Edward was the fifth child of a family of ten, born the 28th of April in 1869, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father was Charles South, a carpenter/farmer by trade, and his mother was Elizabeth Taylor South. The ten children consisted of seven boys with three girls being the youngest siblings. At three years of age, Edward's family moved to Randolph, located in Northern Utah.

Edward received his early training in Randolph, known for its farming and ranching industries. It was natural that this should play a big part in his early life. Due to the size of the family, it was necessary for the boys to work to help make ends meet. Edward told how he dug post holes to pay for his board, and didn't go to school until the ground was frozen so hard that he could no longer dig. In early spring, when the ground began to thaw, he would quit school to continue digging the post holes.

At sixteen, Edward was big for his age and expected to do a man's work. He was helping his father plow the field, but took rest breaks rather often. Charles commented to his son that he wasn't earning his board. Edward asked his father if he would mind if he left home to find other employment. His father told him to go if he cared to. This was an understanding only between the two of them. Not long after, Edward found a job in a small town 30 miles from Randolph that paid $2.50 per day. He took his horse and saddle, leaving without telling anyone, thinking that it was unneccessary because of his discussion with his father. A week passed before his parents learned of his whereabouts.

Edward was seventeen years old when he fell in love with Mary Ann Spencer (born August 29, 1869) from Randolph, and on the 2nd of January 1887, they were married. At the time, financial constraints made the trip to the Salt Lake Temple unfeasible. In June of that year, they had saved enough money to make the trip to the Temple, where they were sealed the first day of July. Edward constructed a two room log cabin in Randolph, hauling the logs from the nearby canyons. Then he built a large home on the main street that was later used as a hotel. They had four children by this marriage, all being born in Randolph. The oldest child, Hannah Elizabeth, died as an infant. Myrtle South was born the 13th of July, 1889, (passing away March 1st, 1929, after a kidney operation). The first boy, Charles Edwin, was born the 7th of February, 1891, and also died as an infant. Myrtle was their first surviving child. The last surviving member of the family was George Edward South, born the 29th of August, 1893 (passing away the 2nd of October, 1953, of heart failure).

At nineteen years of age, Edward found that buying and selling cattle was profitable. He rode the freight train to Omaha, Nebraska. Considerable time was spent running from one end of the train to the other, tending his cattle. This first trip to Omaha was a great thrill for Edward. In 1896, at age 27, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Rich County, which brought many more exciting experiences. One criminal was caught by Edward's efforts, then tried, found guilty, and sentenced to prison. Upon his release, the criminal boasted that he was going to kill Edward. Due to this malcontent's cantankerous disposition, many people believed this to be the end of Edward. They inevitably met one day when Edward was at a popular eating establishment, in a small village in the county. The criminal pulled out his gun and ordered Edward outside. He then commanded Edward to get inside a buggy. As they rode away, Edward's salesman ability went to work as he talked to the man, finding out how much he disliked the stigma of being a criminal and how people shunned him. The felonious man then said he would kill, if necessary, for a thousand dollars. Edward pulled out his wallet and offered the criminal half of what he had in it. This softened the man, with him commenting that this was the first time in his life that anyone had given him anything. Edward then inquired if the criminal still liked horses; the reply was, "yes." Edward then suggested that the man get a job driving horses. At the end of the talk, they were friends. After some time, Edward returned to the area, finding the man was driving horses, apparently enjoying life much more.

In 1901, at the age of 32, Edward was elected to represent Rich County at the Fourth Legislature for the State of Utah. He enjoyed this honor, but felt that he lacked the education necessary to become a politician. He began to study law, during which time he supported his family and paid his own expenses through selling and other activities. He was a natural born salesman, delighting in matching his wits against some prospective customers.

Edward's wife, Mary Ann, died in February of 1902, leaving him a widower with two young children.

During the summer of 1904, Sarah Taylor went to Randolph to visit her grandmother, who was Edward's mother, Elizabeth Taylor South's half sister. The grandmother was living with Edward at the time. Upon her arrival, Edward mentioned, "Some city girl." Sarah heard this comment, thinking he had said, "Some silly girl." She was hurt and negatively impressed. Somehow, the problem was resolved, with Edward inviting Sarah to go with a group of Randolph natives on a three week tour by horse and camp wagon through Yellowstone Park.

At this time, Edward continued to sell and promote. Just before he was to take the bar examination, having completed his law studies, he was enticed to go to southern California to sell real estate. On a car trip promoting a large land deal in Mexico, with investors from the Eastern United States, they were robbed. He not only lost his money, but his clients. He then returned to Salt Lake to organize the Elk Coal Mining Company near Kemmer, Wyoming. This project was also doomed to failure.

Edward had one of the first cars in Utah, as well as two of the very first telephones. He had this new invention installed in both his home and at his office. He loved to drive. At 71 he drove 855 miles from Los Angeles, California, to Uintah Basin, Utah, in one day. There were some years that he would put 100,000 miles per year on his car. To drive this amount of mileage, Edward would need to drive 274 miles per day, for all 365 days of the year. For one of his promotions, he sold stock in a mine in Price, Utah, which took up a lot of his time. With this job, he would take prospective clients to Price, staying in a motel run by the husband of Maud Anderson. A relationship developed between Edward and Mrs. Anderson. He also had a child by Athenal (Nan) Porter, his secretary, around 1915. This child's name was Bertha Cragen, who in later life lived in Pocatello, Idaho.

Edward heard of an asbestos deposit in Montana around 1917, at age 48, and feeling that this was a rich find he started to promote that interest. Time and romance took him farther and farther away from his family. On the 10th of June, 1918, Edward divorced Sarah in order to marry maud. He and Maud moved to idaho Falls, Idaho, to be closer to the asbestos mine.

The children, with the exception of the youngest, Edward Rich Taylor South, were invited to spend the summers at the mine and at his home in Idaho Falls. At the age of 72, conditions in the country made it impossible for him to make a living working in the asbestos mine, so he turned to selling insurance and became the third highest salesman in the United States for the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.

Edward was always optimistic and very generous with those that were with him. Though he had his difficulties, he was not one to complain about them. He was bold in his attempts to try something new, attacking a new venture with zest. He had a remarkable memory for figures. He would look up a telephone number, use it once, leave town for months, return and be able to recall the number without using the telephone book. He was a voracious reader, often investing in books at bargain sales to acquire the classics.

Edward Rich South died on the 21st of October, 1946, at the age of 77, of a heart attack in a potato cellar where he was working. Apparently he was short handed, as some of his help did not arrived, so he filled in for the absent workers. [taken from his obituary] Edward started the growing of seed potatoes in the Lost River VAlley (Idaho). He was reputed to have done more for the region than any other individual since the early settlers.