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Ebenezer Edgerton, son of Sims and Lucretia (Horsford) Edgerton.

 

born:

January 25, 1765; Norwich, New London Co., CT.  (VRp I:415)

bapt:

October 12, 1766; First Cong. Church; Norwich, New London Co., CT.  (ChR 2:156)

died:

March 6, 1851; New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY.  (GI)

buried:

Green Lawn Cemetery; New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY.  (GI)

 

married:

March 24, 1791; Franklin, New London Co., CT.  (VR 1:31) (Franklin Cong. ChR 1:387)

 

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

 

born:

December 15, 1766; Norwich, New London Co., CT.  (VRp I:310)

died:

January 12, 1846; New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY.  (GI)

buried:

Green Lawn Cemetery; New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY.  (GI)

 

Children:

  1. Sophia, b. January 3, 1792; Franklin, New London Co., CT.
  2. Nat Ford, b. March 3, 1795; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.
  3. Ambrose, b. July 2, 1797; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.
  4. Charles Goodrich, b. March 17, 1799; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.
  5. Dan Hobart, b. October 23, 1801; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.
  6. Riley, b. November 27, 1806; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.

 


Ebenezer Edgerton was born at Franklin (then Norwich), Connecticut on January 25, 1765, the eldest son of Sims and Lucretia (Horsford) Edgerton.  He was baptized at the First Congregational Church of Norwich on October 12, 1766. 

 

Ebenezer was raised in Franklin, Connecticut.  He was married at the Franklin Congregational Church on March 24, 1791 to Eunice Smith, daughter of Obadiah and Irene (Backus) Smith.  Eunice’s older sisters, Anna and Irene, had previously married Ebenezer’s uncles, Uriah and Joseph K., respectively.  Ebenezer and Eunice’s marriage was recorded both in the Vital Records at Franklin (Book 1, pg. 31) and in the registers of the Franklin Congregational Church (Book 1, pg. 387).

 

For the first few years of their married life, Ebenezer and Eunice resided in Franklin.  Their eldest child – a daughter, Sophia – was born there in 1792, her birth being recorded in the Vital Records of Franklin Town (Book 1, pg. 31).  Probably not long afterwards, the family removed from Connecticut to Pittsfield, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where the remainder of the children were born.  In addition to the one daughter, Ebenezer and Eunice had five sons – Nat Ford, Ambrose, Charles Goodrich, Dan Hobart and Riley.

 

Ebenezer Edgerton was listed as a head of household in the 1800 Federal Census of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (pg. 203).  His household was enumerated as follows:

 

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

1 male “of 16 and under 26” (?);

3 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons Nat, Ambrose and Charles);

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

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

 

Ebenezer Edgerton later removed with his family to Oneida County, New York, where he resided in the towns of Whitestown and New Hartford.  Ebenezer’s uncle, Samuel Edgerton, had settled in Whitestown shortly before the turn of the century.  Ebenezer’s younger brother, Roswell, also removed to Oneida County at this time, settling in the town of Rome.

 

Ebenezer Edgerton was listed as “E. Edgerton” in the 1810 Federal Census of Whitestown, Oneida County, New York (pg. 88).  His uncle, “S. Edgerton” (ie. Samuel Edgerton), was also listed as a head of household in Whitestown in the 1810 Federal Census.  The household of “E. Edgerton” was enumerated as follows:

 

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

3 males “of 10 and under 16”  (sons, Nat, Ambrose and Charles);

2 males “under 10 years of age” (sons Dan and Riley);

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

1 female “of 16 and under 26” (daughter Sophia).

 

On October 2, 1818, Ebenezer and Eunice Edgerton “of Whitestown in the County of Oneida and State of New York…” joined with Eunice’s sisters, Ednah Armstrong and Martha Hastings, in deeding a parcel of land in Bozrah, Connecticut to James Lam (Bozrah LR 4:40).  This was presumably a portion of the property which Eunice and her sisters had inherited from the estate of her father, Obadiah Smith, as stipulated in his will (dated February 7, 1793), and duly distributed to them on April 18, 1803 (see Norwich District Probate Packets, #10014).

