Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-19
EDISON BIRTHPLACE
CHER|SHES HONOR
Natives of Ohio Town Recall
Youths DuCk-Egg
Experiment.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. October 10 LPl-Some
If Thomas A. Edison cast gloom today
upon several Ohio communities init
mately connected with his life.
Milan, the little town in Erie County
where Edison was born, in l947, still
has a few residents who can recall the
time. when the youthful eXperimenter
was caught sitting on duck eggs in an
effort TO hatch them.
Akron has its odd Miller place" on
King drive. There the budding inventor
wooed and won Miss Nina Miller, the
second Mrs Edison.
At Cincinnati, Edison worked in the
course of his travels from Job to job,
each usually lost as the result of some
unlucky turn of an experiment. There
he perfected his first patented inven-
tion-a chemical voting record machine
for use of legislative bodies-soon to be
adopted by the National House Of Rep
resentativeS.
Birthplace Remains.
Milan always has been jealous in up
holding its fame as the birthplace of
the wizard of invention. The little
brick house on the hogback," where
Edison was born, still stands. Except
for the addition of small porch on
one end it is almost as Edison's father,
Samuel. built it.
The inventor bought it of his fathers
gardener in 1884. For many years his
cousin, Mrs. Nancy WadSWorth, Is
years his senior, lived there, and on
each Edison birthday held open house
for inspection by the public of various
"Edisonia" collected there. She is dead
now, but her daughter, Miss Marietta,
still occupies the house.
Two years ago Edison refused to sell
the home place to the State for ma
tional shrine He said he wished 10
keep it until his death.
Family Goes to Michigan.
The Edisons moved to Port Huron,
Mich, when Thomas was only 7. But
he already had acquired a reputation
as very dull student. There he went
swimming in the canal and was almost
drowned; there he went exploring in
one of the big grain elevators and was
almost smothered to death when he fell
into a huge pile of shifting grain;
there he tried an experiment with fire
on the floor Of his fathers barn and
burned the barn.
Samuel Edison, involved in revolt
in Canada, came to Milan in 1912 and
became a shingle manufacturer. Soon
he was sending love notes across the
lake to Canada, with Capt. Alva Brad
ley, who soon was to become owner of
a famous feet of vessels. When Miss
Nancy Elicit crossed Lake Erie to be-
come Edison's bride she came on Brad
ley's boat, and when their first born
was named they called him Thomas
Alva.
Misses Homecoming.
Milan residents were almost certain
at one time that the great Edison had
forgotten his old home town. Because
of his many experiments at Menlo Park,
he was unable to attend big home
coming celebration planned at the
village. A few years later he sent word
he would pay a visit, but at the last
moment was forced to change his plans
Old cronies of his father were almost
heartbroken.
But in 1928, on the way from the
burial of President Harding at Marion,
the inventors party stopped for an
afternoon in Milan. There was a big
crowd, speeches and a picnic. After
that Edison again was in the good
graces of the old home town.
The old home was electrically equip
ped in 1924 for the first time. The high
school laboratory was equipped by
Edison. A memorial to his mother Is
In one Of the village church windows.