James Edson White known as "Edson", was an author, publisher and the second son of two founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 – James White

James Springer White

James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...

 and Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...

.

In 1870 he married Emma McDearmon, but did not have any children. After being detached from his parents and their church for a couple of decades he had a spiritual change of heart when he was 44 years old, at the time he lived in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.

Mission to African Americans

He found a booklet written by his mother titled Our Duty to the Colored People. This encouraged him to set up a mission to spread the Adventist message to colored people in the south of the United States.
He set up mission schools for black people along the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The first school set up was on a boat called the Morning Star. This boat had a library, a chapel, a photography lab, a print shop, and accommodation for staff. Schools were created at Vicksburg

Vicksburg

Vicksburg is the name of some places in the United States of America:* Vicksburg, Florida* Vicksburg, Indiana* Vicksburg, Michigan* Vicksburg, Mississippi** The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign...

, Mississippi, Yazoo City, Lintonia

Lintonia

Lintonia is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.-External links:*...

, and Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

. The mission built up to 50 schools, building an organisation called Southern Missionary Society. This became part of the Adventist Southern Union Conference

Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, often abbreviated to the Southern Union, is a sub-entity of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, which is part of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church...

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The publishing organization that Edson established was originally known as the "Gospel Herald Publishing Company". It was taken over by the church and renamed to "Southern Publishing Association" in 1901, which subsequently merged with the Review and Herald Publishing Association

Review and Herald Publishing Association

The Review and Herald Publishing Association is one of two major Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America and is the oldest institution of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The organization publishes books, magazines, study guides, CDs, videos and games for Adventist churches,...

in 1980.

He started the "J. E. White Publishing Company"

Books written

• Gospel Primer #01 – used to raise money for the mission
• The coming King (1898, 1909, 1933)
• The New Testament primer (1906)
• Best stories from the best book
• The man that rum made: With temperance lessons and stories