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The Edgerton Database |
Levi Edgerton, son of Hezekiah and Bethiah (Peck) Edgerton.
Jerusha Fitch, daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Buckingham) Fitch.
Children:
Levi Edgerton was born in Franklin (then Norwich), Connecticut on September 21, 1784, the next-to-youngest son of Hezekiah and Bethiah (Peck) Edgerton. He may have been named after his father’s step-brother, Levi Hilliard, who had died a few years earlier (1776) while serving in the army during the Revolution. Levi was baptized at the Franklin Congregational Church on October 3, 1784. During his teen years, Levi’s parents removed from Norwich and settled in South Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut. On March 23, 1809, Levi was married at the First Congregational Church of Mansfield (Tolland County, Connecticut), to Jerusha Fitch, daughter of Lieut. Stephen and Sarah (Buckingham) Fitch. Jerusha (also known as “Sarah Jerusha”) was born in Windham, Connecticut on October 19, 1787. Levi and Jerusha resided briefly in Mansfield. Their eldest son, Seymour, was born there in 1810. By the time of the 1810 Federal Census, Levi had settled in Hyde Park, Lamoille County (then Orleans County), Vermont. The rest of Levi and Jerusha’s children were all born in Hyde Park – that is, Melissa, Erastus E., Edward F., Alonzo and Sarah Jerusha. Levi Edgerton was a farmer. He settled in the southeastern section of Hyde Park, in what was to become District #1. In 1878, two of his sons, Alonzo and Edward were still residing on portions of his land and their properties are found labeled on the F.W. Beer’s Lamoille County Atlas of that year. Levi was a respected citizen of the Hyde Park community. He served as selectman a number of years and was also representative to the state assembly. The household of Levi Edgerton was recorded in the 1810 Federal Census of Hyde Park, Orleans County (now Lamoille County), Vermont (pg. 457), with the following enumeration: 1 male “of 16 and under 26” (Levi); 1 male “under 10 years of age” (son Seymour); and, 1 female “of 16 and under 26” (wife Jerusha). The household of Levi Edgerton was recorded in the 1820 Federal Census of Hyde Park, Orleans County (now Lamoille County), Vermont (pg. 377), with the following enumeration: 1 male “of 26 and under 45” (Levi); 3 males “under 10 years of age” (sons Seymour, Erastus and Edward); 1 female “of 26 and under 45” (wife Jerusha); and, 1 female “under 10 years of age” (daughter Melissa). The household of Levi Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Hyde Park, Orleans County (now Lamoille County), Vermont (pg. 214), with the following enumeration: 1 male “of 40 and under 50” (Levi); 1 male “of 20 and under 30” (son Seymour); 2 male “of 10 and under 15” (sons Erastus and Edward); 1 male “of 5 and under 10” (son Alonzo); 1 female “of 40 and under 50” (wife Jerusha); 1 female “of 15 and under 20” (daughter Melissa); and, 1 female “under 5 years of age” (daughter Sarah). The household of Levi Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Hyde Park, Lamoille County, Vermont (pg. 13), with the following enumeration: 1 male “50 and under 60” (Levi); 1 male “15 and under 20” (son Alonzo); 1 female “50 and under 60” (wife Jerusha); and, 1 female “10 and under 15” (daughter Sarah). At the time of this census, Levi was residing adjacent to his son-in-law, Nehemiah Waterman, whose household was enumerated just previously on the Hyde Park Census Roll. Levi’s eldest son, Seymour, was also listed as a head of household in the 1840 Federal Census of Hyde Park (pg. 14). The whereabouts of the two other elder sons, Erastus and Edward, at this time is not known. The household of Levi Edgerton was recorded in the
1850 Federal Census of Hyde Park, Lamoille County, Vermont (pg. 180; dwelling
#83; family #89; enum. August 8, 1850), as follows:
The family was recorded again in the 1860 Federal
Census of Hyde Park (pg. 791; dwelling
#2797-8; family #2693-4; enum. August 30, 1860):
The household of Levi’s son, Erastus, was
enumerated directly afterwards on the census roll (dwelling #2799), and
another son, Edward, was also listed as a head of household in this census
(dwelling #2645). Mrs. Jerusha (Fitch) Edgerton died at Hyde Park, Vermont on March 19, 1861. According to the record of her death (Hyde Park VR C:41), she was “married, aged 73 years, 5 months, 19 days, born in Windham, Connecticut, daughter of Stephen Fitch”. The cause of death was given as “old age”. Levi Edgerton survived his
wife eight years. He died at Hyde
Park, Vermont on June 15, 1869, aged 84 years. According to the record of his death (Hyde Park VR D:1), he was
a “farmer, b. Orange, Ct., aged 84 years, 9 months”. The cause of death was listed as “numb
palsey”. Levi’s death was also
recorded in the Federal Census Mortality Schedule of the following year
(1870, Lamoille Co., VT; ID# MRT577
1000), as follows:
Levi and Jerusha were buried at the Hyde Park Plains Cemetery in the Garfield district of Hyde Park. Two of their sons – Edward and Alonzo – were later buried at the Hyde Park Plains Cemetery, as well as a number of grandchildren and other descendants. Many thanks are extended to Mr. Reg Arnold, a descendant of Levi Edgerton, for providing information and assistance in researching the family and descendants of Levi and Jerusha (Fitch) Edgerton. For the ancestry of Jerusha (Fitch) Edgerton, consult:
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