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Roger Edgerton, son of Nathan and Lucy (Smith) Edgerton.

Betsey Cole, daughter of Matthew and Lois (Tyler) Cole.

Children:

1. William, b. January 1, 1790; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
2. Lucy, b. April 7, 1792; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
3. William C., b. September 25, 1794; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
4. Calvin, b. July 19, 1797; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
5. Hial, b. February 28, 1799; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
6. Hial, b. March 29, 1801; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
7. Lois Tyler, b. August 30, 1805; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
8. Hiram, b. January 9, 1809; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
9. Erastus, b. July 23, 1811; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.
10. Albert, b. April 20, 1815; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.

Roger Edgerton was born at Norwich, Connecticut on December 11, 1761, the eldest son of Nathan and Lucy (Smith) Edgerton.  He was raised in Norwich and enlisted there for service in the Connecticut Continental Line during the American Revolution.  According to Roger’s Revolutionary War Pension file (#W19219), he enlisted from Norwich, Connecticut about November 1, 1780 and served in the Sixth Company of the Third Regiment of the Connecticut Line, commanded by Samuel B. Webb, under Col. Ebenezer Huntington.  He was discharged at West Point by General Knox, and was also in an expedition against Fort Slongo on Long Island.  According to the DAR Patriot Index, Roger also served in the Navy.  The following description of Roger Edgerton’s military service is given in the Register of the Minnesota Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (pg. 264):

“Roger Edgerton…was a private in Capt. Nehemiah Waterman’s Company of men detached from the 20th Regiment of Connecticut Militia to serve for three months in a Regiment commanded by Col. Nathan Galup, in Gen. Tyler’s Brigade, to co-operate with Count D’Easting, serving from the ninth to the twenty-ninth of November, 1777.  He was also a private in Capt. Elisha Hopkins’ company, of Col. Samuel B. Webb’s Regiment, Third Connecticut Continental Line, serving from January 1 to December 31, 1781.  At the end of this enlistment he joined the Navy, and was placed on board a privateer, which captured, off the New England coast, a British merchantman, and while taking it to port was captured by a British man of war, and placed on board a British prison ship.  He was placed on the Pension Roll in 1833.”

After the Revolution, Roger removed from Connecticut to Franklin, Delaware County, New York, where he was married on September 29, 1788 to Betsey Cole, daughter of Matthew Cole, who also served in the Revolution.  Betsey was born at Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut on April 16, 1771.  Roger’s younger brother, Nathan Edgerton Jr., who had also served in the Revolution, settled in Franklin, New York at about the same time.  Their father, Nathan Edgerton Sr., followed a decade later.

Soon after his marriage, Roger settled in Coventry, Chenango County, New York (just west of Delaware County), where he resided for the remainder of his life.  According to the History of Chenango and Madison Counties (James H. Smith, 1880, pp. 280-281), his farm was located about four miles south of Coventry.

Roger and Betsey Edgerton had a family of ten children, three of whom – William (1st), Hial (1st) and Erastus – died in infancy.  Another son – William C. –  died just short of his sixteenth birthday.  The family of Roger Edgerton was described in detail in his Revolutionary War Pension File which includes the family record pages from Roger Edgerton’s Bible (file #W19219, see Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files, Vol. I; Virgil D. White, 1990, pg. 1082).  Additional documentation on the family of Roger Edgerton is found in the National Huguenot Society Bible Records (Arthur Louis Finnell, ed.; Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co.; 1996; pp. 441-443).

Roger “Egeton” was listed as a head of household in the 1810 Federal Census of Chenango County, New York (pg. 330).  The enumeration of his household was as follows:

1 male “over 45 years of age”  (Roger);

2 males “of 10 and under 16”  (sons William 2nd and Calvin);

2 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons Hial 2nd and Hiram);

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

1 female “of 16 and under 26”  (daughter Lucy); and,

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

The household of Roger Edgerton was recorded in the 1820 Federal Census of Coventry, Chenango County, New York (pg. 173), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 45 years and upwards”  (Roger);

2 males “of 16 and under 26”  (sons Calvin and Hial);

1 male “of 10 and under 16”  (son Hiram);

1 male “under 10 years of age”  (son Albert);

1 female “of 45 years and upwards”  (wife Betsey); and,

1 female “of 10 and under 16”  (daughter Lois);

The household of Roger Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Coventry, Chenango County, New York (pg. 25), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 60 and under 70”  (Roger);

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

1 male “under 5 years of age”  (grandson George);

1 female “of 50 and under 60”  (wife Betsey);

1 female “of 20 and under 30”  (daughter-in-law Eunice); and,

1 female “of 5 and under 10”  (granddaughter Eliza).

