by Rebecca Jones, Collections Information Specialist
Fort Myers, FL March 1918 – During the spring of 1918, Charles Edison, son of Thomas and Mina Edison, came to the family estate in Fort Myers for a much-needed rest. America was in the midst of World War I, and the Edison family was deeply involved on the home front. While Thomas Edison conducted experimental work for the Naval Consulting Board on a ship off the coast of Key West, youngest son Theodore was stationed on an uninhabited island, working away at a technical invention designed for use in trench warfare. Charles took on the responsibility of running the myriad Edison Industries during his father’s absence, quite an undertaking for a young man 27 years old.
During that time, Charles’ sweetheart of six years, Carolyn Hawkins, worked long hours assisting medical staff at Harvard University in preparing for oversees deployment at an army hospital. Charles asked his mother Mina if she would mind inviting Carolyn to accompany him to their winter home and get away from the hustle and bustle of wartime work. Mina agreed and the young couple arrived in Fort Myers at the end of March 1918.
On a moonlit night at the end of the Seminole Lodge dock overlooking the Caloosahatchee, Charles proposed to Carolyn by asking her, “Do you want a large wedding?” Apparently she didn’t, so the two decided to be married right away in Florida. Once they received Mina’s blessing, telegrams were sent to family members announcing their plans. Thomas Edison wired back, “If you have decided it must be done, then the sooner it is done the better. It can’t be any worse than life in front line trenches. Impossible for Theodore or myself to come.”
Once Thomas Edison’s blessing was secured, Carolyn purchased a white gown and flowers and the couple went downtown to get their marriage license. Many years later, Charles recalled acquiring the license with some amusement: “The night before Carolyn and I had attended a dance. There was a young man there who took a shine to Carolyn. He wanted to call on her. When we went to get the license, who should be the official to issue it but this same young man. Flabbergasted, he counted himself out of the running right then and there.”
On March 27, 1918, Charles and Carolyn Edison were married in the Seminole Lodge gardens in front of a camphor tree and a cinnamon tree with a large Japanese umbrella tree serving as a backdrop. A rug was rolled out from the house to a small altar lit with candles. Mina Edison gave the bride away while two household staff members served as witnesses. According to Charles, “Carolyn was as nervous as if the ceremony were being held in a cathedral.”
The wedding made front page news in the Fort Myers Press the next morning, wherein it was noted, “The marriage took place in the favorite spot of Thomas A. Edison. Under the palms and surrounded by the tropical foliage of Seminole Lodge, the place he loves best and where he throws aside his work and really plays.”
After the ceremony ended, the newlyweds decided to take a “honeymoon” and packed sandwiches up for a drive to the beach in the now-famous Model T given by Henry Ford to Thomas Edison in 1914. The couple planned to drive down to the Gulf of Mexico and catch a few fish to eat for supper back at Seminole Lodge. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were too thick to enjoy the beach, so the newlyweds decided to celebrate with an impromptu chocolate ice cream soda at Hunter’s Drugstore in Fort Myers. Charles remembered, “That was our honeymoon.”
Charles and Carolyn Edison were married for 45 years and visited the Edison Winter Estate in Fort Myers frequently.
Weddings & Private Events at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates 