John H. Edwards (banker)

John H. Edwards (March 9, 1875 – May 7, 1955) was an American banker who served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Theodore Roosevelt

John H. Edwards
United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office
1906–1908
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byHorace A. Taylor
Succeeded byLouis A. Coolidge
Personal details
Born(1875-03-09)March 9, 1875
South Charleston, Ohio
DiedMay 7, 1955(1955-05-07) (aged 80)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMargaret Johnson
Children3

Early life

Edwards was born on March 9, 1875, in South Charleston, Ohio.[1]

Career

Edwards began his career in the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington, D.C., in 1891 to 1892. In 1893, he returned to Ohio to join the Bank of South Charleston. In 1896, he was chosen as the Assistant Secretary of the Ohio Bankers' Association. In 1897 he returned to Washington to become the secretary to Ohio Congressman Walter L. Weaver before becoming the confidential secretary of Postmaster General Henry Clay Payne.[1]

In 1902, he joined the U.S. Treasury Department as private secretary to Treasury Secretary Leslie M. Shaw. In 1906, President Roosevelt appointed the then thirty year-old Edwards Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under George B. Cortelyou,[2] who gave him charge of all of the financial bureaus of the Treasury Department.[1] In 1908, Edwards resigned from Treasury and Louis A. Coolidge, former secretary to Henry Cabot Lodge, was appointed by President Roosevelt as his replacement.[3]

After leaving the Treasury Department, he became the receiver for the New Amsterdam National Bank in New York City.[4][5] While receiver, he sold bonds and stock of the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co., Ft. Wayne & Wabash Valley Traction Co. among others.[6] By October 1908, he was authorizing a divided to shareholders.[7]

Personal life

In 1898, he married Margaret Johnson, daughter of Albanus T. Johnson and Margaret (née Stephenson) Johnson of Washington, D.C.[8] Together they were the parents of three children: John H. Edwards Jr., Mary F. Edwards, and Barbara Edwards.[1]

While receiver, he lived at the Hotel Gotham in New York (today known as The Peninsula) and was a member of the Republican Club of New York and of the Army and Navy Club in Washington.[1]

Edwards died on May 7, 1955, and was buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland.[9]

1914 arrest

In August 1914, Edwards was arrested on Park Avenue in New York City by Central Office detectives on an indictment found in Washington, charging desertion and non-support of his wife and three children. Edwards was turned over to U.S. Marshall Henkel and was arraigned before Commissioner Clarence S. Houghton before consenting to return to Washington.[1]

References
  1. "INDICT J.H. EDWARDS FOR DESERTING WIFE; Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Arrested Here on Washington Warrant. GOES BACK AND GIVES BAIL Attorney Says Wife, Who Is Rich, Complained to Get Husband Home from New York". The New York Times. 15 August 1914. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. "HORACE A. TAYLOR RESIGNS.; John H. Edwards to be New Assistant Secretary of Treasury". The New York Times. 17 February 1906. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. Times, Special to The New York (13 February 1908). "POST FOR L.A. COOLIDGE.; He Is to Succeed J.H. Edwards as Assistant Secretary of Treasury". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  4. Times, Special to The New York (17 March 1908). "EDWARDS RECEIVER OF NEW AMSTERDAM; Assistant Secretary of Treasury May Be Made President of Reorganized Bank. CONSOLIDATION IS PLANNED Edwards Took Position at Request of Secretary Cortelyou and Appointment Is Surprise to Bank's Officials". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  5. "NEW AMSTERDAM OPEN SOON.; John H. Edwards, the New Receiver, Is to Take Charge To-day". The New York Times. 18 March 1908. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  6. "Bond Notes". The Wall Street Journal. 6 January 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  7. "NEW AMSTERDAM RECEIVER TO PAY DIVIDEND". The Inter Ocean. 23 October 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  8. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1922). Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 237. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  9. "Edwards Rites Held, Once Treasury Aide". The Baltimore Sun. 10 May 1955. p. 15. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
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