Solomon Everest Edgerton was born November 6, 1818 at Moriah, Essex County, New York, the son of Jacob and Mary (Stoddard) Edgerton. He was presumably named after Solomon Everest, of Moriah, New York, was probably a close friend or in-law of the Edgerton family. Solomon E. Edgerton was raised in Moriah and removed along with his father in the latter 1830’s to Knox County, Illinois. The family settled just outside the present city of Galesburg.

Solomon Everest Edgerton was married at Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois on April 6, 1842 to Martha Lucretia Belding, daughter of Stephen Johnson and Martha (Stevens) Belding of Andover, Vermont. According to later census records (see below), Martha was born in May 1822. Solomon’s cousin, Sidney P. Edgerton, was married in a joint ceremony on the same date to Lucy A. Clay.

Solomon and Martha (Belding) Edgerton had a family of four children: three daughters, Mary Lorraine, Ethel Amanda and Ida Louisa, and one son, Clark E. The family resided first in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois and later in Clover Township, Henry County, Illinois (directly to the north of Knox County). In the latter part of the century, Solomon and his wife moved into the village of Woodhull in Clover Township.

The following biography of Solomon Everest Edgerton, excerpted from History of Henry County, Vol. II (Henry L. Kiner; Chicago, Ill.: Pioneer Publishing Company; 1910; pp. 578-579), has been provided by Mr. Charles Gray of Kewanee, Illinois:

“SOLOMON E. EDGERTON.

In the twilight of their lives Solomon E. Edgerton and his wife find nothing in looking back over their married relation of sixty years to regret, for, while there have been privations and sorrows, the joys have far oubalanced them and they set an example of marital confidence and love equaled by very few in the country. Solomon E. Edgerton, now living retired at Woodhull, was born November 6, 1818, in Essex county, New York, a son of Jacob and Mary (Stoddard) Edgerton. The family is descended from Lord Edgerton, royal keeper of the seals. The founder of the family in this country first settled in Connecticut but later removed to Vermont, from which state Jacob Edgerton removed with his family to Essex county, New York.

Jacob Edgerton served as captain in the war of 1812 and gained considerable distinction by his bravery. In 1836 a colony of Essex county people started for Knox county, Illinois, but on the road Jacob Edgerton and his family found that they had relatives in Granger county, Ohio, and stopped to see them. For four years they all remained there with the exception of Solomon E. Edgerton, who after three years proceeded to Galesburg, Illinois, where he had relatives, reaching that place in the spring of 1836. At this time Galesburg was only a small, scattering village, which had been established by the Essex county colony, and among them Mr. Edgerton found former acquaintances. His father having been a carpenter, Solomon E. Edgerton had learned to be “handy with the tools” and he found employment in building houses for the newly arriving inhabitants. For fourteen years he made Galesburg his home and there, April 6, 1842, he married Martha Belding, a daughter of Stephen J. and Martha (Stephens) Belding. The Beldings were from Vermont, the father being a native of Connecticut who had removed to Vermont, where the mother was born. Mrs. Edgerton’s grandmother, Abigail (Greene) Stephens, was a sister of General Greene of Revolutionary fame.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Edgerton lived in Galesburg until 1855, when they removed to Henry county, settling on some new land four miles north of what is now Woodhull, where Mr. Edgerton began farming. He erected his own house and other necessary buildings. As an illustration of the values existing when he first came to Henry county the following incident is entertaining. Needing some corn for his horses, he went to the home of Peter Frantz, then sheriff of Knox county, who told him to go into the field and husk a dollar’s worth, what he had asked for. Going back with what he thought was a fair equivalent for his money, Mr. Edgerton was ordered back to the field to fill his wagon. As this had a capacity of twenty-five bushels, he paid four cents a bushel for the corn. As a result of his first year’s farming in Clover township, he had eighty hogs which he killed, dressed and sold at Geneseo for one dollar and a quarter per hundredweight. He continued living on his farm for twenty-eight years but December 30, 1879, moved his family to Woodhull, and since then he has lived retired although superintending his farming property.

Mr. and Mrs. Edgerton have had three daughters: Mary, who married Sidney Durton, of Mercer township; Ethel A., who is the widow of Tyrus Hurd; and Ida, who is the deceased wife of Manning Spooner, an attorney of Wooster, Ohio. Mrs. Hurd is a physician of Minneapolis and has a daughter Anna, who is also engaged in the practice of medicine. A grand-daughter, Miss Frances Spooner, has been admitted to the bar and is now living with her grandparents.

Mr. Edgerton is a republican but was formerly a whig, casting his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison in 1840. He has always been active and interested in public matters and while living in Clover township served as a member of the board of education for years. The first school in his district was held in a room of his house before the schoolhouse was built. He worked on some of the most substantial buildings in Galesburg, erecting the first building of Knox College, which was burned soon after it was finished. Although he had only two dollars when he first reached Galesburg, he found work at once and soon was in comfortable circumstances. On April 6, 1909, Mr. and Mrs. Edgerton celebrated the sixty-seventh anniversary of their marriage and as this was an event of importance to the family and one that seldom occurs in the lives af any married couple, a large number of relatives and friends gathered to offer congratulations and to do honor to the noble old couple who have been central figures in Henry county for nearly the same length of time the Psalmist gives as the allotted life of a man. They have always been libereal to their neighbors, devoted to their children and proud of what they have accomplished. In sickness or in trouble these two have always been ready with sympathy and material help, and the people of Henry county never neglect an opportunity of showing them distinguished honor. Hand in hand they have braved the storms of life and are now enjoying the serenity that closes useful and well spent careers.”

