Asa Baldwin Edgerton I was born at Mansfield, Connecticut on May 23, 1802. He was the second son and third child of Abel Edgerton and Ruth Baldwin. Asa’s father abandoned the family in 1807, when Asa was five years old and his mother was subsequently remarried to Peter Aspinwall – that marriage also ending in divorce.

Asa B. Edgerton was married three times. He was a farmer and resided for most of his life in Mansfield and Columbia, Connecticut. Asa’s first wife was Emily Abbe, daughter of Shubael and Polly (Hartshorn) Abbe. Asa and Emily were married in Mansfield on February 28, 1825 (VRp 235). Asa and Emily had one child: a son, Asa Baldwin Edgerton II, born at Mansfield on August 14, 1828.

Asa B. Edgerton, of Mansfield, was granted a divorce from Emily Abbe in October 1829. The grounds for divorce were listed as “desertion” (see Knox, Grace Louise and Barbara B. Ferris (comp.); Connecticut Divorces – Superior Court Records for the Counties of New London, Tolland and Windham, 1719 – 1910; Heritage Books, Inc.; Bowie, Maryland, 1987).

Asa was remarried on November 16, 1829 at Ashford, Connecticut to Mahala Moseley, daughter of Elijah and Mahala (Welch) Moseley of Ashford. At the time of the marriage, Asa was stated to be “of Mansfield and Mahala “of Ashford”. It is estimated that Mahala was born circa 1810 at Ashford, although no primary record of her birth has yet been found. Mahala’s name is stated in some records to be “Matilda” and “Amelia M.”.

Asa Edgerton is known to have had at least five children by his second wife: Daniel W., Phila, Jeremiah, Albert Woodworth and Amelia M. The two elder children were both apprenticed at a young age – Daniel in 1844 to Isaac Farwell, “to learn the trade of husbandry”, and Phila in 1839 to Earl Swift the second, “to learn the trade of housewifery”. According to the indentures, both Daniel and Phila were “of Mansfield”. In the 1850 Federal Census, Daniel was enumerated together with his half-brother, Asa, residing in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut in the household of Frederick Averill (pg. 392; dwelling #232; family #246; enum. August 9, 1850). The younger son, Alfred W., was residing in Windham, Windham County, Connecticut, in the household of Wickham [?] Slate (pg. 233; dwelling #230; family #266; enum. November 14, 1850).

The household of Asa B. Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 247), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 20 and under 30” (Asa);

2 males “under 5 years of age” (sons Asa Jr. and Daniel); and,

1 female “of 20 and under 30” (second wife Mahala).

Asa B. Edgerton was mentioned twice in the Ashford Town Records as in need of welfare. The first mention, dated January 4, 1830, notes that the town paid “Reuben Marcy for provisions for Asa B. Edgertin family.” The second mention, also from the year 1830, reads “Town of Mansfield to Town of Ashford for keeping Asa B. Edgerton & family 15 days from 20 Jan. to 4 Feb.” (see Labbe, Marilyn L.; The Poor and Others to be Pitied – Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Selectmen’s Records of Town Welfare Cases, Windham County, Connecticut; Willow Bend Books; 2005; pp, 90, 96).

Mrs. Mahala (Moseley) Edgerton died at Ashford, Connecticut in the year 1843. She was presumably the the “Mrs. Edgerton” referenced in Ashford Town Records under the date, November 6, 1843 as, “(paid) to Samuel Bicknell, Jr. for money advanced to pay for digging grave for Mrs. Edgerton” (see Labbe, Marilyn L.; The Poor and Others to be Pitied – Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Selectmen’s Records of Town Welfare Cases, Windham County, Connecticut; Willow Bend Books; 2005; pg. 100).

Asa Edgerton married as his third wife, Olive R. Hyde, on July 15, 1849 at Andover, Connecticut. Olive was the youngest daughter of Charles and Roxanna (Rogers) Hyde; she was born at Lebanon, Connecticut on March 21, 1816. Asa and Olive Edgerton had six children: Mary Jane, Charles (who died in infancy), Charles J., Ellen M., William Henry and Ruth Eliza.

The household of Asa B. Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal Census of Columbia, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 352; dwelling #60; family #62; enum. August 16, 1850), as follows:

Asa B. Edgerton	49	b. CT	laborer
Olive	34	b. CT
Mary Jane	2	b. CT

The household of Asa B. Edgerton was recorded in the 1860 Federal Census of Columbia, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 842; dwelling #63; family #71; enum. June 8, 1860), as follows:

Asa B. Edgerton	58	b. CT	farm laborer $100 personal estate
Olive R.	44	b. CT
Mary J.	11	b. CT
Charles J.	6	b. CT
Ellen M.	4	b. CT
William H.	2	b. CT

Asa’s third wife, Olive, died at Columbia, Connecticut on May 5, 1866, aged 50 years. Her death was recorded at the Columbia Congregational Church (Book 6, pg. 346). The birth and death of Asa and Olive’s eldest son, Charles, was also recorded at the Columbia Church (Book 6, pg. 339).

Sometime following the death of his second wife, Asa Edgerton went to live with his son, Albert Woodworth Edgerton, who also resided in Columbia. He was recorded in Albert’s household in the 1870 Federal Census (Columbia, Tolland County, Connecticut; pp. 18-19; dwelling #63; family #74; enum. June 9, 1870), as “Asa Edgerton, aged 68, farm laborer, born in Connecticut.” The whereabouts of Asa’s younger children, Charles, Ellen, William and Ruth at the time of this census is not known. All four were minors under the age of sixteen.

Asa Baldwin Edgerton I died at Mansfield, Connecticut on November 29, 1873. According to the record of his death (Mansfield VR 5:470), he was a laborer, widower, aged 71 years and 7 months, and had been born in Mansfield. The cause of death was listed as “paralysis”. No burial site has been located for Asa B. Edgerton.

Original Source Documents:

1830 Federal Census – household of Asa Baldwin Edgerton; Mansfield, Tolland Co., CT.

1850 Federal Census – household of Asa Baldwin Edgerton; Columbia, Tolland Co., CT.

1860 Federal Census – household of Asa Baldwin Edgerton; Columbia, Tolland Co., CT.