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Isaac Edgerton, son of Jonathan and Freedom (Buell) Edgerton.

Sarah ----

Children:

1. Harriet, b. May 29, 1791; Torringford, Litchfield Co., CT.
2. Zebina, b. July 25, 1792; Torringford, Litchfield Co., CT.
3. Amos, b. ~1794; Torringford, Litchfield Co., CT.
4. Horace, b. 1795; Torringford, Litchfield Co., CT.
5. Fannie, b. March 21, 1799; Torringford, Litchfield Co., CT.
6. Lorin, b. July 15, 1802; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.
7. Flora, b. 1805; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.
8. Almira, b. ~1808; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.
9. Polly.
10. Lucy.

Isaac Edgerton was born circa 1767 at West Simsbury, Connecticut, one of the younger sons of Jonathan and Freedom (Buell) Edgerton.  Isaac was raised in West Simsbury and made his living as a farmer and laborer.

Upon his maturity, Isaac settled in the town of Torringford in neighboring Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Very little is currently known about Isaac’s wife, except that her name was Sarah and that she was born circa 1767, probably in Connecticut, as indicated by the 1880 Census enumerations of her two elder children, Zebina and Harriet.  It is important to note that all of the current data on Mrs. Sarah Edgerton is derived from later records; and therefore it is not absolutely certain that she was Isaac’s only wife, nor that she was the mother of all or any of the children.  Nevertheless, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is presumed here that Sarah was the mother of Isaac’s ten children.  It has been reported elsewhere as “Payson”, although no documentary proof of this has yet been presented.  It can be noted that there was a “John Payson” recorded as a head of household in the 1790 and 1800 Federal Censuses of Simsbury, Connecticut.

On February 6, 1800, Isaac Edgerton “of Torringford” sold to his brother “Jediah Edgerton” land in West Simsbury that Isaac had inherited from the estate of his father, “Jonathan Edgerton Dec’d”.  This is the first record of Isaac in Torringford.

On December 3, 1800, Isaac Edgerton purchased for the price of twenty-four pounds a small tract of land in Torrington, Connecticut (comprising fives acres) from Samuel Eno, Moses Eno, Eliphalet Eno and Ashbel Eno.  The property was described as bordering the highway and was adjacent to “sd Edgerton’s dwelling house”.  The deed of sale was executed at Windsor, Connecticut, and was recorded at Torrington on February 23rd of the following year (Torrington LR 6:126).  There is no indication in the deed of any familial relationship between Isaac and the Eno’s, and this is the only deed found in the Torrington records to bear the name Edgerton.

The household of Isaac “Adjutant” was recorded in the 1800 Federal Census of Torrington, Litchfield County, Connecticut (pg. 197), as follows: 

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (Isaac);

3 males “under 10 years of age”  (sons Zebina, Horace and Amos);

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

2 females “under 10 years”  (daughters Harriet and Fannie).

(“Adjutant” was a common misspelling of the name “Edgerton” – it is found in a number of census records and was no doubt a phonetic rendering of the name.)

The listing of Isaac’s children included here is provided by Francis A. Porter’s article, “Some Descendants of Jonathan Edgerton” (The American Genealogist, January 1968, Vol. 44, no. 1, pg. 123).  It is not known from where this information is derived, and the author unfortunately does not mention its source.  Mr. Porter’s listing does appear to be accurate and agrees with what is known about Isaac’s children from other independent records.

Shortly after the turn of the century, Isaac removed from Connecticut and settled with his family in Florence, Oneida County, New York.  Isaac’s son, Lorin, consistently reported his birthplace as New York.  The first definitive record of Isaac in New York State is from a Simsbury land deed, dated July 21, 1814, in which Isaac sold his remaining property in Simsbury, stating that he was “of Florence”, in Oneida County, New York.  According to Francis A. Porter’s “Some Descendants of Jonathan Edgerton”:

“Family tradition has it that John [Edgerton] and his brother Isaac came together from Weatauge, Hartford County, Conn., to the area of Camden, N.Y., soon after 1800.  Isaac settled in Florence, seven miles north of Camden…”

The household of “I. Edgerton” was recorded in the 1810 Federal Census of Florence, Oneida County, New York (pg. 79), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 26 and under 45”  (Isaac);

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

2 males “of 10 and under 16”  (son Horace and Amos);

1 male “under 10 years of age”  (son Lorin);

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

1 female “of 10 and under 16”  (daughter Fannie);

3 females “under 10 years of age”  (daughters Flora, Almira and Polly).

The next household enumerated on this census roll was that of Isaac’s son-in-law, Peter Curtis (first husband of Isaac’s eldest daughter, Harriet).

