[2]: 3  The New Orleans Times-Picayune stated that Edenborn was "one of the most colorful and picturesque, and at the same time one of the least known, of the Louisiana captains of industry.

After his parents' death, his sister Lena and he were without financial resources and so they lived with the Keyser family who were relatives of the Edenborns.

[2]: 3 In 1867, Edenborn emigrated to the United States with his cousin Herman Keyser, whom he had befriended, initially living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Edenborn carried out this work partly on a futures basis, a start in his ownership of wire production enterprises.

[10] Years after Sarah had been placed in possession of the entire estate, Hessmer and the other legatees under the 1908 will initiated litigation arguing that the 1919 revocation was invalid, and sought to have the 1908 will admitted to probate.

[10] In a 1941 decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the 1919 revocation was valid, thus confirming Sarah Edenborn's succession to the entire estate.

[10] In 1877, on his return from his leave-of absence in Europe, Edenborn founded the St. Louis Wire Mill Company with business associate O.P.

Edenborn then had a succession of business interests and technical inventions related to wire manufacture and expanding its markets.

[6] Besides the lower cost, Edenborn's barb wired production process resulted in a more humane form, one that was less injurious to farm animals.

[5] In standard practice, Edenborn's patented inventions were all in his own name without direct assignment to his corporate holdings.

[2]: 9 By the latter part of the 19th century, the market for telegraph and telephone wire expanded significantly, and Edenborn's companies capitalized on this opportunity.

[2]: 10 In 1901, Edenborn sold his ownership of the wire companies to J.P. Morgan for $100 million, putting him among the wealthiest people in the United States at the time.

As a result of the acquisition of his companies, Edenborn served on the board of directors and on the executive committee of US Steel Corporation until his resignation in 1909.

[7][2]: 9–10 During his time with the American Steel and Wire Company, Edenborn is reputed to have said: After I got a start, I just went ahead in leaps and bounds.

He and his wife visited Shreveport, Louisiana, for which Edenborn perceived that the town's cotton and forestry products businesses were under-served by railroads.

He also built branches of the railroad, such as the Colfax and Northern Railway in order to better serve the local timber industry.

Early on, Edenborn used a mix of rail and steamboat service for the extension to New Orleans, and, in this way, his railroad could serve the lucrative cotton trade of the region.

Edenborn and Gates reorganized the railroad at which time it became known as the Kansas City Southern Railway Company.

[2]: 11–40 As Edenborn sought to expand his railroad, he often pursued public funding to offset construction costs.

By that time, his railroad was approximately 306 miles long, with ferry service to cross the Mississippi River in order to enter the city of New Orleans.

[2]: 11–40 While Edenborn continued to spend money expanding the railroad and purchasing rolling stock and suitable ferry service, he compromised on track maintenance.

Financial records indicate that the railroad was earning a low return-on-investment, even though it appeared to meet Edenborn's cash flow needs.

Among his agricultural endeavors, he experimented with improved peanut production using advice he received from George Washington Carver.

At Emden Plantation, Edenborn invented an apparatus for improved distillation of pine oil for turpentine manufacture, for which he received a United States patent.

[4] Edenborn named a railroad depot in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, "Hessmer" after his mother's surname at birth.