He attended Hamilton (New York) College (now Colgate University), but did not graduate.

He was admitted to the bar in New York City May 20, 1840, and practiced in Sherburne and Albany.

Edwards was elected as the candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1855, to February 28, 1857, when he resigned.

Edwards was elected police justice in 1895 and served until ten days before his death.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress