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Asher Edgerton, son of Elisha and Eunice (Peck) Edgerton.                                                            PHOTO

Chloe Flint, daughter of Talcott and Prudence (Foster) Flint.                                                             PHOTO

Children:

1. Phebe, b. January 31, 1814; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
2. Asher, b. February 12, 1816; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
3. Selena, b. September 8, 1818; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
4. Chloe Ann, b. March 27, 1821; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
5. Sereno Dwight, b. June 27, 1823; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
6. Mary, b. September 29, 1825; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
7. Thomas Addis Emmet, b. April 7, 1828; Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.

Mrs. Elizabeth Barr

Asher Edgerton I was born in Franklin, Connecticut on June 8, 1791, the son of Elisha and Eunice (Peck) Edgerton.  There is some disagreement among sources as to the exact date of his birth.  The date listed here (believed to be the most reliable) is provided by the Franklin Vital Records (VR 1:44) and is corroborated by the private journal record of Asher’s father, Elisha.  Asher’s gravestone inscription at Hanover, Illinois lists an alternate date of June 10, 1792, and the Asher Edgerton family bible lists the same date, with the “2” in 1792 crossed out and changed to “1”.  (see Edgerton Tales and Details; Jessie Edgerton Garner, 1986; pg. 31).  Asher was baptized at the Franklin Congregational Church on June 26, 1791.

In his childhood, Asher’s parents removed from Franklin and settled in the town of Coventry, in Tolland County, Connecticut.  Asher was married there on December 24, 1812 to Chloe Flint, the daughter of Talcott and Prudence (Foster) Flint, also of Coventry.  Chloe was born in Bolton, Connecticut on December 23, 1791.

The family resided first in Coventry, where all seven of the children were born.  Unfortunately, none of the children were listed in the Coventry Vital Records, nor are there any records of baptisms at either of the Coventry Churches.  The children’s birthdates listed here are from Jessie Edgerton Garner’s Edgerton Tales and Details 1836 - 1986, quoted from the family record in Asher Edgerton’s bible.  (Similar dates are found in Eugene C. Lister’s Edgerton-Flint Ancestral Lines, apparently derived from the same source.)  Asher and Chloe Edgerton had seven children – three sons and four daughters.  The youngest daughter, Mary, died in childhood.

The household of Asher Edgerton was recorded in the 1820 Federal Census of Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 943), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 16 and under 26”  (Asher – actually aged 29);

1 male “under 10 years of age”  (son Asher Jr.);

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

2 females “under 10 years of age”  (daughters Phebe and Selena).

The household of “Ezra” Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut (pg. 268), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 30 and under 40”  (Asher);

1 male “of 20 and under 30”  (?);

1 male “of 10 and under 15”  (son Asher Jr.);

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

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

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

1 female “of 15 and under 20”  (daughter Phebe);

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

1 female “of 5 and under 10”  (?).

Asher Edgerton was a farmer and planter.  In 1831, he left Connecticut and migrated to northwestern Illinois.  After residing briefly in Quincy (Adams County), he finally settled in 1836 just outside of Hanover in Jo Daviess County, where he bought a tract of government land (160 acres) for $1.25/acre.  The land was purchased on July 6, 1841 and Asher was granted a government patent on May 1, 1841.  Asher’s sons, Asher Jr., Sereno and Thomas, later purchased neighboring properties, upon which they settled and raised their families.  The Edgerton farms, located about four miles west of Hanover, were occupied by Edgerton descendants for a number of generations following.

Asher and Chloe Edgerton (and their children) were among the prominent members of the early Hanover community.  In 1849, they donated an acre of land on their property upon which the first schoolhouse was built, and they were subsequently active in the formation and operation of the school district.  The Edgertons were also active in the construction of highways and municipal buildings, clearing the land, and other civic matters. 

Asher and Chloe resided in Hanover for the remainder of their lives.  Asher was listed as a head of household in the 1850 Federal Census, residing in “Irish Hollow”, Jo Daviess County, Illinois (pg. 207; dwelling #1698; family #1702; enum. Nov. 15, 1850).  The household was recorded as follows:

Mrs. Chloe (Flint) Edgerton died in Hanover on February 17, 1865.  Asher made the following entry in the family bible following her death:  “We trust she’s gone to realms above, to realms of Glory, Peace, and Love.  Lover and Friend thou hast removed far from me and put mine acquaintance into darkness.”  (see Edgerton Tales and Details; Jessie Edgerton Garner, 1986; pg. 58).  Chloe was buried at the family cemetery (to become known as the “Edgerton Cemetery”) on the home farm in Hanover.  Her gravestone monument there was inscribed:  “CHLOE / Wife of / ASHER / EDGERTON SEN. / DIED / Feb. 17, 1865. / AE 74 years”.

Asher Edgerton was remarried on December 1, 1865 to Mrs. Elizabeth (aka “Eliza”) Barr, a widow nearly thirty years his junior who lived on a nearby farm.  They were married just six and a half years, during most of which time Asher was an invalid and bed-ridden.  Asher Edgerton died at his home in Hanover on August 25, 1872.  He was buried beside his first wife at the Edgerton Cemetery, where his gravestone was inscribed: “ASHER / EDGERTON / BORN / JUNE 10, 1792 / DIED / AUG 25, 1872”.  Also buried at the Edgerton cemetery were Asher and Chloe’s eldest son, Asher Jr., a daughter, Chloe Ann Drummond, and several grandchildren.

Asher had written his Last Will and Testament on March 1, 1867.  The will was brief.  Having previously distributed lands and property to his children, he left nominal bequests of one dollar each to his three sons, Asher Jr., Dwight and Thomas E., with the remainder of the estate going to his second wife, “Eliza Edgerton”.

Through their six children who lived to adulthood, Asher and Chloe Edgerton were the progenitors of an extensive family.  Many of their descendants have resided in Hanover to this day; others removed further west to Washington, North Dakota, California and Montana.  In 1986, Mrs. Jessie Edgerton Garner (a great-granddaughter of Asher and Chloe Edgerton), issued a genealogy entitled Edgerton Tales and Details, 1836 – 1986.  The heart of the work is a richly detailed account of the lives of Asher and Chloe Edgerton and their children.  The biographies (accompanied by numerous photos, documents and records) are preceded by a brief summary of the paternal-line ancestry of Asher Edgerton I, and are followed by an extensive listing of the descendants of Asher and Chloe as of 1986.  The Edgerton Tales…, the result of years of meticulous work and research, is highly recommended reading for anyone related to this branch of the family, or anyone interested in Edgerton family research in general.  Our thanks are extended to Jill Edgerton of Salmon, Idaho (a descendant-in-law of Asher and Chloe) for providing a copy of Mrs. Garner’s work. 

For the ancestry of Chloe (Flint) Edgerton, consult:

• Lister, Eugene Clark; Edgerton-Flint Ancestral Lines (Part II), Muscatine, Iowa, Oct. 1987.
• Garner, Jessie Edgerton; Edgerton Tales and Details 1836 – 1986, Hanover, Illinois, 1986.