Introduction

Biography

Edgar was the son of Page Stites and Eli­za Eld­redge, hus­band of Sar­ah Eli­za­beth Ed­munds, and cou­sin of hym­nist Eli­za Hew­itt.

After serv­ing in the Am­er­ican ci­vil war at Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia, Stites be­came a ri­ver­boat pi­lot on the De­la­ware River.

He be­longed to the First Me­tho­dist Church in Cape May, New Jer­sey, for 60 years, and oft­en at­tend­ed the an­nu­al Me­tho­dist As­sem­bly at Ocean Grove, New Jer­sey.

For a while he was a home mis­sion­ary in the Da­ko­ta Ter­ri­to­ry.