Mina Miller was only 20 when she married Edison in 1886. But she had a strong sense of the place of the husband in the family, and the will to back it up. She got him home for dinner (at least occasionally), they took vacations, and they spent time in Florida. Together they had three more children, and although Mina assumed the major responsibility for their upbringing (with the help of governesses), Edison took his role as a father more seriously.
He enjoyed reading and had a well-stocked library in the upstairs sitting room
where the family would often gather on Sundays. Occasionally the children
persuaded him to play Parcheesi; other games bored him. As the children
grew older, they communicated with their father most often to ask for
money.
Perhaps the strongest evidence of a change in Edison's way of life is the
mansion, called "Glenmont," that he bought for his new bride. It cost him $235,000; a large sum, even for Edison. (Both the house and the laboratory are preserved as historic sites by the National Park Service.)
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