Ruth Burnett Edwards Van Blarcom

Ruth Burnett Edwards was the first child of Frank Edwards and Mary Louise Ball Edwards. She was born in Hardyston, Sussex County, New Jersey, on April 18, 1898. Ruth had one brother, William Frank Edwards, who was born 2 years later in 1900.

Ruth was raised and lived in Hardyston until her marriage to William Ackerson Van Blarcom on December 1, 1918. Following her marriage, the couple moved to Franklin where Ruth taught kindergarten at The Neighborhood House (Community Center).The marriage would eventually produce 4 children: Lois Ruth, born October 22, 1920; William Joseph, born April 30, 1923; and David Charles, born July 11, 1937. Tragically, David Charles died less than a year later due to a congenital heart defect, a hole in the heart. Eight months following David's passing, a third son was born on December 16, 1938. His birth was said to have "saved his mother from severe depression," by William Joseph (Bill).
Ruth spent much of her life in New Jersey living in Hardyston, Franklin, Cranford, Middlesex, Jersey City, Bound Brook, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, and Somerville.

Ruth was born to a family rich with American history, especially on her mother's side. The Ball family of New Jersey boasts roots that stem back to Edward Ball, co-founder of the city of Newark, New Jersey, as well as blood ties to Mary Ball Washington, mother of George Washington. Ruth's middle name, Burnett, is a homage to the family name of her great-great grandfather, Ralph Burnett, whose father Mathias was a Justice of the Peace in the Revolutionary War effort.

Eventually, Ruth retired to Englewood, Florida, and passed away in May of 1966. Ruth shares a burial plot with her husband at North Church Cemetery in Hamburg, New Jersey.