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Edgerton

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Uriah Edgerton, son of Joshua and Ruth (Kingsbury) Edgerton.

Anna Smith, daughter of Obadiah and Irene (Backus) Smith.

Children:

1. Erexene, b. December 25, 1782; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
2. Jabez Avery, b. August 25, 1784; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
3. Marcus L., b. September 13, 1787; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
4. Obadiah Smith, b. October 8, 1791; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
5. Lemira, b. ~1795; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
6. Plinny, b. 1796; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.
7. Horace Backus, b. December 31, 1799; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

Uriah Edgerton was born at Norwich, Connecticut on July 12, 1757, the next-to-youngest son of Joshua and Ruth (Kingsbury) Edgerton.  He grew up in Norwich, and married there, on May 16, 1780, Anna Smith, daughter of Obadiah and Irene (Backus) Smith.  Anna was born at Norwich on December 3, 1759.f  Her younger sisters, Irene and Eunice, were later married to Uriah’s younger brother, Joseph K. Edgerton, and his nephew, Ebenezer Edgerton, respectively.

Shortly after his marriage, Uriah removed from Norwich to Bennington, Vermont, where his elder brother, Eleazer, had settled a few years previously.  Uriah and Anna resided in Bennington for the remainder of their lives.  They had a large family of at least seven children – five sons, Jabez Avery, Marcus L., Obadiah Smith, Plinny and Horace Backus, and two daughters, Erexene and Lemira.  The eldest two children (Erexene and Jabez) were recorded in the Old Town Records of Bennington (Book 1A, page 279), as the children of “Uriah Edgerton and his wife, Anna”; the remaining children were not recorded.

Uriah Edgerton was listed as a head of household in the 1800 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, with the following enumeration:

2 males “of 26 and under 45”  (Uriah and ?);

1 male “of 16 and under 26”  (son Jabez);

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

3 males “under 10 years of age” (sons Obadiah, Plinny, and Horace);

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

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

1 female “of 10 and under 16”  (?); and,

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

The household of Uriah Edgerton was recorded again in the 1810 Federal Census of Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont (pg. 85), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 45 and upwards”  (Uriah);

2 males “of 16 and under 26”  (sons Obadiah and Marcus);

2 males “of 10 and under 16”  (sons Plinny and Horace);

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

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

1 female “of 10 and under 16” (daughter Lemira).

Uriah was a prominent member of the town of Bennington.  He regularly served on town committees and was mentioned frequently on the town records.  Land deeds from that period indicate that he owned considerable land in Bennington and the surrounding areas, much of which he deeded or sold to his children later in life.  Uriah and Anna were members of the First Church of Bennington.

Uriah and Anna Edgerton both died at Bennington within a year-and-a-half of each other (in 1817 and 1816, respectively).  They were buried side-by-side at the Old First Church Cemetery, and a shared gravestone bears the following epitaph:

The following obituary for Mrs. Anna (Smith) Edgerton was published in The Green-Mountain Farmer (Bennington, Vermont) on Monday, March 11, 1816:

“DIED, In this town, Mrs. Anna Edgerton, consort of Mr. Uriah Edgerton, aged 56 years.  After a long and weakening course of sickness, she close a life of neighborly kindness and domestic worth, in apparent tranquility and peace.  COMMUNICATION.  The memory of the just shall live!”

The following obituary for Uriah Edgerton was published in the Vermont Gazette (Bennington, Vermont) on Tuesday, September 16, 1817:

“DIED, in this town on the 5th [sic] inst. Mr. Uriah Edgerton, aged 60.  He was buried in the Masonic order.”

Original Source Documents:

1800 Federal Census – household of Uriah Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

1810 Federal Census – household of Uriah Edgerton; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.

Obituary – Mrs. Anna (Smith) Edgerton; The Green-Mountain Farmer (Bennington, Vermont) – Monday, March 11, 1816.

Obituary – Uriah Edgerton; Vermont Gazette (Bennington, Vermont) – Tuesday, September 16, 1817.

Gravestone photo – Uriah Edgerton & Mrs. Anna (Smith) Edgerton; Old First Church Cemetery; Bennington, Bennington Co., VT.