Cyrus Edwards

Cyrus Edwards (June 17, 1793 – August 31, 1877) was an American politician and lawyer. A Whig, he served in the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. He was the son of politician Benjamin Edwards and the brother of Ninian Edwards.

Early life Edwards was born on June 17, 1793, in Montgomery County, Maryland, the ninth of fourteen children born to Benjamin Edwards and Margaret (née Beall) Edwards. His older brother was politician Ninian Edwards. In 1800, he and his family moved to Kentucky. He was educated at a private school. Beginning at age 19, he read law with his brother, Presly Edwards, and in 1815, was admitted to the bar in Kaskaskia, Illinois.

Career For some time, Edwards practiced law in Potosi, Missouri, but in 1819, moved to Elkton, Kentucky. In 1829, he moved to Edwardsville, Illinois, where he continued practicing law. He owned slaves, and in 1841, a slave of his named Wilke was sentenced to five years in prison for poisoning Edwards' family; Wilke was defended by lawyer John M. Krum.

Edwards was a Whig. He served in Illinois House of Representatives from 1832 to 1834, and again from 1838 to 1840. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1834 to 1838. In 1837, he ran for Governor of Illinois, losing to Thomas Carlin by 996 votes, with the voted being fraudulent, coming from foreign immigrants working on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. On two occasions he ran as a minority candidate for the United States Senate. In 1847, he was a delegate to the Illinois State Constitutional Convention from Madison County, He again ran for the Illinois General Assembly as a Republican and served from 1860 to 1862. He also helped Lyman Trumbull get elected to the Senate.

Personal life and death In 1818, Edwards married Nancy Harriet Reed, who was then sixteen; they had eight children together. In 1837, he married Sophia Loomis, the sister of mathematician Elias Loomis; they had four children together. He was tall and described as friendly. He died on August 31, 1877, aged 84, in Alton. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery, in Alton.

Edwards was the uncle of politician Ninian Wirt Edwards, as well as Julia Catherine Edwards and Lucy Amanda Gray, the wives of politicians Daniel Pope Cook and Finis McLean, respectively. He was also the grandfather of politician Richard Lee Metcalfe and the great-grandfather of politician Theodore W. Metcalfe, as well as the great uncle of politician John Pope Cook.