Born in Massachusetts to Rhoda Lucinda Stone and John Foss Edgerly, he graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1876.
A recent critique described the books as "chock-full of racist rants, naive pseudoscience, and curmudgeonly attacks on modern society.
"[1] He also dabbled unsuccessfully in real-estate speculation and the theater, and invented a language called "Adam-Man Tongue" that was "nothing more than a bizarre-looking version of English.
"[1] One of his books, Life Building Method of the Ralston Health Club, endorsed the consumption of whole grain cereal.
[2] When William Danforth of animal feeds maker Purina Mills began making a breakfast cereal similar to the kind described in the book in 1898, he sought and received the endorsement of Edgerly to market Ralston breakfast cereal.