Franklin Edmonds was born in Virginia in 1874 to Mariah Fairfax and Thomas Edmonds, who were both formerly enslaved persons. Ada Russell was born in 1873, also in Virginia. Franklin Edmonds, along with some of his brothers, moved to Rhode Island when the company decided to ship raw cotton to have it processed in the local mills. Franklin eventually found work as a longshoreman.
It is unclear when or how Ada’s family moved to Rhode Island, however she worked as a maid when she first came to Providence. It is also unclear how Ada and Franklin met, but they were married August 13, 1896. The couple resided at 93 Benevolent Street (the Edward Bannister House) in Providence for some time, and eventually bought, or built, a house, at 139 Leonard Ave in East Providence, moving the family there in the early 1900s.
Ada and Franklin had 10 children: Mable (1898-1953), Clifford (1899-1985), Maude Iolina (1901-1963), Ernest (1902-1902), Norris (1903-1977), Norton (1905-1906), Lindsey (1906-1987), Hope (1907-1949), Marion Ruth (1908-1914), and Dorothy (1911-1986).
Eileene (Grayson Hosley) Osborne was born September 20, 1928 in New Haven, CT, to Maude (Edmonds) Grayson, daughter of Ada and Franklin. Maude and Eileene moved to Providence in 1937. Eileene graduated Hope High School in 1947 and married Royal Hosley in 1949. The couple had two sons, but divorced in the 1950s. Eileene was the first member of the Baptist Church in North Attleboro, Massachusetts and sang in many church choirs throughout Rhode Island. She additionally sang at inaugurations and ceremonies for former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1971, she married Clay Osborne, a local jazz musician, and the couple were married until his death in 2006. Eileene Osborne died on November 4, 2019.
This collection contains personal photographs and documents of the Edmonds family including letters, deeds, receipts, genealogy, church programs of Eileene Osborne’s choir performances, a map of Providence, and a family Bible.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Edmonds and Osborne family papers, MSS-0027, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
The collection was a gift of Eileene Osborne and James R. Hosley, III in 2010.
The collection was initially processed and described in 2019 by Patricia McIvor and Marlene Lopes, Special Collections Librarian at Rhode Island College. At that time, materials were removed from scrapbooks and rehoused in polyester viewing folders. The original order and arrangement of these materials was retained. The collection was redescribed, some photographs put into new archival enclosures, and items reboxed in 2023 by Special Collections intern, Melissa Moniz, under the supervision of Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Veronica Denison. Further biographical information on the Edmonds family was provided by Rhode Island College students, Cecile Montenegro, Jenna Howard, Waphama Tucker, Jashar Read, and Melanie Marshall during their First Year Seminar class “Raid the Collections in 2024” taught by Professor Amy Barlow. The students researched this collection as part of the class.
Some of the materials in this collection were found in Clifford Edmonds’ home after his death. His surviving family members collected the materials and began researching their family history and genealogy.
Students in FYS 100 “Raid the Collections” created a podcast episode based on item one in the collection. The podcast is part of the FYS 100 “Raid the Collections” podcast series collection in Special Collections.
This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
This series contains multi-generational scrapbooks of the Edmonds family. Within the two scrapbooks are photographs, deeds, handwritten letters, City of East Providence water and tax receipts, shipping receipts from Virginia to Rhode Island, funeral expenses, birth and death certificates, and a ribbon from an anti-lynching demonstration in Providence. This series also contains postcards of cities and landmarks in Rhode Island.
This series includes a typed genealogy of the Edmonds family by Eileene Osborne, who found records in her Uncle Clifford Edmonds’ attic after he died. The series also contains a family Bible from 1893 that is stamped and signed by Franklin Edmonds.
The series contains church programs of Eileene Osborne’s choir performances throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. This series also includes a typed autobiography and photographs of Osborne throughout her life and performing at church services.