Joe Edwards

Life Story

A compilation of information regarding "Genial" Joe Edwards who at one time was the oldest conductor working on the Windsor and Annapolis Railway. Joe was religious, well liked, respected and by some, loved. He was polite, friendly, a tourism promoter, a chewer of spruce gum, had great wit - he constantly wore a smile on his face and from what I gather, was a historian that I would have loved to have met. He had steamers and water boats named after him and during his career he was given many gifts of gold, silver as well as Acadian and Mi'kmaq relics. I have created a timeline of events in Joe's life while working with the line, accompanied with a few clips that I would rather include instead of transcribing.

The January 1889 edition of the Gripsack contains a fine portrait of Joe Edwards along with a sketch of his life. I See below for this article and portrait.
1879 - Joe Edwards attends the opening of the new station at Wilmot.
1881 - in February, his wife gave birth to a son weighing 15 1/2 lbs.
1881 - steamer Joe Edwards was built and placed on service by a company at Granville. It continued service until 1891.
1885 - Capt. T W McKinlay names his water boat after Joe Edwards (they are friends).
1885 - July, Joe Edwards is presented with a shirt, once worn by the famous Indian Chief "Big Bear". It is made of buckskin and trimmed with silk.
1888 (March) - Joe Edwards is presented with an ornate walking stick by 3 American friends.
1888 - Joe Edwards takes time off because of poor health. Most accounts in the papers had it as a contraction of the muscles in his left ear - a condition he has suffered for years.
1888 - Joe Edwards is resting at Nantucket and the public wish him a speedy recovery.
1888 - (August) - Joe Edwards returns from N.B. with improved health.
1889 - January, The January edition of the Gripsack contains a fine portrait of Joe Edwards along with a sketch of his life. See below for this issue and portrait.
1889 - April, a Boston man is reported to have received from Joe Edwards, the old knife that cut the quill with which the contract between Evangeline and her lover Gabriel was written.
1889 - Conductor Davison of the ICR once saved Joe Edwards from drowning - then a boy of 14 years. Joe is the oldest conductor on the W&A railway at this time.
1889 - Joe Edwards adds a very old tomahawk (about 5 inches long and two broad) to his collection of relics - found at Grand Pré by Mr. Hamilton on his farm. Edwards is known for his collection of Acadian relics.
1890 - January, "Joe Edwards goes Moose Hunting". The W&A train going east struck a moose on the mountain road near Lawrencetown.
1890 - February, Joe Edwards is laid up with la grippe, but is recovering.
1890 - November, Joe Edwards is presented with a massive bean dish by the Oddfellows of Berwick as a slight token of esteem and friendship.
1890 - Joe Edwards is presented with a silver pitcher on Christmas Eve by his friends at Kentville.
1890 - Joe Edwards is in possession of the old wooden clock that Judge Halliburton (Sam Slick) bought from the Yankee peddler.
1890 - October, Joe Edwards put in charge of train to take Governor--General and suite to Annapolis, and return to Halifax with them.
1891 - July, The W&A Railway have sent Joe Edwards to the States to talk up the country of Evangeline. There is no man on earth who can so ably cause historic association to cluster about odd pieces of wood, buttons or trinkets and in the same time as Joe Can.
1891 - July, Joe Edwards has been given a two weeks trip, for the purpose of placing the advantages of the line before the citizens of St John, Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Montreal and Quebec.
1891 - August, the fast train made its first trip, starting at Halifax and arriving at Kentville one hour after the morning express. Joe Edwards was in charge of both trains. The new engine "Kentville" came with this train.
1892 - May, Joe Edwards will leave the train service and become the station agent at Annapolis - mainly because of his health.
1892 - June, Joe Edwards farewell to the general public - see attachment.
1893 - January, Ex-conductor "Joe" Edwards, as usual, a novel and original Christmas card. On the card, is a representation of a W&A Railway train and underneath in small letters, the words "I am not in it".
1893 - October, Longfellow never took the time to visit the place of his poem. His closest personal acquaintance with Grand Pre was represented by a cane lent him by conductor Joe Edwards alleged to have been cut from the tree that grew by the shop of Basil the blacksmith.
These entries take me up to the end of 1893 - I will be posting more soon. - Phil Vogler