The household of “S. E.” Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal Census of “Township 11N 1E 4th Meridian”, Knox County, Illinois (357; dwelling #675, family #680; enum. Sept. 25, 1850), as follows:

S. E. Edgerton	29	b. NY	farmer
Martha	28	b. VT
Mary L.	7	b. IL	attended school
Ethel	5	b. IL
Samuel D. Rising	29	b. MA	farmer

The household of “S. E.” Edgerton was recorded in the 1860 Federal Census of Clover Township, Henry County, Illinois (pg. 907; dwelling #2820; family #2706; enum. August 10, 1860), as follows:

S. E. Edgerton	41	b. NY	farmer
Martha	39	b. VT	wife
Mary	17	b. IL
Ethel	15	b. IL
Ida	9	b. IL	attended school
W. B.	12	b. MI	attended school
Clark	4	b. IL

The household of Solomon Edgerton was recorded in the 1870 Federal Census of Clover Township, Henry County, Illinois (dwelling #167; family #184; enum. June 14, 1870), as follows:

Solomon Edgerton	52	b. NY	farmer $6500 real estate / $1050 pers. estate
Martha	47	b. VT	keeps house
Ida L.	19	b. IL	no occupation
Clark E.	15	b. IL	at school
Phoebe Hoyt	10	b. IL	at school
Annis Charlson	19	b. Sweden	domestic
John Peterson	23	b. Sweden	farm laborer

The property of “S. E. Edgerton”, as shown on the 1875 Plat Map of Clover Township, Henry County, Illinois, was located in the far northwest corner of the town (district 6), bordering the properties of S. Stephenson (on the west), O. Larson (on the south) and A. M. Anderson (on the east). (see Atlas of Henry County and the State of Illinois; Warner & Beers Publishers, Lakeside Building Cor. of Clark & Adams Sts., Chicago, 1875).

The household of Solomon Edgerton was recorded in the 1880 Federal Census of Clover Township (Woodhull Village), Henry County, Illinois (pg. 222; dwelling #295; family #299; enum. June 15, 1880), as follows:

Name	Rel.	Age	Bp	F Bp	M Bp	Occ
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solomon Edgerton		61	NY	VT	VT	retired farmer
Martha L.	wife	58	VT	CT	NH	keeping house
Phebe Hoyt	ward	20	IL	CT	NY

The household of “Solomon E. Edgeton” was recorded in the 1900 Federal Census of Clover Township (Woodhull Village), Henry County, Illinois (pg. 292; dwelling #214; family #217; enum. June 19, 1900), as follows:

Name	Rel.	Birthdate & place		Age	Marital	Parents’ birthplace
					Status	Father	Mother
----------------------------	--------	------------------------		--------	-----------	----------	----------
Solomon E. Edgeton	head	Nov. 1818	NY	81	M 58y	VT	CT
Martha L.	wife	May 1822	VT	78	M 58y	CT	NH
Frances E. Spooner	gdau.	Feb. 1876	OH	24	S	OH	IL

According to the above census record, Martha was the mother of three children, two of whom were still living. Solomon’s occupation was listed as “retired farmer”.

Solomon Everest Edgerton died in the year 1910, as recorded on his gravestone at Woodhull Cemetery in Clover Township, Henry County, Illinois. The precise date of his death has not been found, however, he was definitely deceased by May 4, 1910, when his wife Martha was enumerated as a widow in the Federal Census of that year (see below).

Mrs. Martha (Belding) Edgerton was recorded in the 1910 Federal Census of Rivoli Township, Mercer County, Illinois, residing in the household of her son-in-law, Sidney Durstan (pg. 329; dwelling #115; family #115; enum. May 4, 1910). She was enumerated as “Martha Edgerton, mother-in-law, aged 88, widow, b. Vermont, father and mother b. New Hampshire”. According to the enumeration, Martha was the mother of three children, two of whom were still living.

Original Source Documents:

1850 Federal Census – household of Solomon Everest Edgerton; Township 11N 1E 4th Meridian”, Knox Co., IL.

Land patent – Solomon Everest Edgerton; Bureau of Land Management; Dixon Land Office; certificate #74869.

1860 Federal Census – household of Solomon Everest Edgerton; Clover Twp., Henry Co., IL.

1870 Federal Census – household of Solomon Everest Edgerton; Clover Twp., Henry Co., IL.

1880 Federal Census – household of Solomon Everest Edgerton; Clover Twp., Henry Co., IL.

1900 Federal Census – household of Solomon Everest Edgerton; Clover Twp. (Woodhull Village), Henry Co., IL.