Background
Edward Jones Pearson was born on October 4, 1863 in Rockville, Adams Township, Parke County, Indiana, United States. He was the son of Leonard and Lucy Small (Jones) Pearson and a brother of Leonard Pearson.
Edward Jones Pearson was born on October 4, 1863 in Rockville, Adams Township, Parke County, Indiana, United States. He was the son of Leonard and Lucy Small (Jones) Pearson and a brother of Leonard Pearson.
After preliminary schooling in the West, Edward Jones Pearson entered Cornell University, where he received the degree of B. S. in engineering in 1883.
Edward Jones Pearson's first railroad experience was with the Missouri Pacific in 1881 as a rodman on the extension from Atchison, Kan. , to Omaha, Nebr. The following year he was engaged in construction work in Indian Territory on the line of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. In 1883 he was engaged as assistant engineer for the Northern Pacific, to work on the terminal at Portland, Oregona, and subsequently was made supervisor of the St. Paul division (1884), supervisor of bridges, buildings, and water supply of the Minnesota and St. Paul divisions (1885), and engineer in charge of construction train service (1890).
In the years 1892 - 1894 Edward Jones Pearson was principal assistant engineer of the Chicago terminal lines in which the Northern Pacific was interested. Returning to the exclusive service of the Northern Pacific, he continued to rise in rank, becoming superintendent of the Yellowstone division (1894), superintendent of the Rocky Mountain division (1895), superintendent of the Pacific division (1898), assistant general superintendent of the eastern division (1902), acting chief engineer (1903), and chief engineer (1904). The transcontinental extension of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul attracted Pearson in 1905, and he became chief engineer of the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway, which constructed the Pacific extension for the parent company. During his period of service that road was completed.
On June 1, 1911, Edward Jones Pearson became vice-president of the Missouri Pacific and of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, having charge of maintenance, operation, and construction. He took a similar vice-presidency of the Texas & Pacific, in March 1915, primarily to direct the construction of a terminal at New Orleans. The following year he accepted still another position of like nature, the vice-presidency of the New York, New Haven & Hartford, with the duty of acting as assistant to the president and of controlling construction, operation, and maintenance. Upon the death of President Howard Elliott, Pearson on May 1, 1917, succeeded him.
During the administration of former president Charles S. Mellen, the "New Haven" had fallen into bad physical and financial condition. The buildings, equipment, and roadbed needed extensive repairs, provision had to be made for a considerable floating debt, rates had to be readjusted, and disposition had to be made of numerous "outside properties. " No dividends had been paid on the common stock since December 1913. The task of meeting these and other difficulties had undoubtedly hastened the death of former President Elliott. During Pearson's presidency, which included the war period in which he acted as federal manager, considerable progress was made in restoring the road. Obviously the boom of the 1920's played a part. By 1924 the road showed an operating profit, and the following year Pearson was able to float a bond issue in New England, thus bringing to a successful culmination a long fight to obtain local support. Dividends on the common stock were resumed in 1928.
In 1928, however, Pearson's health gave way, due in part, no doubt, to his tireless and unsparing efforts on behalf of the road. On October 23 Edward Jones Pearson entered the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, where he died on December 7, 1928.
On June 7, 1899, Edward Jones Pearson married Gertrude S. Simmons of Evanston, Illinois. They had one son.
