Jonas Smith Edmonson was born Oct. 11, 1828, in Newark, New Jersey, and passed away December 30, 1894. He and his wife, Phebe Harris Edmonson, are buried in Oakland and Fraternal Historic Cemetery Park in Little Rock, Arkansas. Phebe Harris Edmonson was born September 18, 1835, in Utica, New York, and died April 9, 1903, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The couple lived in Clarkston, Michigan, in Independence Township, at dates including 1853-1860. Their son, Harris (Harry) Peydell Edmonson (1857-1911), was born in Michigan; he married Luella Thomas (1864-1956); the couple is also buried in in Oakland and Fraternal Historic Cemetery Park.

The relationship of Benjamin Thomas to the Edmonsons is unknown; the donor suggested they may be related through the Lambert Family of Michigan. Benjamin Thomas was born in Wales, Great Britain, circa 1825. He served as Captain of Company D, 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He led an expedition from Fort Pinney to Kimball's Plantation, Arkansas, in 1865. After the war, he either worked for or as the Commissioner of Public Works and Internal Improvements in Little Rock, Arkansas.