Oliver Cromwell Edwards was born on September 12, 1850, in Clarence, Ontario.

He was a physician. He studied medicine at McGill University and graduated in 1873. He also studied homeopathy medicine in Scotland and England (1873-1874) and opened a private practice in Montreal. In 1882, Edwards was appointed as a medical doctor for the Department of Indian Affairs, serving in Qu'Appelle and Indian Head, Saskatchewan. In 1885, he became the first President of the Council of the Northwest Territories College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1890, he returned east so his children could attend school and he went back into private practice in Ottawa. In 1897, he headed west again to take a position as a medical doctor for the Department of Indian Affairs serving in Regina, Saskatchewan. Edwards was the medical officer on the 1900 and 1901 Treaty 8 Commission to northern Alberta, northern British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. His wife Henrietta was prominent in the women's rights movement. She was one of Alberta's "Famous Five" who fought to have Canadian women recognized as "persons". While on the Treaty 8 Commission, Edwards took many photos and wrote a journal "On the North Trail".

In 1876, he married Henrietta Louise Muir (1849–1931). He died on April 4, 1915, in Alberta, Canada.