EDWIN  LUZERN  WILFORD

     Edwin Luzern Wilford, long connected with agricultural interests in the town of Branford, is an honored veteran of the Civil war who throughout his entire life has been a loyal citizen, actively aiding many movements which have been for the benefit and progress of the community.
     He was born March 13, 1846, in the town of Branford, and is a representative of one of the old pioneer families whose ancestral line is traced back to the colonial epoch in the history of the country. His paternal grandparents were Richard and Betsey (Frisbie) Wilford and his parents were Samuel and Susan (Cook) Wilford, all of whom were residents of the town of Branford. The founder of the family in the new world was John Wilford, who came from England.
     The youthful days of Edwin L. Wilford were spent in the usual manner of the farm-bred boy who divides his time between the acquirement of an education and the work of the fields, and save for one year which he spent as a sailor Mr. Wilford has always given his attention to general agricultural pursuits. He is the owner of an excellent farm, well improved and he keeps his land under a high state of cultivation, utilizing the most progressive and scientific methods of farming in the further development and improvement of his place. When the country became involved in civil war Mr. Wilford, responding to the call for troops, enlisted on the 22d of August, 1862, as a private of Company B, Twenty-seventh Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded in the battle of Fredericksburg on the 13th of December of that year and was taken to the College Hospital at Georgetown, D. C. Later he was transferred to the hospital at New Haven and after nine months' service received an honorable discharge, having been incapacitated for further field duty. He has long been an active and valued member of Mason Rogers Post, G. A. R., of Branford, and has held the offices of adjutant and junior vice commander. He has also been a delegate to the National Encampment which was held in St. Paul in 1896.
     His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He has traveled broadly over the country from ocean to ocean, and wherever he has gone he has been recognized as a man of genuine worth, commanding the respect, confidence and goodwill of all with whom he has been associated.