Edwin Cheney, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetEdwin Cheney
electrical engineer from Illinois
Date of Birth: 13-Jun-1869
Date of Death: 18-Dec-1942
Profession: engineer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Gemini 
About Edwin Cheney
- Edwin Henry Cheney (June 13, 1869 - December 18, 1942) was an American electrical engineer from Oak Park, Illinois, United States. Edwin was the son of James Wilson Cheney (b.
- August 20, 1841) and Armilla Armanda (b.
- ca.
- 1846), daughter of Linus S.
- and Rebekah J.
- (Jaegger) Perkins.
- His father was born in Royalton, MA, and moved to Maine with his parents ca.
- 1850.
- James W.
- entered Oberlin College in 1860 before enlisting in the 7th Ohio Infantry in April 1861.
- After his marriage to Armilla Perkins on May 27, 1868, he moved from Shelbyville, IL, to Detroit, MI, in 1870 where he engaged in manufacturing tool-handles and other specialty items.
- Edwin's sister, Luella Emory Cheney, was born April 11, 1871 (adopted).Cheney became an electrical engineer.
- He commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build his family a house in Oak Park.
- Wright engaged in a love affair with Edwin's wife Mamah, with whom he went to Europe in 1909.
- Upon their return, Mamah moved into Taliesin, the new house Wright was building for them, while it was still under construction.
- Mamah and Edwin were divorced in 1911, and a year later Edwin married Elizabeth Meller, a schoolteacher friend of Mamah's sister Lizzie.In 1914, Julian Carlton, a domestic servant at Taliesin, killed Mamah and her two children, John and Martha, who happened to be visiting (Edwin still had primary custody).
- Four others were also murdered during this event, and Carlton, following ingestion of acid in an apparent suicide attempt, died before being tried.Edwin Cheney and his second wife had 3 more children.
- They later moved to Webster Groves, Missouri, where he continued to work for Wagner Electric until his death.
- The Edwin H.
- Cheney House in Oak Park is now used as a bed & breakfast with two guest rooms.An opera, Shining Brow, covers the story of the Cheneys and Wrights, from when they meet in Wright's office, through the aftermath of Mamah's death.
- Music by Daron Hagen and lyrics by Paul Muldoon.
Read more at Wikipedia