (probably for the purpose of applying for a Social Security number).]
Edna remembered going shopping with her mother and to penny movie arcades with her brothers. [I have a photograph of her, taken when she was about three years old.]
The 1910 census shows the family still living on Oak Street in Bloomington, Illinois. There are some rather drastic changes since the 1900 census. George is now listed as a machinist, and his age is 52. Elizabeth is listed as Lyddia, age 43. It says they have been married 27 years and that Lyddia had borne 3 children, all living. The children listed are William E., a clerk, age 20, Glenn, an office boy, age 17, and Edna, age 9. All three children are shown as having been born in Illinois.
Apparently soon after the 1910 census, Elizabeth/Lyddia eloped with George Gerhart, taking Edna with them. Edna told of having been taken, under the guise of shopping, to some of their liaisons. They traveled, sometimes under false names because George Edwards allegedly had detectives looking for them. They were in Florida for a while, and eventually settled in Spokane, Washington; I'm not sure when, but at least by 1915.
During their odyssey, Edna was not enrolled in school, because to do so might have left a paper trail back to Bloomington; nor was she allowed to associate with other children. There are no pictures of Edna from the age of three until after she was married, and I don't recall her ever having mentioned having had a school friend. During this time she became an avid reader, and when she did return to school she was advanced in all subjects except mathematics. Edna graduated from the eighth grade in Spokene in 1915 and from North Central High School in Spokane in 1919. She was granted a scholarship to the Bellingham Normal School, a college for teachers (now Western Washington University). [I have her diplomas from the Spokane schools, issued to Edna Gerhart.]
Teachers college must have taken only one year, because in 1920 Edna was a first-grade teacher in Bridgeport, Washington. She told me that one year of that was plenty for her to have learned that she really didn't like little children and wouldn't ever want to teach again. However, she did sign a contract for a second year.
On May 21, 1921, Edna Gerhart was married to J. R. Peters in Spokane, Washington. Witnesses were George W. and Elizabeth Gerhart. Edna was 20 years old, and James was 54.
Edna said that, because of her teaching contract, they couldn't take Jim's four-year-old son Edward (who was being cared for by family members). She wasn't able to fulfill her contract because she became pregnant, and their son, Robert Bruce Peters, was born April 23, 1922. The pregnancy and the care of a fragile baby precluded their bringing Edward into their home. Edna told me that when, at a later date, they invited the boy to join them, he chose not to do so. Bob grew up not knowing that he had a half-brother.
Edna said that she had been told by her doctor that her family history suggested that she probably would live only about forty years and that she must not have any additional children. Her life became one of dedication to her husband and her child.
The years that the family spent in Bridgeport were during a period of prosperity, and the family lived very comfortably. When Jim decided to retire they sold the Bridgeport property and bought a smaller place near East Wenatchee. Then the depression suddenly wiped out their financial security. It was a severe blow to her pride that they were unable to make the planned improvements to the house and that they had to work so hard just to survive.
THIS IS INCOMPLETE AS OF OCT 22, 1995