The
Edgerton
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Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton, son of Ebenezer
S. and Agnes (Martin) Edgerton. PHOTO
born:
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December 18, 1826; Albany, Albany Co., NY.
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died:
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December 10, 1909; Howe, Howard Co., AR. (GI)
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buried:
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December 12, 1909; Bluff Springs Cemetery;
Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR. (GI)
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Mary Jane Green
born:
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~1830; New
York (CR
NY1850 Little Falls – “ae 20y”)
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died:
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October 13, 1866; St. Joseph, Buchanan Co.,
MO. (OB Washington
County Post)
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Children:
- Edward Bierce, b. January
26, 1854; Bridgeport, Fairfield Co., CT.
- Mary Helen, b. June 14,
1858; Des Plaines, Cook Co., IL.
- Ralph, b. March 1860; Dewitt,
Onondaga Co., NY.
- George Washington, b.
July 17, 1865; Petersburg, Rensselaer Co., NY.
married:
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2: February
16, 1871; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.
(Co. VR C:50)
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Philena Elizabeth Jenne, daughter of Willis G. and
Alvira (Randall) Jenne.
born:
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May 1, 1839; Elmira, Chemung Co., NY.
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died:
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February 6, 1914; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.
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buried:
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Center Grove
Cemetery; Kirkwood, Warren Co.,
IL.
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Children:
- Nellie Elizabeth, b.
May 27, 1873; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.
- Frederick Edward, b.
February 27, 1875; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.
married:
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3:
September 25, 1878; Whitesville, Daviess Co., KY.
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Mary Elizabeth Wells, daughter of Edward Wells.
born:
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March 12, 1853; Kentucky.
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died:
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December 29, 1910; Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR.
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buried:
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December 31, 1910; Bluff Springs Cemetery;
Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR. (GI)
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The parentage of Ebenezer
Sherman Edgerton has not been conclusively proven, however it is fairly
certain that he was one of the sons of Ebenezer S. Edgerton (1788 – 1875) and his wife, Agnes
Martin, who resided in Albany and Little
Falls, New York. According to varying census records,
Ebenezer was born between 1826 and 1830.
The 1900 Federal Census (cited below) gives a birthdate of December
1826 and the inscription on his tombstone gives a birthdate of December 18,
1828. Affadavits found in Ebenezer’s
military pension file state that he was born at Albany, New York. His name is found written variously in
records as “Ebenezer S. Edgerton”, “Eben S. Edgerton” and “E. S. Edgerton”;
and according to military and census records, he frequently went by the name
of Edward S. Edgerton.
The first known record of
Ebenezer S. Edgerton is found in Little Falls, Herkimer County, New York,
where he was recorded as a head of household in the United States Federal
Census of 1850 (see below). Also
recorded as a head of household in the 1850 Federal Census of Little Falls
was Christopher H. Edgerton,
who is believed to have been Ebenezer’s younger brother.
Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton
was married three times. According to
the marriage record of his youngest son, George Washington Edgerton (Fair
Haven, Vermont VR MC 5:16), Ebenezer’s first wife was named Mary Jane
Green. Census records (see below)
indicate that Mary was born in New
York State
circa 1830. According to family
recollections, Mary was half Indian.
Mary’s parentage has not been ascertained; although it is suspected
that she may have been from the Petersburg,
New York area. Ebenezer and Mary Jane later resided in Petersburg, New
York (where their youngest son was reportedly born)
and numerous Green families are found throughout that area. There are also unconfirmed reports that
Mary Jane’s mother was named Abigail.
Ebenezer and Mary Jane
(Green) Edgerton are known to have had at least four children – three sons,
Edward Bierce, Ralph and George Washington; and one daughter, Mary
Helen. Two of the children – Mary
Helen and Ralph – died in childhood.
The eldest son, Edward B., settled west in Kansas; he was married twice and had one
son, Charles R. The younest son,
George Washington, lived in Rutland and Addison Counties, Vermont.
