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Jedediah Edgerton, son of Jedediah and Lucy (Curtis) Edgerton.

Sally Mary Spencer

Children:

1. William U., b. ~1804; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
2. James R., b. ~1805; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
3. Lowret, b. ~1807; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
4. Eretus Spencer, b. ~1809; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
5. Sidney P., b. November 11, 1811; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
6. David, b. February 2, 1815; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
7. Chauncey, b. April 11, 1817; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
8. Charles, b. ~1821; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.

Jedediah Edgerton Jr. was born October 20, 1783 at Pawlet, Vermont, the eldest son of Jedediah and Lucy (Curtis) Edgerton.  He was raised in Pawlet and was baptized together with three of his younger brothers at the First Congregational Church of Pawlet on August 3, 1788.

Jedediah Edgerton was married on December 6, 1802 at the First Congregational Church of Pawlet, to Sally Mary Spencer.  The marriage was recorded both in the Vital Records of Pawlet and in the records of the Pawlet Church.  Curiously, the latter record omits Sally’s surname, listing her only as “Sally Mary”.  Sally’s parentage has not been determined.  According to the inscription on her gravestone, she was born circa 1780.  The 1880 Federal Census enumeration of her son, Chauncey, reports that Sally was born in the state of Vermont.

Shortly after his marriage, Jedediah removed from Vermont, along with his father, Jedediah Edgerton Sr., and younger brother, Jacob, and settled in the town of Moriah, in Essex County, New York.  The Moriah census records of 1810 and 1820 (see below) indicate that Jedediah and Sally had a large family of eight children.  Subsequent records (probate, census, deeds, etc.) have identified the children as:  William U., James R., Lowret, Eretus Spencer, Sidney P., David, Chauncey and Charles.  Leaves from the Edgerton Family Tree, a privately published family genealogy compiled by Jedediah’s great-grandson, Chauncey Townsend Edgerton (1879 – 1972), reports that Jedediah and Sally (Spencer) Edgerton had nine children, of whom Chauncey was the next-to-youngest.

The household of Jedediah Edgerton (Jr.) was recorded in the 1810 Federal Census of Moriah, Essex County, New York (pg. 55), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (Jedediah);

3 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons William, James and Eretus);

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

1 female “under 10 years of age”  (daughter Lowret).

Jedediah Edgerton was listed again as a head of household in the 1820 Federal Census of Moriah, Essex County, New York (pg. 23).  At that time, his household was enumerated with the following individuals.

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (Jedediah);

1 male “of 16 and under 26”  (son William);

2 males “of 10 and under 16”  (sons James and Eretus);

4 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons Sidney, David, Chauncey, and Charles);

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

1 female “of 10 and under 16”  (daughter Lowret).

By the year 1830, Jedediah Edgerton had left Moriah and returned to Vermont, where he settled in the town of Middletown Springs, Rutland County, Vermont – just a short distance north of his hometown of Pawlet.  Jedediah lived in the western part of Middletown Springs, near the East Poultney border.  His father, Jedediah Edgerton Sr., also returned to Vermont at this time and resided briefly in Tinmouth, before also settling in Middletown.

The household of Jedediah Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont (pg. 106), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 40 and under 50”  (Jedediah);

1 male “of 15 and under 20”  (son David);

2 males “of 10 and under 15”  (sons David and Chauncey);

1 male “of 5 and under 10”  (son Charles); and,

1 female “of 40 and under 50”  (wife Sally).

Poultney church records show that “Jedediah and Mrs. Edgerton” were dismissed from the Poultney Congregational Church in 1836 to go to Moriah, New York.  Mrs. Sally Mary (Spencer) Edgerton died January 20, 1840, presumably at Moriah, New York.  Jedidiah survived her only two years, dying on January 28, 1842, aged 58 years.  Jedediah and his wife, Sally, were buried adjacent to each other at the South Moriah Cemetery.

On February 24, 1842, Jedediah’s son, James R. Edgerton, was granted letters of administration on Jedediah’s estate by the Essex County, New York Probate Court (see Essex County Probate, Letters of Administration, Book A, pp. 296 – 297).  Unfortunately, no further records of James’ administration of the estate were filed with the court.

The descendants of Jedediah and Sally Edgerton have not been previously researched in great detail.  William U. was a physician and resided in Caldwell, New York, where he died in December of 1833, leaving a wife, Jane, and infant daughter, Frances Maria.  A probate record on his estate was filed with the Warren County Surrogate’s Court (file #194).  James R. resided initially in Moriah, New York, where he was listed as a head of household in the 1840 Federal Census; he later removed to Galesburg, Illinois (where several other family members had previously settled), dying there in 1853 at the age of forty-eight years.  The only daughter, Lowret, died in Poultney, Vermont on June 28, 1835, aged 28 years; she was buried at the East Poultney Cemetery, where her gravestone records her as the “only daughter of J & S Edgerton”.  Eretus Spencer resided in Moriah for the majority of his life; he was apparently never married.  Sidney P. and David removed to Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois with their uncle, Jacob Edgerton, in the mid-1840’s.  They were both married and had families – David died at Galesburg in 1853; Sidney removed with his family to Iowa and later to Nebraska, where he died in the year 1880.  Chauncey was the only one of the children to remain in Poultney; his descendants are chronicled in Chauncey T. Edgerton’s Leaves from the Edgerton Family Tree.  The youngest son, Charles, was drowned at Poultney on July 12, 1833 at the age of twelve; he was buried at the East Poultney Cemetery.

Original Source Documents:

Baptismal Record – Jedediah Edgerton; Records of the Congregational Church in Pawlet; Vol. I.

Marriage Record – Jedediah Edgerton & Sally Mary Spencer; Records of the Congregational Church in Pawlet; Vol. I.

1810 Federal Census – household of Jedediah Edgerton; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.

1820 Federal Census – household of Jedediah Edgerton; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.

1830 Federal Census – household of Jedediah Edgerton; Middletown, Rutland Co., VT.