“My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt that I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint…I did not have my mother very long, but in that length of time she cast over me an influence which lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should very likely never have been an inventor”.
Behind every great inventor is someone who drew the first blueprint for greatness. For Thomas Edison, that person was undoubtedly his mother, Nancy Elliott Edison. Nancy Edison, while not as well known as her famous son, certainly may have been the most important person to ever live in The Birthplace. In addition to her daily work, which included tending to her seven children, cooking food for the entire family, and making clothes for the family, Nancy homeschooled her youngest son, Thomas, after his teacher claimed that he was “stupid”, “addled”, and that he could not be teached. She spent hours teaching him how to read and teaching him to be curious, skills that Thomas would take with him for the rest of his life. She was Thomas’ hero, and Nancy herself had a hero to look up to.
Nancy was born on January 4, 1808 in Chenango County, New York to Mercy Peckham and Ebenezer Matthews Elliott. Her father, Ebenezer Matthews, fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The Farmington, Connecticut native found his way into some of the most pivotal battles in American history. He served under numerous commanders, first for the colony of New Hampshire and then for the colony of New York. He served for seven years and nine months, receiving an honorable discharge on June 7th, 1783 from none other than George Washington himself.
As alluded to earlier, Ebenezer saw combat in some of the most notable battles of the American Revolution, including The Battle of Saratoga, The Battle of Monmouth, The Battle of Horse Neck, The Battle of Newtown, and he was even present as the Continental Army turned the world upside down by defeating the British at the Battle of Yorktown, a victory that lead to Revolutionary War.
Two halves of Nancy’s father’s discharge paper from George Washington. These were found along with other files that he compiled in order to receive his military pension. The reason for the tear is a mystery. Source: National Archives.
After the war, he moved from Connecticut to the small village of German in Chenango County, New York until he later moved the family to Vienna, Ontario, Canada where his daughter Nancy would marry Samuel Ogden Edison II. Together, Nancy and Samuel had welcomed four children in Vienna, but Samuel’s involvement in the Pampineu-Mackenzie Rebellion forced the family to flee the country. Samuel came to Milan, Ohio where he would eventually build a new brick home for his family, where they would proceed to welcome three more children into the Edison family, but also lose three.
Nancy was not the only member of her family to immigrate to the southern shores of Lake Erie. Nancy’s sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Winslow Balcom, moved to Milan, Ohio in 1845 and lived there with their family for well over 45 years. “Aunt Betsy” as she was known by Thomas welcomed her mother Mercy to live with her and Winslow after Ebenezer had passed away. One of Nancy’s brothers, Stephen, also moved from Vienna, Ontario to Milan, Ohio and Thomas recalled him making shingles, just like his father.
One of Elizabeth’s daughters, Nancy Balcom, grew up alongside Thomas in Milan, Ohio and was by many reports, his favorite cousin, a mighty fine distinction considering he had many. Although “Lizzie” as she was known was almost 21 years old when Thomas was born, the two got along incredibly well and they corresponded frequently. Around 1911, she moved into the Edison family home in Milan, which Thomas had bought back into the family in 1905. Her daughter, Marietta Wadsworth, was the last person to live in the Birthplace before it became a museum in 1947.
Nancy Edison passed away in 1871 at the age of 63, which means she never got to see her son’s world changing inventions. Thomas was only 24 years old and was six years away from creating his first revolutionary invention, his phonograph. Although she never got to see her son amaze the world, her influence can be directly felt in all of his inventions, and certainly can still be felt at the Thomas Edison Birthplace today. Without Nancy Edison, the small brick home on a hill overlooking the Milan Canal would just be yet another brick home, but because of her love for her son, that small home is more than just a home. It’s the birthplace of invention, and in many ways, the birthplace of the modern age.
Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading
Edison, Thomas A. 2011. The Quotable Edison. Edited by Michele W. Albion. Florida: University Press of Florida.
National Archives. n.d. “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 42,933, for Ebenezer Mathews, New Hampshire.” National Archives Catalog. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144159035?objectPage=23.
Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences' Thomas A. Edison Papers. n.d. “Edison, Miller, and Affiliated Families.” Thomas A. Edison Papers. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://edison.rutgers.edu/images/pdf-files/Edison-Miller%20Families.pdf.
Thomas Edison National Historic Park. n.d. “Samuel and Nancy Elliott Edison - Thomas Edison National Historical Park (U.S.” National Park Service. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/samuel-and-nancy-elliott-edison.htm.
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is currently a junior at Bowling Green State University. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education with a specialization in History.
For the past three years, Dillon has worked as a tour guide at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum. 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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