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William Edgerton, son of William and Lucy (Birchard) Edgerton.

Sarah Morgan

Children:

1. Lucy Ann, b. April 20, 1816; Norwich, New London Co., CT.
2. Hannah Maria, b. February 20, 1822; Norwich, New London Co., CT.
3. William Henry, b. 1824; Norwich, New London Co., CT.
4. George Frederic, b. 1827; Norwich, New London Co., CT.

William Edgerton II was born at Bozah, Connecticut in the year 1782.  He was the only son of William and Lucy (Birchard) Edgerton, of Norwich and Bozrah, Connecticut.

The early life of William Edgerton is unclear.  His birth was not recorded in the Norwich or Bozrah Vital Records, although a year (1782) is provided by his gravestone at the Yantic Cemetery in Norwich.  William’s father died in April 1790 and William Jr. was listed as the only male “under 10 years of age” recorded in the household of his mother, Lucy, in the 1790 Federal Census of New London County, Connecticut.  William was not recorded with the family in the 1800 Census, nor was he listed as a head of household anywhere in New London County.  It is conjectured that he may have been working as a farm hand on a neighboring farm in Bozrah or Norwich at this time.  William later settled in Norwich village, where he resided for the remainder of his life.

On April 15, 1812, William Edgerton joined with his mother, “Lucy Edgerton”, and his four sisters, “Sarah Edgerton, Polly Edgerton, Fanny Edgerton all of Bozrah in New London County & State of Connecticut and Lucy Macknell & Thomas Macknell of Ellington County of Tolland in said State...” in selling two tracts of land in Bozrah to Gurdon Meach (Bozrah LR 3:287-9).

William Edgerton may have been the “William B. Edgerton” who was listed as a private during the War of 1812 on the roster of the 20th Regiment of the Connecticut Militia, led by Capt. Tracy (see War of 1812 Muster Rolls, box 64, ext. 602).  No further details of this “William B. Edgerton’s” military service are known.

The first defininitive record of William Edgerton in Norwich is that of his marriage to Sarah (aka “Sally”) Morgan on May 14, 1815 at the First Congregational Church of Norwich (ChR 6:141).  A notice of the marriage of William Edgerton and Sally Morgan was printed in the Connecticut Mirror on May 29, 1815 and in the Hartford Courant on May 31, 1815.

The parentage of Mrs. Sarah (Morgan) Edgerton has not yet been ascertained.  According to later census and burial records, she was born in Connecticut in the year 1793, although the exact year of birth is contradicted from source to source.  Death records for three of Sarah’s children (Lucy, Hannah and William) report that she was born in Norwich.  Sarah may have been related to Roswell Morgan (1776 – 1853), of Norwich, Connecticut, to whom William Edgerton gave a quit-claim deed on February 28, 1835 (Norwich LR 44:610).  Roswell Morgan (aka “Rosewell”) was the son of Darius and Sarah Morgan of Norwich, who were members of the First Congregational Church (where William Edgerton and Sarah Morgan were married).  Darius and Sarah Morgan did have a daughter named Sarah, who was baptized at the Church on March 4, 1781 (ChR 2:176).  It is possible that this daughter died young, and that Sarah, wife of William Edgerton, was a younger daughter of this couple.  Rosewell Morgan later served as co-executor, together with William Edgerton, on the estate of William’s maiden sister, Sally Edgerton, who died in 1841 (see below).

William Edgerton was a carpenter by trade and resided in Norwich for the majority of his life.  He and his wife, Sarah, had a family of at least four children:  two daughters, Lucy Ann and Hannah Maria; and two sons, William Henry and George Frederic.  The children were presumably born in Norwich, although none were listed in the Vital Records there.

William Edgerton was recorded as a head of household in the 1820 Federal Census of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut (pg. 627), where he was listed as “William Edgerton 2d” in order to distinguish him from a contemporary “William Edgerton Jr.” who was several years younger.  The enumeration of William’s household in this census was as follows:

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (William);

1 female “of 16 and under 26”  (wife Sarah); and,

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

The household of “Wm Edgerton” was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut (pg. 124), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 30 and under 40”  (William – actually aged 48);

1 male “of 5 and under 10”  (son William);

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

1 female “of 30 and under 40”  (wife Sarah);

1 female “of 20 and under 30”  (?);

1 female “of 10 and under 15”  (daughter Lucy); and,

1 female “of 5 and under 10”  (daughter Hannah).

The household of William Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut (pg. 193), with the following enumeration:

1 male “50 and under 60”  (William);

1 male “10 and under 15”  (son George);

1 female “30 and under 40”  (wife Sarah – actually aged 47”); and,

1 female “15 and under 20”  (daughter Hannah).

On June 8, 1841, William Edgerton, petitioned the Norwich Probate Court for letters of administration on the estate of his elder sister, Sally Edgerton, who had died in Bozrah, Connecticut on June 2, 1841.  On June 10, 1841, William and Rosewell Morgan executed a bond of administration in the amount of five hundred dollars.  Included among their subsequent returns to the Probate Court was a distribution of the “personal estate of Miss Sally Edgerton” to (among others) “Wm Edgerton brother of sd Sally decd” (see Norwich District Probate Packet #3595).

The household of William Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal Census of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut (pg. 165-166; dwelling #2279; family #2829; enum. November 5, 1850).  Most of the ages recorded in this census contradict other sources (eg. Yantic Cemetery gravestone inscriptions, Norwich Vital Records, 1900 Federal Census) and are thus somewhat dubious.  The enumeration was as follows:

Mrs. Sarah (Morgan) Edgerton died at Norwich, Connecticut in August 1859.  She was buried at the Yantic Cemetery, where her headstone was inscribed”  “Sarah Morgan, wife of William Edgerton, born 1793, died 1859”.  Sarah had written her Last Will and Testament on August 5, 1859, in which she mentioned her husband William Edgerton, children George Frederic Edgerton, Hannah M. Jones and Lucy A. Edgerton, and grandchildren Emma Jones and George A. Edgerton.  A fourth child (ie. William Henry) was referred to in the will, but not mentioned by name.  The will was proved at Norwich Probate Court on August 22, 1859, before J. S. Holcomb, Judge.

The death of Mrs. Sarah (Morgan) Edgerton was listed in the 1860 Federal Census Mortality Schedule of New London County, Connecticut (ID# MRT197 94253).  The entry provides the following particulars:

The household of William Edgerton was recorded in the 1860 Federal Census of Norwich, New London County, Connecticut (pg. 808; dwelling #168; family #212; enum. June 12, 1860), as follows:

William Edgerton died at Norwich, Connecticut on July 19, 1866.  He was buried beside his wife at Yantic Cemetery.  His headstone was inscribed:  “William Edgerton, born 1782, died 1866”.  A notice of William’s death was printed in The Norwich Aurora on July 21, 1866 (p. 284).  The record of William’s death at Norwich (VR 13:37) states that he was a farmer and widower, aged 80 years [sic], and had died in Norwich of “old age”.

Original Source Documents:

1820 Federal Census – household of William Edgerton; Norwich, New London Co., CT.

1840 Federal Census – household of William Edgerton; Norwich, New London Co., CT.

1850 Federal Census – household of William Edgerton; Norwich, New London Co., CT .

1860 Federal Census – household of William Edgerton; Norwich, New London Co., CT.