The

Edgerton

Database

Home

Index

Sources

Search

Researchers

Notes...

Contact info

Photos

Links

Credits…

Gurdon Edgerton, son of Elisha and Eunice (Peck) Edgerton.

Cynthia Porter, daughter of Noah and Mary (Loomis) Porter.

Children:

1. Gurdon, b. ~1824; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
2. Cynthia Porter, b. March 25, 1825; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
3. Frances W., b. June 10, 1828; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
4. Oliver Porter, b. June 25, 1830; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.

Jennett Thompson, daughter of James and Anna (Allen) Thompson.

Children:

5. Julia Ann, b. ~1843; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.

Gurdon Edgerton was born in Franklin, Connecticut on January 13, 1796, the youngest son of Elisha and Eunice (Peck) Edgerton.  Unlike his elder siblings, Gurdon’s birth was not recorded in the Franklin Vital Records.  The above date is supplied by Jessie Edgerton Garner’s Edgerton Tales and Detailes 1836 – 1986 (1986) and is said to derive from private journal entries in Elisha Edgerton’s own handwriting.  The Latter Day Saints’ Ancestral Files list an alternative birthdate of July 19, 1796, and Eugene C. Lister’s Edgerton-Flint Ancestral Lines (1987) quotes a birthdate of January 3, 1796.  To further confuse the matter, Gurdon’s death record at Vernon, Connecticut records his age at death as 77 years, 8 months and 4 days, indicating a birthdate of July 18, 1796.  Gurdon was baptized on September 25, 1796 at the Franklin Congregational Church. 

In the early 1800’s, Gurdon’s parents removed from Franklin to Coventry, Connecticut.  Gurdon was raised there and married on January 5, 1820, Cynthia Porter, the daughter of Noah and Mary (Loomis) Porter, also of Coventry.  A notice of their marriage was published in The Hartford Courant on January 11, 1820. (pg. 378)  Gurdon and Cynthia resided initially in Coventry, where they had four children – Gurdon Jr., Cynthia Porter, Frances W., and Oliver Porter.

Gurdon and Cynthia were admitted to the Second Congregational Church of Coventry (North Parish) on January 5, 1823 (ChR 5:23).  Their three elder children – Gurdon Jr., Cynthia and Frances W. – were baptized at the Church in 1828 (ChR 5:101).  The youngest son, Oliver Porter, was baptized at the Church in 1830 (ChR 6:222). Gurdon and Cynthia were dismissed from the Church on June 16, 1834 (ChR 6:20).

The household of Gurdon Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 268), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 30 and under 40”  (Gurdon);

1 male “of 20 and under 30”  (?);

1 male “of 10 and under 15”  (?);

1 male “of 5 and under 10”  (son Gurdon Jr.);

1 female “of 30 and under 40”  (wife Cynthia);

1 female “of 15 and under 20”  (?);

1 female “of 5 and under 10”  (daughter Cynthia); and,

1 female “under 5 years of age”  (daughter Frances).

In 1834, Gurdon removed from Coventry to Oneida County, New York and settled briefly in the town of Annsville (Taberg) along with his elder brother, Elisha Edgerton III.  At the time of the 1840 Federal Census, Gurdon was listed as a head of household in the city of Rochester, in Monroe County, New York – farther west in the state.  The household of Gurdon Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Rochester (Ward 3), Monroe County, New York (pg. 319), with the following enumeration:

1 male “40 and under 50”  (Gurdon);

1 male “15 and under 20”  (son Gurdon Jr.);

1 male “5 and under 10”  (son Oliver);

1 female “40 and under 50”  (wife Cynthia);

1 female “15 and under 20”  (daughter Cynthia); and,

1 female “10 and under 15”  (daughter Frances).

Mrs. Cynthia (Porter) Edgerton died on June 6, 1840 – “in Clarkson, New York” according to her gravestone inscription and obituary notice in The Hartford Daily Courant (July 8, 1820).  Her body was returned to her hometown and buried in the Edgerton family plot at Strong Cemetery.

It was presumably about this time (circa 1840-41) that Gurdon returned to Coventry with his four children.  He married there on December 6, 1841 as his second wife, Jennett Thompson, daughter of James and Anna (Allen) Thompson.  Jennett was born in Hadley, Massachusetts on December 4, 1795.  Gurdon and his second wife had one daughter, Julia Ann, born circa 1843 in Connecticut (presumably Coventry).  It is possible that Julia was an adopted daughter, as she was listed in the 1850 Federal Census (see below) as “Julian Valentine”.

Gurdon and Jennett resided in Coventry for the next thirty years.  The 1850 Federal Census of Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 327; dwelling #296; family #318; enum. Aug. 12, 1850), records the following household for Gurdon Edgerton:

The family was recorded again in the 1860 Federal Census (Coventry Twp.; pg. 317; dwelling #25; family #23; enum. June 13, 1860).  The household was enumerated as follows:

Gurdon and Jennett Edgerton were recorded in the 1870 Federal Census of Vernon, Tolland County, Connecticut residing in the household of J. T. and Sarah Thompson (dwelling #117; family #230; enum. August 4, 1870).  The were enumerated as follows:

Gurdon Edgerton had been readmitted to the Second Congregational Church of Coventry on September 5, 1841 (ChR 6:25).  He and his wife, “Jennette”, were dismissed from the Second Congregational Church of Coventry on June 9, 1871, “by letter”, and recommended to the Second Congregational Church of Rockville, Connecticut (ChR 6:134).

Gurdon Edgerton died at Rockville, Connecticut on March 22, 1874.  According to his death record (Vernon VR 3:28), he had died “at Rockville, aged 77 years, 8 months and 14 days”.  The record further states that he was a farmer, born in Franklin, Connecticut, and lists cause of death as “old age”.  Gurdon’s death was also recorded at Coventry (VR 4:67-8).  This latter record lists his death on March 25, 1874, aged 80, and lists the cause of death as consumption.  Gurdon was buried at the Strong Cemetery in North Coventry, where his gravestone was inscribed:  “Gurdon Edgerton, died Mar. 22, 1874, aged 78 years”. 

Mrs. Jennett (Thompson) Edgerton died two years later, on June 8, 1876 at Rockville, Connecticut.  The record of her death at Vernon (VR 3:40) lists her age as 80 years, 6 months and 4 days, and states that she was a widow, born in East Windsor, Connecticut, daughter of James and Anna Thompson.  The cause of death was listed as “debility”.   Jennet was buried beside Gurdon at the Strong Cemetery; her gravestone was inscribed:  “Jennet Thompson, wife of Gurdon Edgerton, died June 8, 1876, aged 81 years”.