Edwards was born in Kentucky in 1812 and named after Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
There he met Louise Cabanne, the daughter of a prominent St. Louis Family, whom he married in 1835.
[2] Following his marriage, Edwards resigned from the military and entered the wholesale business.
[3] Edwards fought for the Union during the American Civil War and was rewarded for his effort by President Lincoln who named him United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in April, 1865.
Later, in 1887, at the age of 75, he founded the brokerage firm that bore his name, A. G. Edwards, which was absorbed into Wachovia in 2007.