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

Lovisa Post

Children:

1. Martha, b. February 12, 1822; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
2. Frances, b. ~1829; Moriah, Essex Co., NY.
3. Mary R., b. February 1834; Canada.
4. Emma L., b. October 11, 1835; Whitehall, Washington Co., NY.
5. Adelia M., b. November 6, 1838; Whitehall, Washington Co., NY.

Joshua Edgerton was born on May 1, 1788 at Pawlet, Vermont, the fourth son of Jedediah and Lucy (Curtis) Edgerton.  Joshua and his three elder brothers were baptized together on August 3, 1788 at the First Congregational Church of Pawlet.  Some secondary sources have listed a birthdate of 1780 for Joshua Edgerton, but this is certainly an error.  The listing in the Pawlet Congregational Church baptismal record clearly implies that Joshua was the youngest of the four sons baptized on August 3, 1788.  This fits with the 1850 census record of Joshua’s household (see below), which lists Joshua’s age as “62 years”.  Also note that the DAR Lineage Books (Vol. 165, pg. 239, ID# 164775) report that Joshua’s parents, Jedediah and Lucy, were married in 1781, thus making a 1780 birth highly unlikely.

Joshua’s wife was named Lovisa Post.  Her parentage has not been ascertained, but from later census records it is known that she was born circa 1797 in Connecticut.  Her first name is found listed variously as Lovina and Lavina.  Joshua and Lovisa Edgerton had a family of at least five daughters – Martha, Frances, Mary R., Emma L. and Adelia M.  There may have been other children, although no direct evidence of their identities has been found.

Joshua Edgerton was a medical doctor and farmer.  He resided successively in Moriah, New York, Whitehall (Hampton), New York, and finally Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.  Joshua also apparently resided in Canada for a period of time in the mid-1830’s, as his daughter, Mary (Edgerton) Farnsworth, reported her birthplace as Canada in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses.  John’s elder brother, Curtis, resided for almost two decades (circa 1820 – 1838) in Woodstock Township, Oxford County, Ontario, and Joshua may have joined him there for a time.

The household of Joshua Edgerton was recorded in 1820 Federal Census of Moriah, Essex County, New York (pg. 23), as follows:

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

1 female “of 16 and under 26”  (wife Lovisa); and,

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

By the year 1840, Joshua Edgerton had settled in Whitehall, New York – just a short distance across the Vermont/New York border from his hometown of Pawlet.

The household of Joshua Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Whitehall, Washington County, New York (pg. 262), as follows:

1 male “50 and under 60”  (Joshua);

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

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

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

2 females “5 and under 10”  (daughters Mary and ?); and,

2 females “under 5 years”  (daughters Emma and Adelia).

Joshua’s father, Jedediah Edgerton, came to live with him in the 1840’s and died at Joshua’s home in 1846.  On January 19, 1847, Joshua Edgerton, “of Hampton”, was appointed by the Fair Haven (Vermont) District Probate Court to administer the estate of “Jedediah Edgerton late of Hampton in the county of Washington and State of New York, deceased”.  On the same date, Joshua accepted the appointment and executed a bond  to the court in the amount of one hundred dollars.  (see Fair Haven District Probate Records, Volume 20, pg. 585). 

At the time of the 1850 Federal Census, Joshua was residing in Hampton, New York, which lay contigious to Whitehall on the Vermont/New York border. The household of Joshua Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal Census of Hampton, Washington County, New York (p. 112; dwelling #24; family #25; enum. August 22, 1850), as follows:

According to family accounts, Mrs. Lovisa (Post) Edgerton is reported to have died in Hampton, New York in 1850 or shortly thereafter.  No death record or burial site has been located for her.

In March of 1853, Joshua Edgerton removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to live with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Martha (Edgerton) Wright, wife of James Wright.  From the records at the First Congregational Church of Pawlet, dated May 10, 1861, “The church at East Whitehall, New York did not give permission for Joshua Edgerton to transfer membership to the Congregational Church at Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin”.

At the time of the 1860 Federal Census, Joshua Edgerton was residing in Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin in the household of his son-in-law, William Farnsworth (husband of daughter Mary R.).  He was enumerated there as:  “Joshua Wyght [sic], aged 74, farmer, born Vermont”.  The mistaken listing of Joshua’s surname probably arose from the fact that he was enumerated directly after the household of his eldest daughter, Martha (Edgerton) Wright.

Joshua Edgerton died at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on April 27, 1864.  An obituary notice was published in the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Weekly on the same date.  Joshua was reportedly buried at Rienzi Cemetery in Fond du Lac.  No gravestone has been located for him, however, it is probable that he was buried in the same plot as his daughter, Mary R. (Edgerton) Farnsworth and her husband, William Farnsworth.  A monument bearing the names “FARNSWORTH – EDGERTON” stands on the plot, as do two eroded stones which are no longer legible.

Original Source Documents:

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

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

1840 Federal Census – household of Joshua Edgerton; Whitehall, Washington Co., NY.

1850 Federal Census – household of Joshua Edgerton; Hampton, Washington Co., NY.