Edwin Nesbitt Ketchum was born near Bermuda on February 26, 1843. After living in Bermuda for a number of years, Edwin's mother sent him to Brooklyn New York to live with a paternal aunt. On April 27, 1862, Edwin enlisted in a New York militia unit in Brooklyn. He became a Private in Company E, 13th New York State Militia Heavy Artillery, with which he served a little more than three months - from May 28, 1862 to September 12, 1862. On September 27, 1862, Edwin enlisted as a Private in the federal army in New York City. He served 3 years with Company B, 176th New York Volunteer Infantry (aka. Ironsides). Edwin was wounded during the Battle of Cedar Creek in Northern Virgina on October 13, 1864. On April 27, 1866, Edwin was honorably discharged from the army at Savannah, Georgia. In 1869, Edwin moved to Texas where he worked several different jobs, including Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, 12th Legislature in Austin and Chief of Police in Galveston. Edwin passed away on February 19, 1931 in Galveston.