Edward Ferdinant Forsgard
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Edward Ferdinant Forsgard was born to Swedish immigrants Samuel Johan Forsgard and Mary Johnson in 1870 at their home at 115 Bridge Street in Waco. Edward, known as "Fuzzy," was the only one of the Forsgard's six children to survive into adulthood; his parents and siblings are buried at Waco's First Street Cemetery. Edward followed in his father's footsteps, touring the country as a marksman and trapshooter by age eleven. He attended Baylor University, and, in 1896, married Annie Marie Weaver, who had come to the United States from England with her parents in 1880. Edward and Annie had six children and built a home at 1122 North 4th Street in Waco in 1908; Edward's widowed father lived behind their home in his own small house. Edward worked with his father, first at the family's bakery, restaurant and supply store on Bridge Street, and then at his father's Ambold's Sporting Goods Store. Edward also worked in a cotton yard as a cotton classer. At the outset of World War I, he became a shooting instructor for the military, working at Rich Field in Waco. He also later served as a special Texas Ranger and as a game and fish warden for McLennan County. In addition to his skill with a gun, another trait Edward shared with his father was his love of inventing, patenting an automatic dishwasher for restaurants, as well as a package tie, and a chemical and sawdust floor sweep design to absorb dirt and moisture. Internationally, Edward was known as an expert target shooter. He had competed in the sport for 50 years and held the world title in 1908. At this death in 1941, Edward was remembered locally not only as a trapshooter, but also as a patriot, friend and father. (2003)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Waco in 1870 to Swedish immigrants, Edward "Fuzzy" Forsgard was touring the country as a marksman by age eleven and went on to hold the world trapshooting title in 1908. Beyond the shooting range he was a restless inventor, patenting an automatic restaurant dishwasher and other devices, and he served as a military shooting instructor at Waco's Rich Field during World War I. When he died in 1941 he was remembered as a champion, a patriot, and a family man.
Why it matters
Forsgard's life links the immigrant experience, the American appetite for invention, and the popular sporting culture of the early twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Edward Ferdinant Forsgard
- · Annie Marie Weaver Forsgard
Themes & tags
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