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Hiram Haskell Edgerton, son of Ralph Haskell and Octavia Cordelia (Penhollow) Edgerton.                                                                           PHOTO

Medora Lydia Dewitt, daughter of Cornelius Sherman and Susan (Lincoln) Dewitt.

Children:

1. Edna, b. December 1870; Rochester, Monroe Co., NY.
2. Bertha Elizabeth, b. October 9, 1872; Rochester, Monroe Co., NY.

The Encyclopedia of Biography of New York (Charles Elliott Fitch; The American Historical Society; New York, 1916; pp. 106-107) provides the following biography of Hiram H. Edgerton:

“Hiram H. Edgerton, son of Ralph H. and Octavia C. Edgerton, was born at Belfast, Allegany county, New York, April 19, 1847.  He completed a high school course in Rochester, then became his father’s assistant in the lumber business, continuing until the latter’s death in 1867.  The son then became head of the business and successfully conducted it until 1880.  In that year he disposed of the lumber yard and since has devoted himself to a building contracting business, a business made profitable by the rapid growth of Rochester and its enormous demands upon the contractors for public and private improvements.  Mr. Edgerton rose to a high rank as a contractor and there stand to his credit in Rochester forty churches and church buildings alone, public library buildings, and hundreds of private residences, many of them palatial in their proportions and fittings, also many of the great office, mercantile and factory buildings.  Just, liberal, and eminently fair with his workmen, it is his proud boast that he has never had a strike among them, and that he holds their confidence, respect and good will.  In his relations with capital he has won the same high standing, and his name upon a contract is considered a guarantee of fair dealing and good workmanship.  He has been for years a member of the Builders’ Exchange, of which he is an ex-president, and is director of the National Association of Builders.

A Republican in politics, he has always been loyal to the party, not through narrow partisanship, but through a strong belief that his party stands for the best interests of the country.  He served as a member of the Board of Education from 1872 until 1876 and during two years of his service was president of the board.  He was president of the commission having in charge the construction of the East Side Sewer, the commission under Mr. Edgerton’s careful guidance returning to the city an appreciable portion of the million dollars appropriated for the work.  When the White Charter went into effect, January 1, 1900, reorganizing Rochester’s municipal government, Mr. Edgerton became presiding officer of the Common Council, continuing in that office through successive reelections for eight years, leading the head of the ticket at each of the four elections.  By virtue of his office he was a member of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the chief executive board of the city government, preparing the tax budget, inaugurating all municipal improvements and municipal reforms.  In this connection Mr. Edgerton rendered invaluable service to the public esteem.  In 1907 he was elected mayor of Rochester, his first election being in response to a popular demand for a straightforward business administration.  At the end of his term his record demanded that he be continued for another term of two years; then a third, then a fourth term, and now a fifth term, by largest majority ever received, was the insistent demand of the city and it was so ordered at the polls.

To recite the benefits Rochester has received during Mayor Edgerton’s eight years as chief executive is not possible in this place.  Among the more notable are these:  The city government has been reorganized and the recent report of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research declares that “Rochester, out of the fifty-three cities examined, is the best governed”; the public library and its branches have been established; Exposition Park and the Rochester Exposition Company organized; the Municipal Museum founded; the park system and play grounds enlarged and improved, the addition of play grounds lessening truancy and adding to school efficiency.  Good schools, pure water, and adequate sewage disposal have been the administration slogans, and in these respects Rochester is the peer of any city.

Mayor Edgerton is a member of Frank R. Lawrence Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Monroe Commandery, Knights Templar, also a member of the Shrine, Grotto, etc., and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.  His clubs are the Genesee Valley, Masonic and Rochester.

He married, in 1868, Medora De Witt, of Henrietta, New York.  Children:  Edna, wife of Henry Lambert, of Rochester; Elizabeth, wife of Benjamin T. Roodhouse, of Chicago.”

The household of “H. H. Edgerton” was recorded in the 1870 Federal Census of Rochester (Ward 4), Monroe County, New York (pg. 177; dwelling #574; family #606; enum. August 6, 1870), as follows:

The household of Hiram H. Edgerton was recorded in the 1880 Federal Census of Rochester, Monroe County, New York (pg. 310; dwelling #147; family #168; enum. June 5, 1880), as follows:

At the time of this census, the family was residing at 6 Broadway.

The household of Hiram H. Edgerton was recorded in the 1900 Federal Census of Rochester (Ward 12), Monroe County, New York (pg. 23; dwelling #24; family #24; enum. June 4, 1900), as follows:

According to the above census record, Medora was the mother of two children, both of whom were still living, and Edna was the mother of one child.  Hiram’s occupation was listed as “contractor”.  The family was residing at 30 Goodman Street.

The household of Hiram H. Edgerton was recorded in the 1910 Federal Census of Rochester (Ward 12), Monroe County, New York (pg. 107; dwelling #54; family #74; enum. April 16, 1910), as follows:

According to the above census record, Medora was the mother of two children, both of whom were still living.  Hiram’s occupation was listed as “contractor & mayor”.  The family was residing at 30 South Goodman Street.

Original Source Documents:

1870 Federal Census – household of Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Rochester (Ward 4), Monroe Co., NY.

1880 Federal Census – household of Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Rochester, Monroe Co., NY.

1900 Federal Census – household of Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Rochester (Ward 12), Monroe Co., NY.

1910 Federal Census – household of Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Rochester (Ward 12), Monroe Co., NY.

Obituary – Hiram Haskell Edgerton; The New York Times – Monday, June 19, 1922.

Obituary – Hiram Haskell Edgerton; The Boston Daily Globe – Monday, June 19, 1922.

Obituary – Hiram Haskell Edgerton; The Syracuse Herald – Monday, June 19, 1922.

Funeral Notice – Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Rochester Democrat and Chronicle – Wednesday, June 21, 1922.

Obituary – Mrs. Medora Lydia (Dewitt) Edgerton; Rochester Democrat and Chronicle – Friday, March 19, 1926.

Obituary – Mrs. Medora Lydia (Dewitt) Edgerton; Buffalo Express – Friday, March 19, 1926.

Gravestone photo – Hiram Haskell Edgerton; Mount Hope Cemetery; Rochester, Monroe Co., NY.

Gravestone photo – Mrs. Medora Lydia (Dewitt) Edgerton; Mount Hope Cemetery; Rochester, Monroe Co., NY.