Colonel Carroll Andrew Edson (December 29, 1891 – October 15, 1986) was an influential leader in the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

movement. He helped to found the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner G ...

(OA) along with

E. Urner Goodman Edward Urner Goodman (May 15, 1891 – March 13, 1980) was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) movement for much of the twentieth century. Goodman was the national program director from 1931 until 1951, during the organiz ...

. The OA is an official program of the

designed to recognize Scouts and Scouters for their service, and to aid in the retention of older boys in the Scouting program.

Early life

Edson was born on December 29, 1891. He married Hazel Howard Partridge on 28 Aug. 1919. They had four children.

Education

Edson graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1914 and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

. He later received his master's degree from Columbia University in 1931.

Career

Military

Edson joined the military and attended the first officer's training camp at

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

in 1917. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

with the 77th Division. In 1931 he attended

Infantry School A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

and then in 1936 he attended the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1938 and recalled to active duty as an instructor at the Command and General Staff School in 1940. He served in both World Wars and was a member of

The Retired Officers Association The Military Officers Association of America is a professional association of United States military officers. It is a nonprofit organization that advocates for a strong national defense, but is politically nonpartisan. The association support ...

Scouting

Edson was hired by the

Philadelphia Council Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

of the

in 1915 as a Field Commissioner. He was then appointed as the Assistant Camp Director in charge of

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

Treasure Island Scout Reservation Treasure Island is a former Boy Scout property located between Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania and Frenchtown, New Jersey, United States. The property is situated on two islands in the middle of the Delaware River and was owned by the Cradle of Libe ...

. There he worked with the Camp Director

to create an experimental camp fraternity program called the Wimachtendienk, later known as the

. After attending a speech by

Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...

on his

Woodcraft Indians Woodcraft League of America, originally called the Woodcraft Indians and League of Woodcraft Indians, is a youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1901. Despite the name, the program was created for non-Native American in the United ...

program, Edson urged that American Indian lore be incorporated into the fraternity. This was to make the organization more appealing to youth. Edson himself researched the history and language of the

Lenni Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

(the Delaware Indians) in order to make the names and culture of the program authentic. He and Goodman conducted the original rituals and the speaking roles at the public campfire were primarily done by Edson. He was the second to receive the

Vigil Honor It is important to distinguish between ''awards,'' ''honors,'' and ''membership levels'' in the Order of the Arrow – the honor camping society of the Boy Scouts of America. The Founder's Award, the Red Arrow Award, and the Distinguished Serv ...

and kept his Vigil in 1917. In 1921 Edson was hired by the

Chicago Area Council Pathway to Adventure Council is a Boy Scouts of America local council headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Created from the merger of four councils, it now spans over a large portion of Chicago metropolitan area and part of Northwest Indiana. The ...

as a Field Executive for the South Shore District. In that position he founded five more Order of the Arrow lodges in Chicago. He was the Chairman in 1921 for the first Grand Lodge Meeting where he ran for Grand Lodge Chieftain, but lost to Goodman. At the second Grand Lodge Meeting in 1922, Edson ran again for Chieftain, but lost to Arthur Schuck, the Grand Treasurer. Edson ran unopposed and became the Grand Lodge Chieftain in 1923 at the Third Grand Lodge Meeting. In 1927 Edson was hired to be the Scout Executive for Hudson Council (currently part of

Northern New Jersey Council The Northern New Jersey Council was formed in January 1999 and serves Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties as an effort to better serve the Scouting communities encompassed in these areas. History In 1915, the Ridgewood Council (#359) ...

) in

Jersey City, NJ Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He later returned in the 1960s and became active again in the OA. He was also one of the inaugural Distinguished Service Award recipients in 1940.

Educator

In 1935 Edson served as an education program director for the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

and an education adviser for the Fourth Corps Area Headquarters in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Management

Edson then became the manager for the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

's office in Syracuse in 1937 where he worked for twenty-five years until he retired in 1961.

Death

Carroll A. Edson died on October 25, 1986 at the age of 94. He is buried in Brookfield Cemetery in Brookfield, Vermont.

References

External links

The Founder's Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edson, Carroll A. Order of the Arrow Scouting pioneers 1986 deaths 1891 births People from Worcester, Massachusetts Dartmouth College alumni Civilian Conservation Corps people