The household of Ebenezer
Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal
Census of Little Falls, Herkimer
County, New York
(pg. 236; dwelling #516; family #548; enum. July 31, 1850), as follows:
Ebenezer Edgerton
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22
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b. NY
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painter
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Mary
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20
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b. NY
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The household of Ebenezer
Edgerton was enumerated twice in the 1860 Federal Census. The family was first recorded in the 1860 Federal
Census of Cleveland Village,
Oswego County, New York (pg. 398; dwelling #223; family
#223; enum. June 26, 1860), as follows:
Ebenezer Edgerton
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33
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b. NY
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painter
$100 personal estate
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Mary C.
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30
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b. NY
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Edward
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6
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b. NY
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Helen M.
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2
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b. NY
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The family was recorded again
second time (one month later) in the 1860
Federal Census of Dewitt, Onondaga
County, New York (pg. 327-328; dwelling #1368; family #1370; enum. July 26,
1860), as follows:
Ebenezer Edgerton
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30
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b. NY
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day laborer
$50 personal estate
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Mary
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20 [sic]
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b. NY
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infant
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4/12
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b. NY
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At the time of this second
enumeration, Ebenezer and Mary were residing in the same dwelling as the
family of Nelson Green (aged 55, born in New York) who was probably related to Mary
– perhaps her father or an uncle.
Circa 1861, Ebenezer S. Edgerton
removed east to Washington County, New York and settled in the village
of White Creek (Town of Cambridge). Ebenezer’s only daughter, Mary Helen, died
at White Creek on March 2, 1863. A
notice of her death was printed in the Washington
County Post (publication date unknown), giving her name only as “daughter
of E. S. Edgerton”. Mary was buried at
the Woodlands Cemetery
in Cambridge,
where her gravestone notes her as the daughter of Ebenezer and Mary G.
Edgerton. The Woodlands
Cemetery sexton’s records (ID #310)
state that “Mary H. Edgerton” was born June 14, 1858 at “Desplain, Ill.”
and died at North White Creek on March 2, 1863.
Ebenezer S. Edgerton, “aged
33”, enlisted at White Creek,
New York on August 6, 1862 for
service in the Union Army. He served
first as a sergeant in the 123rd Regiment of the New York Infantry. “Eben S.” Edgerton later reenlisted on
October 14, 1863 and served as 1st Lieutenant in the 7th Infantry Regiment
(Company H) of the United States Colored Troops. The company fought at battles in South Carolina and Virginia.
Ebenezer resigned his commission on October 14, 1864.
After the war, Ebenezer
Edgerton apparently resided for a short time in Rensselaer
County, New York (just south of Washington County). Ebenezer’s youngest son, George Washington
Edgerton, born in 1865, listed his birthplace variously as either Petersburg or Berlin. Ebenezer later removed west with his family
and resided for a time in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri. A notice of the deaths in St. Joseph,
Missouri of Mrs Edgerton, wife of E. S. Edgerton “formerly of Cambridge” on
October 13, 1866, and their son, Ralph, aged six, on October 14, 1866 was
printed in the Washington County Post (publication date unknown).
The travels of Ebenezer S. Edgerton
following the death of his first wife are not clear. Family history has it that the two sons
were “farmed out” and left to fend for themselves at a young age. The elder son is found in Kansas (Sterling Twp., Rice Co.) at the
time of the 1880 Federal Census with a wife and one son. To date, there has been no success locating
the younger son, George, in the 1870 or 1880 Federal Censuses, nor in any of
the New York State Censuses of this period (eg. 1865, 1875). He eventually appears in Fair Haven,
Vermont where he was married in 1885.
By the year 1870, Ebenezer
S. Edgerton had made his way to Warren County, Illinois where he was going by
the name Edward S. Edgerton. He was
enumerated in the 1870 Federal Census of Young America Village, Warren
County, Illinois (pg. 299; dwelling #104; family #104; enum. June 6, 1870),
as:
Edward Edgerton
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34
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b. NY
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painter
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He was recorded at this time
in the household of Elizabeth Clark.
“Edward S. Edgerton” was
married at Kirkwood,
Warren County, Illinois on February 16, 1871 to Philena Elizabeth Jenne, daughter
of Willis G. and Alvira (Randall) Jenne.
