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Edgerton

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Sidney P. Edgerton, son of Jedediah and Sally Mary (Spencer) Edgerton.                                                                                               PHOTO

Lucy A. Clay, daughter of Daniel and Sally Ann (Goodwin) Clay.                                                                                                                  PHOTO

Children:

1. Charles William, b. March 17, 1843; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.
2. Sarah A., b. May 12, 1844; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.
3. David, b. April 12, 1846; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.
4. Frank S., b. December 18, 1847; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.
5. William L., b. January 16, 1856; Inland Twp., Cedar Co., IA.
6. Ada, b. September 25, 1858; Inland Twp., Cedar Co., IA.
7. Ida Linta, b. September 25, 1858; Inland Twp., Cedar Co., IA.

Sidney P. Edgerton was born November 11, 1811 at Moriah, Essex County, New York, the son of Jedediah Edgerton Jr. and Sally Mary Spencer.  According to some reports (eg. 1880 Federal Census Mortality Schedule – see below), Sidney was born in the state of Vermont, but this was likely an error.  Sidney’s father, Jedediah, had been born in Vermont and later returned there, so this may have been the source of the confusion.

In the latter 1830’s, Sidney P. Edgerton and his younger brother, David, removed with their uncle, Jacob Edgerton, to Knox County, Illinois.  Sidney was probably the “S. Edgerton” recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois (pg. 48).  His household at that time consisted of only one male “of 20 and under 30”.  Sidney’s uncle, Jacob Edgerton, and his brother, “D. Edgerton” (ie. David) were each listed as a head of household on the same page of the 1840 Galesburg Census roll.

Sidney P. Edgerton was married at Knox County, Illinois on April 6, 1842 to Lucy A. Clay, daughter of Daniel and Sally Ann (Goodwin) Clay of Chester, Vermont and Little Falls, New York.  Sidney’s first cousin, Solomon Everest Edgerton, was married on the same date in a joint ceremony.

According to the 1900 Federal Census (see below), Sidney and Lucy (Clay) Edgerton had a family of seven children.  This information is corroborated by the following excerpt from Genealogy and History of The Clay Family  (Hiland H. Clay; privately published; 1916; pg. 57):

“Lucy, a daughter of Daniel and Sally Ann (Goodwin) Clay, was born at Chester, Vt., Oct. 12, 1818, on the Timothy Clay homestead.  When a small girl her father moved to Little Falls, N.Y., where he died in 1829, and her mother in 1832.  After the death of her mother which broke up the home, she lived around Little Falls for some time and then moved back to Chester and made her home with her uncle, John L. Clay, most of the time.  In 1841 she left Chester with the Williams and Cone families and moved to Galesburg, Ill., making the trip in two-horse wagons.  She made her home there with her Uncle John L., who had been there but a short time.  On April 6, 1842, at a double wedding, she married Sidney P. Edgerton, who was born at Mariah [sic], N.Y., Nov. 11, 1811; the others married with the same ceremony were Solomon E. Edgerton, a cousin of Sidney’s, and Martha Belden, a cousin of Mrs. John L. Clay.  The service was read by the Rev. George W. Gale, the founder of Galesburg and of Knox College.  At this early date a double wedding was considered quite an event.  The writer remembers the event very well, he being then four years old, and it being the first wedding he had ever seen or heard of.  The marriage took place in the sitting room of the old Clay home, before the house was completed.  After the nuptials they moved into a house in Galesburg, which had already been prepared for them.  In 1853 they moved to Iowa, thence to Missouri.  After a few years they left Missouri and moved to Nebraska, settling near Omaha.  Sidney Edgerton died at Blair, Neb., Feb. 11, 1880.  She then moved to Sheldon, Iowa, where she died Aug. 20, 1905.  They are both buried at Blair. Neb.  They had seven children, two of whom died at Galesburg and were buried in the Clay family lot in Hope Cemetery, about 1848.

