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The Edgerton Database |
Sidney Edgerton, son of Amos and Zerviah (Graham) Edgerton. PHOTO
Mary Wright, daughter of Alpha and Lucy (Foster) Wright.
Children:
Sidney Edgerton was born at Cazenovia, New York on
August 17, 1818, the youngest son of Amos and Zerviah (Graham) Edgerton. He was raised in Cazenovia and Phelps. He attended the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary
at Lima, New York and subsequently taught as an instructer there. In 1844, moved to Akron, Ohio and began
work in the law office of Congressman Rufus P. Spalding and also taught at
the Tallmage Academy. Sidney Edgerton was a lawyer and politician. He graduated from the Cincinatti Law School
in 1845 and was admitted to the bar in Akron following year. He resided variously in Akron, Tallmadge
and Portage Township – all in Summit County, Ohio. He worked in private practice at Akron
until 1852, at which time he was elected prosecuting attorney of Summit
County. In 1858, he was elected as a
Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh United States Congresses,
serving from March 4, 1859 to March 3, 1863.
At the expiration of his second term, he was appointed by President
Lincoln to be chief justice of the Supreme Court of Idaho, and from 1865 to
1866 he served as first Territorial Governor of Montans. In 1866, Sidney Edgerton retired from
politics and resumed private practice at Akron (Portage Township), where he
resided for the remainder of his life. The Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774 – 1949 (pg. 1118), gives the following entry for Sidney Edgerton: “EDGERTON, Sidney, a Representative from Ohio; born in Cazenovia, N.Y., August 17, 1818; attended the country schools and the academy at Lima, N.Y., where he was later an instructor; moved to Ohio in 1844; taught in the academy at Tallmadge, Ohio, in 1844; studied law; was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1845; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Akron, Ohio, in 1846; delegate to the convention that formed the Free-Soil Party in 1848; prosecuting attorney of Summit County 1852-1856; delegate to the first Republican National Convention in 1856; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1863); was not a candidate for renomination in 1862; served as colonel of the Squirrel Hunters during the Civil War; appointed United States judge for the Territory of Idaho in 1863; Governor of Montana Territory in 1865 and 1866; resumed the practice of law in Akron, Ohio, where he died July 19, 1900; interment in Tallmadge Cemetery, Tallmadge, Ohio.” Sidney Edgerton was married at Tallmadge, Ohio on
May 18, 1848 to Mary Wright, daughter of Alpha and Lucy (Foster) Wright. Mary was born at Tallmadge on January 21,
1827. Sidney and Mary had a large
family of eight children: three sons,
Wright Prescott, Sidney Carter and Francis Lowell; and five daughters, Martha
Amelia, Mary Pauline, Lucia Idaho, Lucy Ione and Nina. All but one of the children (son Francis)
survived to adulthood. Sidney and Mary
also took into their household and raised a nephew and niece: Wilbur Fiske
Sanders (son of Sidney’s sister, Freedom) and Lucia Aurora Darling (daughter
of Sidney’s sister, Pauline). Sidney Edgerton and his family were recorded in
the 1850 Federal
Census of Portage Township, Summit County,
Ohio. They were residing at the time
in the household of Julius E. Dickerman (pg. 389; dwelling #112; family #116;
enum. July 24, 1850) and were enumerated as follows:
The household of Sidney Edgerton was recorded in
the 1860 Federal
Census of Tallmadge,
The household of Sidney Edgerton was recorded in the 1870 Federal Census
of Portage
Township,
The household of Sidney Edgerton was recorded in the 1880 Federal Census
of Portage Township,
The household of “Gov. Sidney Edgerton” was
recorded in the 1900 Federal Census
of Akron (Ward 3), Summit County, Ohio (pg. 117; dwelling #53;
family #58; enum. June 3, 1900), as follows:
At the time of this enumeration, the family was residing at 116 South Walnut Street. Sidney’s occupation was listed as “Lawyer”, Pauline was listed as a “Librarian” and Lucy as a “Music Teacher”. The household of Sidney’s son-in-law, George E. Buckingham, was enumerated previously on the same page of the Akron census roll (dwelling #49; family #54). Sidney Edgerton died at Akron, Ohio on July 19, 1900, aged 82 years. He was buried in the family plot at Tallmadge Cemetery. His gravestone there was inscribed with the complete dates of his birth and death. Numerous obituaries were published in the papers of the day – notably in The New York Times (Friday, July 20, 1900) and The Evening Telegram, Syracuse, New York (Saturday, July 21, 1900). An extended memorial obituary was published in the Akron Daily Democrat on Thursday, July 19, 1900. An extensive collection of Sidney Edgerton’s personal papers and correspondence is currently housed with the Montana Historical Society Research Center in Helena, Montana (collection #MR-26). A detailed inventory of the collections is published at the Northwestern Digital Archives. The Montana Historical Society Research Center also houses the personal papers of Sidney’s eldest daughter, Martha Amelia (Edgerton) Rolfe Plassmann (collection #MC-78). Original Source Documents: 1850 Federal Census
– household of Julius E. Dickerman; Portage Twp., Summit Co., OH. 1860 Federal Census
– household of Sidney Edgerton; Tallmadge, Summit Co., OH. 1870 Federal Census
– household of Sidney Edgerton; Portage Twp., Summit Co., OH. 1880 Federal Census
– household of Sidney Edgerton; Portage Twp., Summit Co., OH. 1900 Federal Census
– household of Sidney Edgerton; Akron (Ward 3), Summit Co., OH. Gravestone
photo – Mrs. Mary (Wright) Edgerton; Gravestone photo –
Sidney Edgerton; Obituary – Sidney Edgerton; Akron Daily Democrat – Thursday, July 19, 1900. Obituary – Sidney
Edgerton; The New York Times –
Friday, July 20, 1900. Obituary – Sidney Edgerton; The Evening Telegram (Syracuse, New York) – Saturday, July 21, 1900. |
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