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The Lesser Known Edisons: The Siblings Of Thomas Edison

Acknowledgment: It is paramount to acknowledge that this article could not have been completed without the expertise and research of our amazing friends at the Thomas Edison Depot Museum up in Port Huron, Michigan! Dave Dazer and Joe Burgett Rachwal each took time out of their busy days to help me with the information you see in this project, and for that, along with the work they do each day to keep our shared history alive and well, I am deeply and forever grateful!


After visiting the Edison Birthplace and the Don Gfell Education Center, many guests remarked that Thomas Edison was truly “one of a kind.” That, he most certainly was. He was a pioneer who helped usher in the modern age as we know it today through his ideas and his inventions. While people worldwide know about Thomas Edison, many do not know about the Edisons who grew up alongside “Al”: his siblings. For those of us who have siblings, we know just how much they mean to us. We share the same family and some of the same passions, and our siblings know best how to press our buttons occasionally. For Thomas, his siblings meant the world to him. The Edison kids each have a unique story that deserves to be told alongside their brothers.


A photo of Thomas Edison’s oldest sibling, Marion. She repurchased the Edison Birthplace in 1894 and always had a close relationship with “Alva,” her brother.
A photo of Thomas Edison’s oldest sibling, Marion. She repurchased the Edison Birthplace in 1894 and always had a close relationship with “Alva,” her brother.  Source: Robert Wheeler.

The eldest of the seven Edison children born to Nancy and Samuel Edison was Marion Wallace Edison. Marion was not born in the village of Milan, Ohio, but was instead, along with three of her fellow siblings, born across the border in Vienna, Ontario, Canada, on September 15, 1829. The Edison family would call Canada home until Samuel Edison found himself in deep trouble with the Canadian government over his involvement with the Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837. Marion moved to Milan with her mother, Nancy, and three siblings, William Pitt, Harriet Ann, and Carlile Snow. After she moved to Milan as a child, she lived in the village for the rest of her life.


Marion was almost 18 when her youngest sibling, Thomas, was born. Although there was quite an age gap, the connection between Marion and Thomas was incredibly special. She was married in the parlor room of the Edison Birthplace on December 19, 1849, and Thomas always recalled that the first memory he could remember was her husband, Homer Page, teaching him how to spin a coin on the floor in the Birthplace. Homer and Marion had two children, Isobel (Ristine) and Henry. Despite the age gap, Marion kept in contact with “Alva” and wrote extensively to Mina, Thomas’s wife. Thomas named his first child after Marion and always sent gifts to Marion and her family. In 1894, Marion purchased the Edison Birthplace, which has been in the family name since then. Marion passed away on January 31, 1900, and her great-great-grandson, Robert Wheeler, is the President of the Edison Birthplace Association, Inc. He has lived on the farm that Marion and Homer called “home” for many years here in Milan.


A photo of Thomas Edison’s oldest brother, William Pitt.
A photo of Thomas Edison’s oldest brother, William Pitt. Source: Find A Grave.

William Pitt Edison, known to his family as “Pitt,” was born in 1832. He moved to Milan with his mother and siblings as a young boy. Unlike his older sister Marion, who stayed in Milan, Pitt followed Nancy, Samuel, his sister Harriet, and his little brother Thomas up to Port Huron, Michigan, when the family moved in 1854. He married Ellen J. Holihan two years later, on September 11, 1856, and they had two children, Nellie Marion (Poyer) and Charles Pitt. The younger Pitt worked for his uncle Thomas, and the elder Pitt was a businessman in his own right. William Pitt described himself in an 1889 interview with the Canton Repository, saying, “I live up on a farm up here in the neighborhood of Port Huron, or Fort Gratiot rather, and am only a plain, everyday ruralist.” He said,  “All things considered, I manage to get considerable comfort out of life. If I were a genius, like my brother, I probably would not enjoy myself as much as I do now. Greatness brings its troubles and perplexities, you know.” When asked if all the eccentric stories about Thomas' life were true, all Pitt could smile and say, “It would require a vivid imagination to best the truth in Tom’s case.”


A photo of a young Thomas Edison and his sister, “Tannie.”
A photo of a young Thomas Edison and his sister, “Tannie.” Source: Find A Grave.

Edison always held great regard for all of his family members, but he greatly adored his second-oldest sister, Harriet Ann. Considering that Marion was married and out of the house when Thomas was young, he likely spent a tremendous amount of time with Harriet. Affectionately nicknamed “Tannie,” Harriet Ann was born in 1833, and she moved with her family to Milan, Ohio, when she was a young girl. When the family moved up to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1854, she also moved there. She was described by a person who was alongside the Edison family on their travels from Milan to Port Huron as a person of “unusual personal attractions,” having great literary ability and possessing a charm that made her one of the favorites of the folks in Port Huron. According to her cousin Marietta Wadsworth, some of her writings were accepted by magazines. She married a lumber dealer, Samuel Bailey, in 1855, and they had two children, Arthur Willis and Gaunie. Still, unfortunately, Samuel would pass away in 1861, and Tannie would pass away two years later in 1863, just shy of what would have been her 30th birthday.


A November 6, 1896, letter from Marion to Thomas about their siblings’ tombstones in the Milan Cemetery. She writes, “Do you remember their names- CarolileSnow, Samuel Ogden, Eliza S. Smith, our cousin Anna Dunham. They each have a headstone…”.
A November 6, 1896, letter from Marion to Thomas about their siblings’ tombstones in the Milan Cemetery. She writes, “Do you remember their names- CarolileSnow, Samuel Ogden, Eliza S. Smith, our cousin Anna Dunham. They each have a headstone…”. Source: Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University.

As with many families during the time, several Edison siblings unfortunately did not make it to adulthood. Carlile Snow Edison was born alongside his three older siblings in Vienna, Ontario, Canada, in 1836, but after moving to Milan, he passed away in 1842. Samuel Ogden Edison III, named after his father and grandfather, was the first of the Edison kids to be born on American soil, right here in Milan, in 1840, but he passed away three years later in 1843. Eliza Smith Edison was born in 1844, but like her brother, Samuel, she tragically passed away three years later in 1847, only months after Thomas had been born. The three young Edisons are buried here in the Milan Cemetery, next to their cousin Ann Dunham, whom they had grown up with in Milan, and next to their oldest sister, Marion.


Thomas Edison also had three half-siblings, as his father Samuel began a relationship with Mary Sharlow after Nancy had passed away in 1871. Mary had been the housekeeper for the Edison family at their home in Port Huron; at the time, Mary was 17, and Samuel was about 67. As alluded to, Samuel and Mary had three children: Marietta (Kuhn), Maude (Johnston), and Mabel (Schreiber). The eldest Edison children admittedly did not engage much with their three younger half-sisters due to their age gap and physical geographic distance. The only time all of Samuel Edison’s children truly got together was in 1896 for his funeral, part of which took place in the Edison Birthplace.


The names of Thomas Edison’s siblings may not appear in your textbooks or the next documentary about Thomas Edison, but I can promise you that their lives were far from simply being footnotes at the bottom of your page. We can better understand who Thomas was by attempting to understand who they were. We see him not only as an inventor but as a brother shaped by the love, loss, and legacy of those who shared his roots and who shared his childhood. In remembering the Edison siblings, we pay tribute to the enduring power of family and the unseen threads that connect the lives of even the most celebrated figures to those who stood beside them. As someone with a sibling, I cannot tell you how much they mean to me. I am sure Thomas was the same way.

Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading


Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is a Bowling Green State University junior. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education, with a specialization in History.


Dillon has served as a tour guide at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum for the past three years. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.


Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!

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