Edward Ferdinant Forsgard
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C L E N N A N C O U N T Y |
Marker No: 14809
Aluminum 27 x 42 Subject Marke r
Geographic: 31.533634,-97.107864
Location: Oakwood Cemetery 2124 South 5th Street
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Marker Text: Edward Ferdinant Forsgard was born to Swedish immigrants Samuel Johan Forsgard and Mary Johnson in 1870 at their home at 115 Bridge Street in Waco. Edward, known as "Fuzzy," was the only one of the Forsgard's six children to survive into adulthood; his parents and siblings are buried at Waco's First Street Cemetery.
Edward followed in his father's footsteps, touring the country as a marksman and trapshooter by age eleven. He attended Baylor University and, in 1896, married Annie Marie Weaver, who had come to the United States from England with her parents in 1880. Edward and Annie had six children and built a home 1t 1122 North 4th Street in Waco in 1908; Edward's widowed father lived behind their home in his own small house. Edward worked with his father, first at the family's bakery, restaurant and supply store on Bridge Street, and then at his father's Ambold's sporting goods Store. Edward also worked in a cotton yard as a cotton classer. At the outset of World War I, he became a shooting instructor for the military, working at Rich Field in Waco. He also later served as a special Texas ranger and as a game and fish warden for McLennan County. In addition to his skill with a gun, another trait Edward shared with his father was his love of inventing, patenting as automatic dishwasher for restaurants, as well as a package tie, and a chemical sawdust floor sweep designed to absorb dirt and moisture. Internationally, Edward was known as an expert target shooter. He had competed in the sport for 50 years and held the world title in 1908. At his death in 1941, Edward was remembered locally not only as a trapshooter, but as a patriot, friend and father. (2003) |