Written by 1:18 am ENTREPRENEURS, INVENTORS

Thomas Edison Wife / Spouse

Thomas Edison Spouse

We all come up with a particular point in our life where we fall in love. They say, falling in love is such a magical feeling in the world. It feels like you can conquer any hardships in life as long as you are together.

Thomas Edison, we all know him as the developer of different devices such as mass communication, motion pictures, sound recorder, phonograph, camera, and the earliest design of light bulbs. One thing that inspired him to do these inventions was the Civil War. Isaac Newton also became his role model and the inspiration to invent useful things. Now, his creations have paved their way through the times of modernity.

However, Thomas Edison was just like any other person on the planet. He fell in love with his first wife, Mary Stilwell Edison.

Thomas Edison’s First Wife

Thomas Edison’s First Wife
Mary Stilwell Edison

Mary Stilwell Edison was born on September 6, 1855, in Newark in New Jersey. Thomas Edison has seen Mary Stilwell at one of his Telegraph stores where Mary is working.

At the early age of 16, Mary Stilwell decided to marry 24-year-old Thomas Edison. They became an official husband and wife on Christmas Day of 1871. Their marriage blooms into one happy and big family, and they have three children.

Marion Estelle Edison Oeser was the firstborn of the married couple. Born on February 18, 1873, she was nicknamed by her parents “Dot,” this was inspired by the Morse code used in sending the messages through telegraphs.

The second-born child of the couple is Thomas Alva Edison, Jr. He was born on January 10, 1876. His nickname “Dash” was a reference to her sister. He was sent to enter the St. Paul’s learning facility in Concordat, New Hampshire, and later transferred to the J.M. Hawkins School located at the Staten Island in New York.

Thomas Alva Edison Jr. Married his first wife, Marie Louise, a stage performer, in 1899. However, their marriage didn’t work, ending in just a year. He married his second wife, Beatrice Heyzer, with whom he shared the rest of his life.

On October 26, 1878, William Leslie was born and became the third child of Thomas and Mary Edison. He followed his brother’s footsteps and joined the same school that Thomas Jr. attended. However, creating his path, William takes the chance to study in Sheffield Scientific School located in Yale. He also tests his luck. He joined the military and served throughout the Spanish-American War in 1898. Later on, William married his wife, Blanche Travers.

Thomas and Mary have been happily married for thirteen (13) years. However, due to her illness of brain congestion, known as a hemorrhagic stroke today, Mary Stilwell died at the young age of 29 in 1884.

Thomas’ grieving for the death of his wife ended for two (2) years when he met his second wife.

Thomas Edison’s Second Wife

Thomas Edison’s Second Wife
Credit: Library of Congress

Mina Miller Edison became the second wife of Thomas. Thomas Edison was already known as a famous inventor when they married each other. Many people said that Mina was the most suitable spouse for Thomas as she achieved in a respected school and her father was also an inventor.

Mina and Thomas met each other through a friend of her father. Thomas claims that he taught Mina how to communicate using the Morse code to send messages to each other secretly. The Morse code also was the way Thomas proposes marriage to Mina.

At the age of 20, Mina married 39 years old Thomas and became a stepmother to the three children of Mary. Mina was just a couple of years older than Marion, the firstborn child of Mary and Thomas.

Thomas Edison family

Mina and Thomas also had three children, namely Madeleine Edison, the oldest child. Charles Edison, the middle child, also was in charge of overlooking his father’s company and taking control of the experiments left when his father died. Charles also became the Governor of New Jersey. The last and youngest child of Mina and Thomas is Theodore Miller Edison.

At a young age, Mina experienced the hard work of being the wife of Thomas. Mina became the in-charge of all the chores in the house. She even supervised and hired other staff to help her in the house. Sooner, Mina became the sole owner of the house.

Thomas Edison died first before his wife, Mina, on August 24, 1947.

Summary:

Thomas Edison Spouse(s) Mina Miller (m. 1886–1931), Mary Stilwell (m. 1871–1884)
Thomas Edison Children Marion Estelle Edison Oeser, Thomas Alva Edison, Jr, William Leslie, Madeleine Edison, Charles Edison, Theodore Miller Edison

Read Also: Andrew Carnegie wife.

Last modified: December 30, 2021
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