Eddie was raised by his aunt Clara, who claimed to be his mother, but from time to time referred to him as her nephew. Clara’s sister, Ida Louisa Gibson, was a famous actress who went by the stage name Helen Dauvray. About the time a photo showed her appearing pregnant, Helen decided as a child star she had neglected her learning and needed to travel abroad to acquire an education. She returned from Europe with Clara and baby Eddie. Clara had been married and divorced and did not have Gibson as her last name when Eddie was born. However, Helen’s legal name at the time was Ida Louisa Gibson. Eddie’s legal surname at birth was Gibson, indicating that Helen, not Clara was Eddie’s mother. Clara, Helen, and Eddie lived in the same mansion in New York. Seven years after Eddie’s birth, Helen married baseball legend John Montgomery Ward, and Eddie became a batboy for the New York Giants.
Below: Ida Lousia Gibson (stage name Helen Dauvray) at the time she decided to pursue her education in Europe (left), and Helen Dauvray years later (right).
Clara and Helen’s uncles, Charles and Michael Henry de Young, founders of the San Francisco Chronicle