When the undead outbreak occurred, Ed met Shane Walsh and Lori Grimes as evacuations were being made for the survivors to head towards Atlanta. He became angry when Carol offered a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) to Lori, so Carl could eat, and ordered her to not share with anyone. With the city being destroyed by the military, he, along with his family, decided to remain with Shane and Lori.
Ed is shown to be violent and abusive especially to his wife, but he would often verbally abuse the other females of the group. Carol mentions that Ed would try and show his dominance by not allowing her to wear attractive clothing and this is possibly the reasoning for Carol's short hair to make her less attractive to other males.
Ed was revealed to have paid very little attention to Sophia and when she was an infant he would often stay at a friend's house, leaving Carol to care for Sophia. While never elaborated on, it's hinted that Ed may have had some sort of sexual relationship with his daughter as Carol stated in a prayer in "What Lies Ahead" that she wished Ed to be punished for not only abusing her but also "for looking at his own daughter, whatever sickness was growing in his soul." but this is only ambiguous from Carol's own words and Lori's reaction.
Southern United States
Ed never attended college (as revealed through remarks made towards Andrea). In his younger years, he charmed Carol enough to convince her to date and eventually marry him. They had a daughter together, who was named Sophia. He rarely paid attention to Sophia, often relying on Carol to be the parental figure of the family. When Sophia was an infant, he resorted to staying at a friend's house nights on end, leaving Carol to deal with Sophia by herself.
Ed dominated Carol throughout their marriage, from preventing her from buying nice clothes, to physically/verbally assaulting her in order to solidify his authority. Despite this, he did buy Carol a watch for their first anniversary.
He owned a yellow 1979 Jeep Cherokee that he and his family used to get to the camp. This vehicle was later abandoned in a town near the Greene Farm.