Born 6 December 1887 and married to Margaret C. Edmundson.
John emigrated to America from Liverpool in October 1913 on board the ‘Merion’ and became a US citizen on 25 June 1923. On his passport his occupation is listed as a professor of golf. In 1925 he returned to Great Britain on the Acquitania on 3 January 1925 for a short time but James’ grandson, Jack Edmunson, recalled his father saying:
"he could no longer withstand the Irish climate, he couldn't get warm, and he would never return! Dad said that he never did return after that one trip."
The 1911 census gives his occupation as hotel night porter and maybe to contributed to how little competitive golf in seemed to have played in Ireland. The 1912 Amateur (Close) Championship at Castlerock was one such event and in the second round he beat H. M. Cairnes the 1907 champion and 1906 runner-up the correspondent was impressed enough with his play to suggest that the winner of the championship would come out of his third round match with A.H. Craig (Fortwilliam) which proved prophetic as it turned out but unfortunately not in Edmundson’s favour. John was playing out of Bushfoot Golf Club a course six miles east of the Royal Portrush Golf Club.
A measure of his ability as a golfer was reflected in his course record sixty-six strokes around his Llanerch Country Club. John Edmundson (James’ brother) was a professional at the Country Club of Lansdowne , near Philly at least since 1917 and who later moved to Llanerch County Club in Delaware county. In 1917 he played in the Shawnee Open finishing well down the field thirty-seven strokes behind the eventual winner, Eddie Loos.
In June 1917 John was drafted into the army but the question as to whether he saw active service in Europe remains unanswered.
John first appeared in The American Golfer magazine in 1919 where he was engaged as professional at Llanerch CC, a private club based in Haverton, Pennslyvania.
Although the lesser known of the two brothers John was a very capable golfer.