Audio
Family (8 & 26)
Transcript
When Thomas and Mina Edison moved into Glenmont shortly after the marriage in 1886, Glenmont also became home of Edison’s children from his deceased first wife Mary Stilwell Edison; Marion, Thomas Jr. and William Leslie. Marion and Thomas Jr were called ‘Dot’ and ‘Dash’ by Edison, nicknames that dated from when Edison was heavily involved in improving telegraph equipment. Edison had three more children with Mina; Madeleine born in 1888, Charles in 1890, and Theodore in 1898. All three children were born in the master bedroom on the second floor and christened in the first floor Drawing Room. Although Glenmont could easily accommodate this large family, because of their different ages Edison’s six children rarely lived in Glenmont all at the same time. Family life inside the house centered around the Living Room located in the room over the covered driveway on the second floor. It was in this room that the Edison family relaxed when not entertaining guests. Madeleine recalls family parcheesi games in the Living Room where, “Father would bend the rules a bit when losing.” Theodore Edison remembered being drafted to help his father with research in the Living Room, finding all the references he could for whatever Edison was working on, marking the pages and then bringing the books over to his father who was working at a big library desk. This sometime might go on until two in the morning. It was in the Master Bedroom on the second floor that Edison died on October 18, 1931 after a long illness. Three days later, Edison’s funeral service was held in the Drawing Room.
Description
What were the nicknames for Thomas Edison's first two children? Discover what family life was like for the Edisons.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
04/12/2023
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