According to the Barber Genealogy (Lillian May Wilson, Nichols
Print, Haverhill, Mass., 1909; pg. 343), Philena was born May 1, 1839. Edward and Philena had two children (both
born at Kirkwood, Illinois):
a daughter, Nellie Elizabeth, born May 27, 1873, who married James
Wilson Houston; and a son, Frederick Edward, born February 27, 1875, who
married Emma Chapman Chase. Edward and
Philena Edgerton were divorced prior to 1880, after which there is no further
account of him in Illinois. In the 1880 Federal Census of Kirkwood,
Warren County, Illinois (pg. 340), “P. E. Edgerton” (ie. Mrs. Philena E.
Edgerton) was listed as a head of household, her family consisting of herself
and the two children, both of whom reported their father’s birthplace as New York State.
Mrs. Philena (Jenne) Edgerton died on February 6, 1914 at the home of
her daughter, Mrs. Nellie Houston, in Kirkwood,
Illinois. Following his divorce, Ebenezer/Edward
apparently disavowed the children born to his first two marriages. In his later applications for a Civil War
veteran pension, he denied both his first two marriages and stated that he
had had no children.
In the latter 1870’s,
Ebenezer moved south to Kentucky. He was married a third time at Whitesville,
Daviess County, Kentucky on September 25, 1878 to Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Wells)
Smith, daughter of Edward Wells and widow of Jabez L. Smith. According to the 1900 Federal Census, Mary
was born March 1853 in the state of Kentucky.
“Edward S. Edgerton” was
listed as a head of household in the 1880 Federal
Census of Hartford Precinct, Ohio
County, Kentucky
(dwelling #6; family #8; enum. June 29, 1880), with the following
enumeration:
Name
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Rel.
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Age
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Bp
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F Bp
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M Bp
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Occ
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Edward S. Edgerton
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48
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NY
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CT
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NY
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carriage painter
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Mary E.
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wife
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28
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KY
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VA
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KY
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music teacher
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Fanny Davis
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22
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KY
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KY
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KY
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dressmaker
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???
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servant
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??
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KY
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KY
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KY
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servant
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On May 19, 1881, “Ebenezer
S. Edgerton” applied for a Civil War Pension, citing his service in the 123rd
New York Infantry (G Company) and the 7th United States Colored Infantry (H
Company). The application was filed
from the state of Kentucky. Ebenezer’s widow, “Mary E. Edgerton”, later
applied for a widow’s pension on December 27, 1909. She was residing in the state of Arkansas at this time (see
National Archives Pension Applications; Application #421262, Certificate
#540427; and Application #983767, Certificate #699114).
The household of “Ebinezzer” Edgerton was recorded
in the 1900 Federal
Census of Saline Township, Howard County, Arkansas (pg.
242; dwelling #252; family #264; enum. June 25, 1900), as follows:
Name
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Rel.
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Birthdate & place
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Age
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Marital
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Parents’ birthplace
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Status
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Father
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Mother
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----------------------------
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------------------------
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--------
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-----------
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Ebinezzer Edgerton
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head
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Dec. 1826
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NY
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73
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M 21y
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CT
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Ireland
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Mary
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wife
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Mar. 1853
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KY
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47
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M 21y
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KY
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KY
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According to affidavits
found in his military pension file (Application #421262), Ebenezer Sherman
Edgerton died on December 10, 1909 at Howe, Howard
County, Arksansas and was buried two
days later by his “brother masons” at the Bluff
Springs Cemetery
in Mineral Springs, Arkansas.
Ebenezer’s gravestone there lists his dates of birth and death as
“December 18, 1928 – December 10, 1909”.
His widow, Mary, survived him just over a year dying on December 29,
1910 at Mineral Springs.
Our many thanks are extended
to Ms. Jean Ann Edgerton, of Salisbury,
Vermont, who has provided
information on her research into the family and descendants of Ebenezer
Sherman Edgerton. Jean Edgerton is a
descendant of Ebenezer’s son, George Washington Edgerton.
Original Source Documents:
1850 Federal
Census – household of Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton;
Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY.
1860 Federal
Census – household of Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton;
Cleveland Village, Oswego Co., NY.
1860
Federal Census – household of Ebenezer Sherman
Edgerton; Dewitt, Onondaga Co., NY.
1880 Federal
Census – household of Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton;
Hartford Pct., Ohio Co., KY.
1900 Federal
Census – household of Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton;
Saline Twp., Howard Co., AR.
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