On October 9, 1832, Roger Edgerton applied for a Revolutionary War Pension, residing in Coventry, New York.  He was granted a Pension Certificate on May 17, 1832 and was subsequently placed on the pension rolls for Chenango County, New York, and received a pension of 80 dollars annually, commencing on March 4, 1834.  Roger’s widow, Betsey, later received the same annual amount.

The household of Roger Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Coventry, Chenango County, New York (pg. 257), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 70 and under 80”  (Roger); and,

1 female “of 60 and under 70”  (wife Betsey).

Roger’s son, Calvin Edgerton, was enumerated as the next household on the Coventry Census roll.

Roger Edgerton died at Coventry, New York on May 24, 1844, reportedly from a fall down stairs (see History of Chenango and Madison Counties).  The following obituary notice was printed on June 12, 1844 in the Delaware County Gazette:

“Roger Edgerton, in Coventry, Chenango County, 24th ult., a Revolutionary soldier, in the 83rd year of his age”

Roger Edgerton was buried at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Coventry, New York.  His gravestone was inscribed with the following epitaph:

ROGER EDGERTON

DIED

May 24,

1844:

aged 82 years

In early life my country called

And I its voice obeyed

By (-?-) my body was enthralled

And now in earth is laid

Roger’s widow, Betsey, later applied for a Revolutionary Pension on November 20, 1845, and at that time was residing in Coventry with her eldest son, Calvin.  She was granted a Pension Certificate on September 11, 1848 and placed on the pension roll at a rate of $80 per year.

At the time of the 1850 Federal Census, Mrs. Betsey (Cole) Edgerton was recorded in the household of her son, Calvin, in Coventry, Chenango County, New York (pg. 743; dwelling #904, family #952, enum. July 29, 1850).  She was enumerated as “Betsy Edgerton, aged 79, born in Connecticut.”

Mrs. Betsey (Cole) Edgerton died at Coventry, New York on June 4, 1854, aged 83.  She was buried beside her husband at Chapel Hill Cemetery.  Roger and Betsey’s son, Calvin, was also buried at Chapel Hill Cemetery, along with his second wife, Eunice R. (Tisdale) Edgerton.

Mrs. Betsey Edgerton left a Last Will and Testament, which was dated at Coventry, New York on September 5, 1851.  In the will, Betsey referred to herself as “widow of the late Roger Edgerton” and mentioned her four sons, Calvin, Hial, Hiram and Albert, as well as several grandchildren, each of whom were granted cash legacies of fifty dollars.  The real estate was left to the four sons.  The will was witnessed by Esophius G. Waters and Cyrus Smith (both of Coventry), the latter the husband of Betsey’s granddaughter, Eliza (Edgerton) Smith.  The will was proved at Oxford, New York on August 29, 1854 before Roswell Judson, County Judge, and recorded on the same date (Chenango County Probate, Vol. G, pp. 72 – 75).

Original Source Documents:

1810 Federal Census – household of Roger Edgerton; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.

1820 Federal Census – household of Roger Edgerton; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.

1830 Federal Census – household of Roger Edgerton; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.

1840 Federal Census – household of Roger Edgerton; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.

Family record – Roger Edgerton Family Bible; Revolutionary War Pension File, #W19219.

Pension Certificate – Roger Edgerton; Chenango Co., NY; May 17, 1832.

Pension Certificate – Mrs. Betsey (Cole) Edgerton; Chenango Co., NY; September 11, 1848.

Gravestone photo – Roger Edgerton; Chapel Hill Cemetery; Coventry, Chenango Co., NY.