Crocker was born in Jamesville, New York to Isaac and Elizabeth Crocker. He earned a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Institute in Troy, New York. He went on to read law in South Bend, Indiana. While there, he started a practice that earned him a reputation as an abolitionist. In April 1849, he visited California. In June 1850, Crocker lost a civil case brought by a slave owner for helping four slaves escaping from Kentucky. In July 1850, Crocker attended the Liberty Party convention in Syracuse, New York, where he retold the story of helping the slaves. In June 1851, he spoke at the Christian Anti-Slavery State convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. In August 1852, he was named a delegate from Indiana to the Free Soil Party convention. In 1852, he and his second wife moved to Sacramento, California. When they arrived in Sacramento, Crocker resumed his legal career. He was also involved in politics. On March 8, 1856, he chaired the state's first meeting of the Republican Party. In 1863, Governor Leland Stanford appointed Crocker as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, which position he held from May 21, 1863, to January 2, 1864. In 1863, elections were held for all seats on the Supreme Court due to an 1862 amendment to California constitution and 1863 enabling law, and Crocker chose to step down rather than seek re-election. The next year, Crocker agreed to serve as legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad, a company run by the Big Four, which included Edwin's younger brother, Charles Crocker. Crocker served as the Central Pacific's attorney during the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad, culminating in the ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. The stress of all of his work took a toll on Crocker. He suffered from a stroke in June 1869. He retired from his other pursuits and took up less stressful hobbies. With a net worth of a million dollars from railroad investments, Crocker and his family traveled throughout Europe and collected art. His family renovated their home to include an art gallery. Their home and the art that they had acquired would eventually become the Crocker Art Museum. After his stroke, Crocker's health never fully recovered. On June 24, 1875, he died in Sacramento. He is interred in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery in Sacramento, California.
