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Ebenezer Sherman Edgerton, son of Ebenezer S. and Agnes (Martin) Edgerton.                                                                            PHOTO

 

born:

December 18, 1826; Albany, Albany Co., NY.

died:

December 10, 1909; Howe, Howard Co., AR.  (GI)

buried:

December 12, 1909; Bluff Springs Cemetery; Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR.  (GI)

 

married:

1:

 

Mary Jane Green

 

born:

~1830; New York  (CR NY1850 Little Falls – “ae 20y”)

died:

October 13, 1866; St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO.  (OB Washington County Post)

 

Children:

  1. Edward Bierce, b. January 26, 1854; Bridgeport, Fairfield Co., CT.
  2. Mary Helen, b. June 14, 1858; Des Plaines, Cook Co., IL.
  3. Ralph, b. March 1860; Dewitt, Onondaga Co., NY.
  4. George Washington, b. July 17, 1865; Petersburg, Rensselaer Co., NY.

 

 

 

 

married:

2:  February 16, 1871; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.  (Co. VR C:50)

 

Philena Elizabeth Jenne, daughter of Willis G. and Alvira (Randall) Jenne.

 

born:

May 1, 1839; Elmira, Chemung Co., NY.

died:

February 6, 1914; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.

buried:

Center Grove Cemetery; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.

 

Children:

  1. Nellie Elizabeth, b. May 27, 1873; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.
  2. Frederick Edward, b. February 27, 1875; Kirkwood, Warren Co., IL.

 

 

 

 

married:

3:  September 25, 1878; Whitesville, Daviess Co., KY.

 

Mary Elizabeth Wells, daughter of Edward Wells.

 

born:

March 12, 1853; Kentucky.

died:

December 29, 1910; Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR.

buried:

December 31, 1910; Bluff Springs Cemetery; Mineral Springs, Howard Co., AR.  (GI)

 


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

22

b. NY

painter

Mary

20

b. NY

 

 

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

33

b. NY

painter     $100 personal estate

Mary C.

30

b. NY

 

Edward

6

b. NY

 

Helen M.

2

b. NY

 

 

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

30

b. NY

day laborer     $50 personal estate

Mary

20 [sic]

b. NY

 

infant

4/12

b. NY

 

 

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

34

b. NY

painter

 

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

Rel.

Age

Bp

F Bp

M Bp

Occ

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edward S. Edgerton

 

48

NY

CT

NY

carriage painter

Mary E.

wife

28

KY

VA

KY

music teacher

Fanny Davis

 

22

KY

KY

KY

dressmaker

???

servant

??

KY

KY

KY

servant

 

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

Rel.

Birthdate & place

Age

Marital

Parents’ birthplace

 

 

 

 

Status

Father

Mother

----------------------------

--------

------------------------

--------

-----------

----------

----------

Ebinezzer Edgerton

head

Dec. 1826

NY

73

M 21y

CT

Ireland

Mary

wife

Mar. 1853

KY

47

M 21y

KY

KY

 

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.