The son of Dr. Samuel Henry Edmunds and Eliza Champion Davis Edmunds, Henry Edmunds was born in 1901 in Sumter. He later married Frances Ravenel Smythe, who survived him with their three daughters.
He graduated from Presbyterian College and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1926 and served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1930 through 1937.
He attained the rank of Commander while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He served as the Legal Officer of the Sixth Naval District and in Trinidad. He received a Commendation for “outstanding and exceptional ability.”
After the war, he resumed practice in Charleston. He was a member of the American Law Institute and the Fourth Judicial Conference. He served on the state-wide committee which updated the South Carolina Code of 1952.
Able, conscientious and industrious, he enjoyed the professional respect and personal friendship of his colleagues. Through scholarly interest in the law’s ancient landmarks, keen and intuitive perception of both its spirit and letter, and intellectual sensitivity to its philosophy, he contributed significantly, in public service and private practice, to that sound administration of justice.