James T. Edwards

James Thomas Edwards (January 6, 1838 – August 20, 1914) was an American educator, Methodist minister, and politician.

Life James was born on January 6, 1838, in Barnegat Light, New Jersey. He was the son of Rev. Job Edwards (1802-1871) and his second wife Susannah Haywood (1808-1895).

James attended Pennington Seminary (today The Pennington School) and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1860. He taught Natural Science for a year at the Amenia Seminary, New York, after which he started teaching at the East Greenwich Seminary (later known as the East Greenwich Academy) in Rhode Island. He intended to study law under William L. Dayton, but these plans were cut short after Dayton was sent to France as its new ambassador.

In 1862, James married Emma Atwood Baker (1838-1921). Their children were Grace Ella Baker (1864-1921), Laura Alice Lyman (1868-1944), and Florence Emily Sumwalt (1876-1959).

In 1891, the Republican James was nominated for the New York State Senate's 32nd District (Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties) by the Democratic Party, the People's Party, and an Independent Republican Party. He won the election over Commodore P. Vedder and served in the State Senate in 1892 and 1893. After he left the State Senate, he served as principal of McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, from 1893 to 1898.

James was a Methodist minister, and was an elected delegate to the 1884 and 1892 General Conferences of the M. E. Church, a delegate to the 1884 Methodist centennial, and a member of the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions. He was buried in Randolph Cemetery.