In 1881, Dr. George Edwards and his wife, Anna Eliza Holcomb purchased the house at 250 Salmon Street to raise their two sons, Gaston and Stanley.
Dr. Edwards, a Civil War surgeon, was a practicing physician in town for more than 10 years. Anna Eliza taught school for 14 years before she married George. Three years after the purchase of the house, Dr. Edwards died of Bright Disease leaving Anna Eliza to raise Gaston, age 9, and Stanley, age 7, by herself. Anna Eliza did a good job raising her sons as Gaston became a successful physician and surgeon in Orlando, Fla. Stanley became a successful attorney in Hartford.
Stanley would marry Helen Bunce, who lived across the street at 239 Salmon Brook Street. They had two children, Jonathon, born in 1910 and Mary, who was born in 1913. Similar to her mother-in-law, tragedy struck Helen when Stanley died six years after Mary was born, leaving her to raise two children by herself.
Helen did a great job raising her two children. Jonathon became successful working for Connecticut Trust Company and led a nonprofit company. Mary became a landscape architecture and also helped many nonprofit organizations in her lifetime. Unfortunately, tragedy struck Helen again when her son Jonathon died at age 34, leaving Jonathon’s widow two daughters to raise.
Anna Eliza and Helen Edwards showed strong resilience and motherhood and lived long lives. Anna Eliza lived to age 90 and Helen lived to age 96.
Want to learn more about the houses at 250 Salmon Brook Street or 239 Salmon Brook Street? Join the Salmon Brook Historical Society virtual house tour in October. Want to learn more about the history of Granby or its citizens? Please join the Salmon Brook Historical Society by calling 860-653-9713 or visit salmonbrookhistoricalsociety.com