 

The household of Ebenezer Edgerton was recorded in the 1820 Federal Census of Whitestown, Oneida County, New York (pg. 298), with the following enumeration:

 

1 male “over 45 years of age”  (Ebenezer);

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

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

1 female “over 45 years of age”  (wife Eunice); and,

1 female “of 26 and under 55”  (daughter Sophia).

 

The household of Ebenezer Edgerton was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Whitestown, Oneida County, New York (pg. 211), with the following enumeration:

 

1 male “of 60 and under 70”  (Ebenezer);

1 male “of 20 and under 30”  (one of the younger sons – Dan or Riley);

1 female “of 60 and under 70”  (wife Eunice); and,

1 female “of 10 and under 15”  (? – possibly a granddaughter).

 

Mrs. Eunice (Smith) Edgerton died at New Hartford, New York on January 12, 1846, aged 79 years.  She was buried at Green Lawn Cemetery (aka “Middle Settlement Cemetery”) in the town of New Hartford.

 

At the time of the 1850 Federal Census, Ebenezer Edgerton was recorded in the household of his son, Dan, in New Hartford, Oneida County, New York (pg. 285; dwelling #697; family #760; enum. September 27, 1850).  He was enumerated as “Ebenezer Edgerton, farmer, aged 84, born in Connecticut”.  The family of Ebenezer’s younger son, Riley, was enumerated in the same household, as was a granddaughter, Eunice E. Ladd (the daughter of Ebenezer’s daughter, Sophia (Edgerton) Ladd).

 

Ebenezer Edgerton died at New Hartford, New York on March 6, 1851, aged 86 years (“aged 85” according to his gravestone inscription).  He was buried beside his wife in the family plot at Green Lawn Cemetery.  Several of Ebenezer and Eunice’s children and in-laws were also buried at Green Lawn Cemetery.

 

Very little research has been conducted tracing the descendants of Ebenezer and Eunice (Smith) Edgerton.  The only daughter, Sophia, was married in 1826 to Denison Ladd, and had a number of children, including a daughter Eunice E. Ladd, who resided for most of her life with her uncle, Riley Edgerton.  The eldest son, Nat Ford (aka. “Nat. F.”), was married to Sylvia (----) and had two children:  a son, Ambrose H., who later removed to Iowa and Colorado, and a daughter, Cynthia Eliza, who married William Garrett.  Ambrose and Dan both died unmarried; they are buried nearby their parents at Green Lawn Cemetery.  Charles Goodrich was recorded as a head of household in the 1820 Federal Census of Camden, Oneida County, New York.  Soon after, he removed to Fullerville, St. Lawrence County, New York (far north in the state), where he married Lemira Fuller and had four children.  The youngest son, Riley, was married twice – first to Jane Roberts and second to Miriam Newhouse.  By his first wife, Riley had two children:  a son George Roberts, who married Ellen Elizabeth Rea and later removed to West Turin, New York; and a daughter Elizabeth S., who married Joseph Raymer.

 

[CAUTION:  A few family histories (eg. LDS ancestral file) have incorrectly stated that the Ebenezer Edgerton who married Eunice Smith was Ebenezer Edgerton, son of Elijah and Sarah (Gager) Edgerton.  Since this latter Ebenezer was born in 1744/5, this is clearly not possible – particularly since the Ebenezer Edgerton who married Eunice Smith and settled in Oneida County, New York was born circa 1765 – 1766 (according to the aforementioned census and burial records).  Also, given that Eunice Smith was born in 1766, it would be highly unusual for her to marry a man over twenty years her senior.]

 


 

Original Source Documents:

 

1800 Federal Census – household of Ebenezer Edgerton; Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA.

1810 Federal Census – household of Ebenezer Edgerton; Whitestown, Oneida Co., NY.

1820 Federal Census – household of Ebenezer Edgerton; Whitestown, Oneida Co., NY.

1830 Federal Census – household of Ebenezer Edgerton; Whitestown, Oneida Co., NY.

1850 Federal Census – household of Dan Hobart Edgerton; New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY.