Hedison Family

The **Hedison Family** is a very affluent Northeast family presiding in Ashford Falls, New York. Although much of the origins of their great wealth remains unknown, rumors are their wealth started out as the result of profiteering during the Civil War. Over the years, it has been expanded through real estate, industry, politics, the stock market and medical research and development at Hedison Pharmaceuticals.

According to records, the Hedison family arrived in the United States before the Revolutionary War in the 1770s. The only member that has been identified from this period was *Gabriel Hedison*, who worked as a surveyor up and down the Hudson River and as far north as modern Maine through the 1780s and 1790s. Although it was once believed that he had founded the first settlement near Ashford Falls, there is nothing to suggest such a settlement ever existed.

Living near modern Albany, Gabriel had several sons and daughters. His grandson, *Franklin Hedison* used his maps and notes in order to run guns, food and liquor between Canada and and the United States during the Civil War for both the Union and Confederate sides of the war. He ran afoul of the law several times and was nearly lynched by Union troops near Tarrytown in 1865, but he escaped and eluded the authorities for several years.

Sometime during the 1880s, Franklin had a son, Lincoln Hedison, who as an adult managed to expand his family fortune by buying and selling real estate around Ashford Falls, Mill City and the surrounding area. However, the Great Depression hit his interests hard and he lost most of the family fortune. Moving to the one of the last pieces of property in Ashford Falls, Lincoln and his family became friends with the local Satterwhite and Crutcher families and with their help as investors, rebuilt his fortune by opening and running several businesses. Over the years, he invested in several projects, such as the Ashford Falls Town Hall, which later became the Ashford Falls Community General Hospital, and Ashford Falls High School. In the 1940s, he had the Hedison Mansion built east of town.

During the 1960s, Lincoln's son, Carter Hedison, turned the family fortune toward medical research and increased the family fortune even more. Unlike his father, who had been a well-liked and respected member of town, Carter was known to be ruthless in his business dealings, buying up companies through shady deals and underscoring his investors. He clashed several times with businessman Nate Featherstone and often indulged in philanthropic affairs only to keep his standing with the community. Carter frequently turned to hiring Dash Andrews to get research on clients to shift deals in his favor, but his worst business opponent was his own daughter, Rachel Hedison, who sought to redeem her mother's honor over perceived slights by him. In her mind, Rachel considered herself the one and only true heir to his fortune, and even conspired several times against her own brother, Blake Hedison. Although Blake greatly respected and supported his father, he was often kept unaware of his father's illegitimate business dealings and criminal endeavors. As such, he managed to stay somewhat moral and honest, but his father's reputation kept many from trusting him either.

In the 1990s, Rachel used the results and aftermath of her car accident and coma to secretly build her own small fortune known as the Dynasty Foundation and stage a takeover of Hedison Pharmaceuticals. Although she was successful, Blake with the help of Dr. Paul Kirkwood and Janet DuBois stole control of the company and gave it to the stock-holders.