Résumé

Draftsman, E.W. Houghton, Architect, Seattle, WA.

Draftsman, John Graham and Company, Seattle, WA.

Draftsman, B. Marcus Priteca, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1922.

Associate, Wheatley and Osborn, Associated Architects, Seattle, WA, 1923-1924.

Draftsman, Bebb and Gould, Architects, Seattle, WA; Osborn completed occasional commissions for himself and in association with others between 1920-1930. Wheatley, Bebb, Houghton, Graham and Priteca all had migrated to Seattle from the UK, as had Osborn.

Principal, Edward Thomas Osborn, Architect, Seattle, WA, c. 1932. In 1931, Osborn maintained his office in Room #625 of the Insurance Building in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1931, p. 2030.) A year later, he had an office in Room #662 of the Empire Building. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1932, p. 1102.)

Relocation

Born in England c. 1866, Osborn traveled throughout the British Commonwealth, working in New Zealand, British Columbia, and Alberta. According to historian, Dennis Anderson, he came to Seattle, WA, around 1910. He provided US Census takers with varying answers as to his arrival date in the US. The 1920 US Census listed his arrival as occurring in 1908, while that of 1930 indicated it to have been in 1901. From what is known currently, he seems to have arrived in the 1900s and then left again, living at least briefly in Vancouver, BC, Canada, before returning just after World War I.

A US Immigration document of 1918, indicated that he last lived outside of the US in Vancouver, BC. This document also listed his place of birth as Liverpool, England. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Seattle, Washington; NAI Number: 4449160; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1383; Roll Number: 31, accessed 05/26/2022.)

In 1920, he lived in the boarding house of Richard G. Lewis in Seattle, at 621 9th Avenue. Lewis (born c. 1865 in Wales) was also from the United Kingdom, as were his two childen, both born in Wales. His wife had been born in Ireland. They all arrived in the US in 1906, as per this census. Osborn was one of two lodgers born in England at the time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: T625_1929; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 241, accessed 06/21/2022.)

The 1930 US Census located him living in a rented room at 504 James Street in Seattle. This document indicated that he entered the US in 1901 and that he remained an alien in 1930. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0139; FHL microfilm: 2342233, accessed 05/25/2022.)

In 1932, Osborn lived at 4542 47th Avenue SW in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle.

Parents

The 1918 US Immigration document listed Osborn as having a brother, George Osborn, who lived in Cambridge, England, at that time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Seattle, Washington; NAI Number: 4449160; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1383; Roll Number: 31, accessed 05/26/2022.)

The UW Department of Special Collections noted on its web page: "Born and educated in England, Edward Osborn arrived in Seattle about 1910 and worked as a delineator for several well-known architectural firms. From 1920-1930, he occasionally worked as an independent designer. Osborn was known especially for his watercolor renderings." SeeAccessed 08/14/2009.