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Edgerton

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David Edgerton, son of John and Freelove (Armstrong) Edgerton.

Anna Huntington, daughter of Nathan and Mary (Mason) Huntington.

Children:

1. Sally, b. ~1783; Mansfield, Tolland Co., CT.
2. Lois, b. May 23, 1791; Mansfield, Tolland Co., CT.
3. David, b. ~1794; Monson, Hampden Co., MA.

David Edgerton was born at Norwich, Connecticut on March 11, 1759, the second child and eldest son of John and Freelove (Armstrong) Edgerton.

David grew up in Norwich and enlisted from there for service in the Revolutionary War.  According to his pension records (see Revolutionary Pension Files, #S15110), he served as a private in the Connecticut Continental Line and also in the Connecticut Sea Service and Privateer Service.

Following the War, David, along with his father and brothers, removed from Norwich to Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut.  He was married, sometime prior to 1790, to Anna Huntington, daughter of Nathan and Mary (Mason) Huntington of Windham, Connecticut.  Anna was born in Windham on January 2, 1762.  Census records indicate that David and Anna Edgerton had at least five children, although only three are currently known – two daughters, Sally and Lois, and one son, David Jr.

The household of David Edgerton was recorded in the 1790 Federal Census of Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 256), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 16 years and upward”  (David); and,

3 females  (wife Anna and daughters Sally and ?).

David’s father, John, and his younger brother, Abel, were also listed as heads of households in Mansfield;  all three were residing nearby or adjacent to each other at this time. 

David’s father, John, and another younger brother, Dan, left Mansfield soon after the 1790 Census and settled north in Monson, Hampden County, Massachusetts.  David resided briefly in Monson as well, but by 1800 had moved farther north to Brookfield, in Orange County, Vermont.   David’s sister-in-law, Edna Huntington (sister of his wife, Anna), had married Ariel Edgerton, a cousin of David’s, and both families settled in Brookfield about the same time, probably in a joint migration.

The household of David Edgerton was recorded in the 1800 Federal Census of Brookfield, Orange County, Vermont (pg. 506), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (David);

2 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons David Jr. and ?);

1 female “of 26 and under 45”  (wife Anna);

1 female “of 16 and under 26”  (daughter Sally); and,

2 females “of 10 and under 16”  (daughters Lois and ?).

At the time of the 1810 Federal Census, David was residing in the town of Roxbury, Orange County, Vermont (pg. 115).  The household of David “Egerton” was recorded there (pg. 395), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 45 years and upwards”  (David);

2 males “of 26 and under 45”  (?);

1 male “of 10 and under 16”  (son David Jr.);

1 female “of 45 years and upwards”  (wife Anna);

1 female “of 26 and under 45”  (daughter Sally); and,

2 females “of 16 and under 26”  (daughters Lois and ?).

David Edgerton was listed again as a head of household in the 1820 Federal Census of Brookfield, Orange County, Vermont (pg. 303).  The enumeration of the household was as follows:

1 male “of 45 years and upwards”  (David);

1 male “of 16 and under 26”  (son David Jr.);

1 female “of 45 years and upwards”  (wife Anna); and,

1 female “of 26 and under 45”  (daughter Sally).

At the time of this census, David Edgerton was residing adjacent to his son-in-law, Wells Davis, whose household was enumerated just previously on the Bethel Census roll.

In 1822, David removed from Brookfield to Bethel, just a little south in Windsor County, Vermont.  According to Edgerton Family Genealogy (Ida Ferry Welch, et.al.), Mrs. Anna (Huntington) Edgerton died in Bethel, Vermont on July 24, 1830 and was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Bethel.  Ms. Welch cites state cemetery records held at Montpelier, Vermont; but a visit to Fairview Cemetery failed to find any gravestone for Mrs. Anna Edgerton.

David Edgerton was not listed as a head of household anywhere in the 1830 Federal Census of Vermont, although his son, David Edgerton Jr. was recorded – in Bethel, Windsor County, Vermont.  It is possible that David was residing at this time with his daughter and son-in-law, Lois and Wells Davis.  Wells’ household (recorded in Bethel) was enumerated with a male aged 60 – 70, who may have been David.

On August 10, 1832, David Edgerton, “aged 73, of Windsor County, Vermont”, applied for a Revolutionary War Pension, citing his service as a private in the Connnecticut Continental line.  In addition to providing a detailed account of his military service, the application also states that David was born at Norwich on March 11, 1759 and that after the war he moved to Mansfield, Connecticut , then to Monson, Massachusetts and then to Brookfield, Vermont.  At the time of the application he reported that he had been a resident of Bethel, Vermont for ten years.  David was subsequently issued a Certificate of Pension on October 5, 1833 and placed on the pension rolls with an annual allowance of $150.00.

This is the last definitive record of David Edgerton.  A David Edgerton was listed as head of household in the 1840 Federal Census of Pomfret, Windsor County; but this was his son, David Edgerton Jr.  David Edgerton is reported to have died on March 23, 1844 in Windsor County, Vermont.  Although this date is not yet been confirmed by primary documentation, the Windsor County pension files do show that David’s pension ceased one month into the March payment period of 1844.

Very little is known about the descendants of David and Anna (Huntington) Edgerton.  The eldest daughter, Sally, married James Luddington Dean and resided in Pomfret and Williamstown, Vermont.   The younger daughter Lois married Wells Davis in Brookfield, Vermont on December 5, 1816.  David Jr. was married to Abigail (“Abba”) Squires of Norwich, Vermont, and resided in Bethel for a number of years; he had at least three children – two daughters, Sarah Ann and Nancy A., and one son, William W.

Original Source Documents:

1790 Federal Census – household of David Edgerton; Mansfield, Tolland Co., CT.

1800 Federal Census – household of David Edgerton; Brookfield, Orange Co., VT.

1810 Federal Census – household of David Edgerton; Roxbury, Orange Co., VT.

1820 Federal Census – household of David Edgerton; Brookfield, Orange Co., VT.

Certificate of Pension – David Edgerton; October 5, 1833, Windsor Co., VT; Revolutionary War Pension File #S15110.