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EDGAR OSCAR FREEMAN

Generation 11

Edgar Oscar Freeman, my grandfather, was born in Glenwood, New York on August 15, 1862. Glenwood is a so-called "suburb" of Colden, New York. His parents, Stephen Freeman and Helen Louisa (Willson) apparently lived there until we find proof that they had moved to Cherokee County, Iowa, per Homestead Patent #6415, dated October 1, 1879.

The farm cited in this Patent is located south east of Cherokee City, Iowa in the area of Aurelia, Pilot County, Iowa.

When my first wife, Helen, and I visited Colden in May 5, 1986, I wrote these observations about this area. "We're in Colden at their so-called 'Four Corners' area (see upper left hand corner of Attachment 33). Took a picture of their Methodist Church, and, across the street, the Masonic Lodge. We were impressed by the following: the back road leading into Colden (after turning off U.S. 219) was a very narrow macademized surface badly wrinkled and cracked. It seemed to have been in use 30-50 years with no repairs whatsoever. The road went over hill and dale. Practically none of the land around there was in crops. It was a case of nature taking over and grass having grown back in. Bushes, trees, etc. In Glenwood, the Glenwood Town Hall was located on a deserted corner. No one was in or around it. Here again we found the same conditions: rolling hills, macademized and badly worn roads and no crops to speak of". Note: after having seen the lush growing area in Canaan CT (in 1986 and 1987), where Elkanah Freeman had his large farm, and the lush growing areas in Cortland County, NY, where Amasa Stevens Freeman Sr lived and farmed before coming to Sardinia, NY, this area's growing capabilities were disappointing.

On July 25, 1895, Edgar Oscar Freeman married Agnes Edna Egglefield, location unknown. She had been born on March 5, 1864 in Ingersoll, Ontario Province, Canada, as explained in the writeup on Generation 10.

These two people were my grandparents, and I saw them infrequently over the years because they always lived in other States. When I was a year old, they were living in Newton, Kansas. My parents went there to show them their new first born grandchild.

I next saw them when Mom and Dad, vacationing, drove from Chicago, IL to Tampa FL in the summer of 1930 in a Model A Ford car. This was a complete surprise to the E.O. Freemans because we drove up to their "Corona Apartments" after midnight, knocked on the door. Grandpa was so surprised by this event that Dad had to say to him, "Dad, don't you recognize me? I'm Merlin".