1922-1999
Travis Judson Edwards
Agriculturalist/Baptist Deacon TX/TX
The son of a grist miller in San Antonio, TX, Rev. Stephen Thorney Edwards died in 1934 leaving behind a church named for him plus 10 daughters and two sons. The Edwards-Byron Church near Rossville, TX, was finished in January 1934 and while preaching the dedication sermon, Rev. Edwards had a stroke which eventually resulted in his death in November of that year. One son, S. Glenn Edwards, served as a pastor in Beeville and Medina, TX, and the other, J. D. (Jefferson Davis) Edwards, lived in Somerset managing a career in agriculture and ranching.
On July 20, 1922, Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Edwards had a son whom they named Travis Judson Edwards. He carried the legacy of two heroes, William B. Travis of the Alamo and Adoniram Judson of Burma. Travis Judson Edwards served as a corporal in WWII and married Irene True in 1946 in Corpus Christi. His gravestone identifies him as “A Man of God” while the gravestone of his wife identifies her as “Truly Good.” His son identifies Travis Judson Edwards as “a lifelong Baptist — a deacon and Sunday School teacher.” Much like his father, Edwards spent his life working for the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Travis Judson Edwards had two sons and one daughter. The next generations are described thusly, “Then there was me — Judson Bodie Edwards, my son Randel Judson Edwards, and my grandson, Anthony Judson Edwards. All at least indirectly named for Adoniram.”[1]
If Texans recorded their genealogy like patriarchs of the Old Testament, we could create a heritage of Adoniram Judson that might read like this: In 1922, J. D. Edwards begat Travis Judson Edwards who begat Judson Brodie Edwards who begat Randal Judson Edwards who begat Anthony Judson Edwards. That is over a century of Judson legacy from one Baptist family in Texas.
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[1] Judson Brodie Edwards email to the compiler, April 3, 2023.