Edward W. Badger, one of the prosperous farmers of Osage county, who takes a prominent part in local affairs, was born in Erie county, Pa., June 9, 1850, the son of Anson and Tryphena (Staples) Badger. His grandfather was a native of Massachusetts who served in the army during the Revolutionary war. Subsequently he removed to Pennsylvania and settled in Erie county when it was an unbroken wilderness. He cleared some land, engaged in farming, and spent the remainder of his life in that state. Anson Badger was born in Massachusetts and accompanied his parents to Pennsylvania when he was only a boy. He was reared on the frontier, received such scanty education as was afforded at that period and located at Girard, Pa. Failing health caused him to seek a milder climate and in 1879 he came to Kansas with his son Edward, settled in Osage county and lived there until his death in 1885. Edward Badger's maternal grandfather was born and reared near Auburn, N. Y. He was a farmer and also a Methodist preacher of local renown. While quite a young man he moved to Chautauqua, N. Y., and later to Erie, where he died.

Edward Badger was educated at Girard, Pa., where he attended the academy. He came to Kansas in 1879 and located at Lawrence, where he remained until the following March, when he moved to Osage county and took up land in what was a virgin prairie, the sod never having been broken. There were few settlers and the town of Overbrook had not been dreamed of. Mr. Badger has added to his original farm and now owns a section of as good agricultural land as can be found in the valley. He is progressive in his ideas, takes an interest in the questions of the day, has served as a member of the school board, and belongs to the American Order of United Workmen.

In 1875 Mr. Badger married Mary G. Bart. Her father was an Irish physician who came to the United States and located in New York, but later, removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army as a private, but was soon promoted. At the close of the war he returned to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and practiced medicine. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Badger, three of whom are living: Ralph H., who graduated from the high school at Carbondale; Chester A., a student in the University of Kansas at Lawrence, who has taught school for two terms; and Florence Mary, who is the wife of Harry F. Banker, Port Arthur, Tex. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.