163.  Charles, b. in Galesburg, March 17, 1843, d. in Omaha, Neb., May, 1900 [sic].

164.  Sarah A., b. in Galesburg, May 12, 1844; d. Feb. 6, 1848; buried in Hope Cemetery.

165.  David, b. April 12, 1846; d. July 6, 1848.

166.  Frank, b. Dec. 18, 1847; d. Sept. 1, 1874 [sic].

167.  Ada, b. Sept. 25, 1858; twin; d. May 18, 1876.

168.  Ida, b. Sept. 25, 1858; d. May 15, 1916 [sic], twin

169.  William, b. Jan. 16, 1856, in Cedar County, Iowa; now living at Ada, Minn.”

In April 1849, Sidney and his cousin, Marshall G. Edgerton, joined with a group of Illinois men (mostly from the Galesburg area) who set off for the gold fields of California.  The group was known as the Jayhawkers.  For an inventory of their members and a brief account of their journeys please see the Jawhawkers article posted at the Knox County GenWeb site.

Sidney Edgerton was apparently still out west when the 1850 Federal Census was taken, since his wife, Lucy, was recorded as head of household.  The family was recorded living in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois (pg. 348; dwelling #540, family #544; enum. September 20, 1850), and were enumerated as follows:

The household of “S. P. Edgerton” was recorded in the 1860 Federal Census of Inland Township, Cedar County, Iowa (pg. 335; dwelling #593; family #601; enum. August 15, 1860), as follows:

The household of “S. P. Edgerton” was recorded in the 1870 Federal Census of Bloomington Township, Muscatine County, Iowa (pg. 98; dwelling #237; family #232; enum. June 29, 1870), as follows:

At the time of this census, the family was residing in the same dwelling as the family of Hans and Susan Ide.

According to several written accounts of his fellow Jawhawkers – most notably Lorenzo Dow Stephens’ Life Sketches of a Jayhawker of ’49 (San Jose, California: Nolta Brothers; 1916) – Sidney P. Edgerton died at Blair, Nebraska on January 21, 1880.  Other sources such as the Clay Genealogy cited above and the 1880 Federal Census Mortality schedule (see below), report a death date of February 11, 1880.  The latter date is considered here to be the more accurate.

The death of Sidney P. Edgerton was recorded in the 1880 Federal Census Mortality Schedule of “Persons who Died during the Year ending May 31, 1880” in Fort Calhoun and Desoto Precinct, Washington County, Nebraska as follows:

At the time of the 1900 Federal Census, Sidney’s widow, Lucy, was recorded in the household of her son, William “Egerton” in Sheldon (Ward 2), O’Brien County, Iowa (dwelling #184; family #186; enum. June 9, 1900).  She was enumerated as, “Lucy [Egerton], widow, aged 80, b. October 1819 in New York, both parents born in Vermont”.  According to the enumeration, Lucy was the mother of seven children, only two of whom were still living.

It does not appear that Sidney and Lucy (Clay) Edgerton left any descendants still living.  The eldest son, Charles William, was married twice but apparently did not have any children; he died after being hit by a train while crossing the tracks at Lenape, Kansas on November 7, 1899 (see The Steubenville Herald-Star, Wednesday, November 8, 1899).  The second son, Frank S., removed to Louisiana, where he was enumerated in the 1870 Federal Census residing at Mansfield, DeSoto Parish.  He was a sheriff at Red River Parish when he was killed August 30, 1874 near Shreveport, Louisiana in the aftermath of a civil uprising dubbed “The Coushata Conflict” in several newspaper accounts of the day.  The younger son, William L., was apparently never married.  The youngest surviving child, daughter Ida Linta, lived most of her life with her brother, William; she was married later in life to Lemuel V. Stockwell of Algona, Iowa.

Original Source Documents:

1840 Federal Census – household of Sidney P. Edgerton; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.

1850 Federal Census – household of Mrs. Lucy A. (Clay) Edgerton; Galesburg, Knox Co., IL.

1860 Federal Census – household of Sidney P. Edgerton; Inland Township, Cedar Co., IA.

1870 Federal Census – household of Sidney P. Edgerton; Bloomington Twp., Muscatine Co., IA.

1880 Federal Census Mortality Schedule – Sidney P. Edgerton; Fort Calhoun and Desoto Precinct, Washington Co., NE.

1900 Federal Census – household of William L. Edgerton; Sheldon (Ward 2), O’Brien Co., IA.