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Edison with his children, Madeline and Charles, about 1895

 
Edison with his children, Madeline and Charles, about 1895
 


   

Mina Miller was only 20 when she married Edison in 1886. But she had a strong sense of the place of the husband in the family, and the will to back it up. She got him home for dinner (at least occasionally), they took vacations, and they spent time in Florida. Together they had three more children, and although Mina assumed the major responsibility for their upbringing (with the help of governesses), Edison took his role as a father more seriously.

He enjoyed reading and had a well-stocked library in the upstairs sitting room where the family would often gather on Sundays. Occasionally the children persuaded him to play Parcheesi; other games bored him. As the children grew older, they communicated with their father most often to ask for money.

Perhaps the strongest evidence of a change in Edison's way of life is the mansion, called "Glenmont," that he bought for his new bride. It cost him $235,000; a large sum, even for Edison. (Both the house and the laboratory are preserved as historic sites by the National Park Service.)

 

 

 


Edison with Charles, playing chemist, 1900

 
Edison with Charles, playing chemist, 1900
 




Edison with three of his children, his wife, and 
the children's nurse

 
Edison with his children Madeline, Theo, and Charles; his wife, Mina; and the children's nurse, Lena; about 1902
 




Edison in Budapest with his family, 1911

 
Edison in Budapest, on a trip with his family, 1911
 


Edison with daughter Madeline and grandchildren, 1919

 
Edison with his daughter Madeline and grandchildren, 1919
 


Thomas and Mina, 1920s

 
Thomas and Mina, 1920s
 

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Electricity Collections

 

The Challenge of Success
Before Forty
Changes At Forty
Home Life
The New Technical World
Fame And Its Distractions
Edison In His Eighties