NOTE: A copy of Edward's signature is available, and I will scan it in soon and place it on this page.
Edward was born on June 29, 1832 , at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Edward was Arsene's favorite son, and Arsene sent him to France to receive a first-class education; he wanted Edward to become a scholar. Instead, the first thing Edward did upon returning to America was to enlist on the Union Side in the Civil War. This is believed to have greatly disappointed Arsene.
Edward served in the commissary -- interesting, because his brother Joseph served in the Commissary at the Naval Academy and their younger brother Arthur served in the Commissary during his time of enlistment, when he was at Mobile Bay. All three sons of Arsene Girault followed in the footsteps of their grandfather, Germaine Girault, who was one of the suppliers of Napoleon's army!
The principle duty during much of Edward's time in the service was guarding the railroad near Cumberland, Maryland, so that the Confederate army could not destroy it. The railroad was a vital source of supply for the Union army in western Maryland, northern Virginia, and West Virginia, and to the nation's interior. ( Edward spent time as a prisoner of war)
After the war, Edward returned to West Virginia to marry Anna Unger, daughter of Moses Unger and Elizabeth Crouse. The answer to the question, "Why did Edward Girault, who had seen the high society in Paris, leave the comfortable Northeastern United States and go to live in West Virginia?" becomes obvious: he had met his great love during the war, probably at Unger's Store, and returned to win her as his bride!
Edward married Anna Unger on April 22, 1869 in Birch Grove, Morgan County, West Virginia.
Edward and Anna had seven children, four boys and three girls:
Arsene Napoleon Girault
Joseph Girault
Edward Lepelltier Girault, Jr.
Virginia "Jennie" Girault
Roscoe Girault
Ethel G. Girault
Mary Girault
Edward's oldest son, Arsene Napoleon Girault -- named after Edward's father -- became a brakeman on the same railroad that Edward and his company had helped defend during the Civil War. And many of Edward's descendants still live in or near Cumberland -- within a few miles of where most of Edward's military adventures, defending the lines of communication with the interior of the United States, took place.
Edward died (from tuberculosis) at his home in the Sleepy Creek district of Maryland on or about September 29, 1910 and was buried at Cross Road Cemetary.
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