Edward Padelford

Edward Nathaniel Packard Padelford (April 30, 1799 – June 27, 1870) was an American businessman, prominent in Savannah, Georgia.

He was one of the city's longest-serving merchants and most respected citizens, and was a board member of a large number of companies.

His contemporaries in the city included master builder Isaiah Davenport, Godfrey Barnsley (a British-born businessman and cotton broker), John W. Beckwith (second Bishop of Georgia), Michael Cash (stonemason), Charles B. Cluskey (architect), Hugh Comer (businessman and president of Central of Georgia Railroad), Stephen Elliott (first Bishop of Georgia), Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar (businessman), Gazaway Bugg Lamar (cotton and shipping merchant), George Welshman Owens (lawyer), Willard Preston (educator), James C. Saltus (carpenter), James M. Simms (African-American minister), silversmith Moses Eastman, and James and Charlotte De Bernier Taylor (a merchant and entomologist couple).

[1] In 1841, Padelford became a founding member of Savannah's St. John's Episcopal Church, and became one of the first citizens to buy a family pew.

[6] Also in 1841, Padelford's interest in the arts resulted in his bringing a representation in mosaic form of the ruins of Paestum to Savannah for public display.

Due to his many commitments, Padelford resigned his presidency of the Marine and Fire Insurance Bank in June 1853.

[6] Also that year, he was a member of the grand jury of the First Panel Superior Court of Chatham County, which recommended a new jail be constructed.

[6] During the American Civil War, in which he was a Confederate officer, Padelford was a partner with Randolph L. Mott in a cotton-purchasing business.

[1] Shortly after the war, which cost him his two sons, Padelford was elected as a delegate to visit Washington, D.C., to represent the sentiments of the Chatham County citizens to President Andrew Johnson.

"His once familiar figure was seldom seen on the streets of Savannah," wrote Larry Tinker in his Short Biography of Edward Padelford.

Each spring, over several years, he donated $1,000 to the Union Society at Bethesda, and in May 1869 made a gift in five times that amount.

[9] He also donated $4,000 to the Episcopal Church's orphan home, and $10,000 towards the construction of a suitable building to accommodate "the sick, poor, aged and infirm colored people of Savannah.

[9] Edward Jr., meanwhile, joined the artillery company of the Savannah Volunteer Guard in 1861, and he rose in rank quickly.