Judge John Cummins Edwards was born June 24, 1806, in Frankfort, Kentucky. His father moved his family, when Edwards was an infant, and relocated near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In Tennessee, he was educated in law and eventually became licensed to practice. 

Soon after having become licensed, Edwards moved in 1826 to Missouri, where he immediately began to pursue a career in politics. Edwards was nominated by then-Governor John Miller as secretary of state on December 8, 1830, and served in that capacity until 1835 and again briefly in 1837. 

In June 1837, Edwards was appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri to fill Judge Robert Wash’s seat. Edwards served two years, resigning January 13, 1839, to pursue a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

 

Edwards was successful in his bid and served one term, from 1841 to 1843, in the House of Representatives. Following this single term in Congress, he then ran for governor of Missouri. He was elected, holding the position from 1844 to 1848. After his term as governor ended, Edwards moved to the state of California. There, he served as mayor of Stockton.

 

Edwards died in September 1888 in Stockton, California. He was 82 years old.

Buel Leopard and Floyd C. Shoemaker, eds., The Message and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri, Vol. I, (Columbia, MO: That State Historical Society of Missouri, 1922), 203.

Keith D. Swanson, Lawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, Gary Kremer, and Kenneth H. Winn eds. “John Edwards Cummins,” Dictionary of Missouri Biography, (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, 1999), 275-276.

L.C. Krauthoff,“The Supreme Court of Missouri,” Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 168-169.

William E. Parrish, Charles T. Jones, Jr., and Lawrence O. Christensen, Missouri: The Heart of the Nation, 3rd ed., (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2004), 104 and 131.