Edwards, the first Principal of Salem Normal School, was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, on December 23, 1822. His family emigrated to the U.S. in 1833 and settled in Ohio. Edwards attended the State Normal School at Bridgewater, graduating in 1845, and then went on to earn science and engineering degrees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

After his graduation from RPI in 1848, he returned to Massachusetts to begin his teaching career. Edwards became an agent for the State Board of Education in 1853 and was appointed in 1854 to the position of Principal of Salem Normal School.

Edwards was a pioneer in the development of normal schools at a time when there was a need to train teachers. In 1857, on the recommendation of Horace Mann, he became the first principal of the city normal school of St. Louis. In the early days of the Civil War, he became the second Principal of the Illinois State Normal University. He died on March 7, 1908.