The household of Isaac Edgerton was recorded in the 1820 Federal Census of Florence, Oneida County, New York (pg. 192), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 45 and upwards”  (Isaac);

2 males “of 16 and under 26”  (sons Amos and Lorin);

1 male “between 16 and 18”  (son Lorin);

1 female “of 45 and upwards”  (wife Sarah);

2 females “of 10 and under 16”  (daughters Flora and Almira); and,

1 female “under 10 years of age”  (daughter Polly or Lucy).

At the time of the 1830 Federal Census, Isaac’s son, Lorin, was listed as head of household – still residing in Florence, Oneida County, New York.  By 1840, Lorin had moved west with his family and Isaac was listed again as a head of household in the Federal Census of that year.

The household of Isaac Edgerton was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Florence, Oneida County, New York (pg. 207), with the following enumeration:

1 male “70 and under 80”  (Isaac);

1 female “70 and under 80”  (wife Sarah); and,

1 female 15 and under 20”  (daughter Polly or Lucy).

On October 24, 1842, Isaac sold his land in Florence.  The deed was signed jointly by Isaac and his wife Sarah; and this is apparently the first mention of Sarah by name.  It was presumably at this time that Isaac and Sarah left Florence and removed to Palatine (or Barrington), in Cook County, Illinois, where two of their sons, Zebina and Lorin, had previously settled.  Isaac and Sarah both died not long afterwards (presumably at Palatine) – Isaac on July 8, 1848, “aged 81”, and Sarah on September 16, 1851, “aged 84”.  Isaac and Sarah Edgerton were buried side-by-side at the Cady Cemetery, in Palatine, Illinois, where their gravestone inscriptions provide the aforementioned dates of death.  Their eldest son, Zebina, and Zebina’s second wife, Martha, were also buried at the Cady Cemetery.

When the 1850 Federal Census was taken, Mrs. Sarah Edgerton was residing in South Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois in the household of her daughter and son-in-law, Charles and Almira Jenkins (dwelling #1089; family #1097; enum. September 25, 1850).  She was enumerated as “Sarah Edgarton, aged 80, b. in Connecticut”.  Sarah had presumably gone to live with Almira and Charles sometime following the death of her husband Isaac in 1848.

The following excerpts are from a letter written in January 1940 by Charles Lorin Edgerton I (a grandson of Isaac’s youngest son, Lorin):

“The earliest Edgerton that we have record of was named Isaac, born in the state of Connecticut in 1767 and died at the home of his youngest son Lorin about half way between Barrington and Palatine, Cook County, Ill. in 1848.  I have a record of his living in Torrengton Conn. or N.Y. although he was married and was the father of a daughter before that date.

My father told me that Isaac’s father was a captain in the Revolution, but I can find no Edgerton in Conn. records of him.  When he went to war he bound out all of his sons, so the story goes.

Sometime about 1810, Isaac moved with his family to Oneida Co. N.Y. and lived there until some time about 1840 and then moved to Cook County, Ill. near his youngest son Lorin, and was buried in the Cady Cemetary.  His birth and death and the same of his oldest son Zebina, Sarah, Horace, and young Sarah are all recorded upon the stones there.  Sarah died in 1851 and Horace in 1855.  His wife Sarah was a native of Connecticut also.  They were the parents of four sons and six daughters.  (No record of daughters sent.)

[Children of Isaac and Sarah Edgerton:]

1.  Zebina, 1791 [sic] – 1883, One daughter Eliza, who married Nelson Cady.

2.  John [sic? – Amos?], who died a bachalor.

3.  Horace, father of eight children.  1795 – 1855.

4.  Lorin, married Jane Cady a teacher in N.Y.  1802 – 1872.”

The current state of research regarding the ten children of Isaac and Sarah Edgerton is largely incomplete.  The eldest son, Zebina, resided first in Niagara County, New York and later settled in Palatine, Illinois; he was twice married and had one daughter, Charity Eliza.  The second son, Amos, was married to Lucy Pond, daughter of Beriah Pond of Litchfield, Connecticut and Camden, New York.  The third son, Horace, was living in Florence adjacent to his parents at the time of the 1820 Census; soon afterwards, he removed west to Erie County, Pennsylvania, and finally to Lake County, Indiana.  Horace and his wife, Betsey Taylor, raised a large family, and many of their descendants resided in Lake County throughout the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  The youngest son, Lorin, was listed as a head of household in the 1830 Census of Florence Township; his parents were living with him at this time.  Lorin removed to Cook County, Illinois in 1838. 

The eldest daughter, Harriet, was reportedly the only child not to move west.  She was married to Abraham (aka “Abram”) Humphrey and resided in Nelson, New York.  According to Francis A. Porter’s “Some Descendants of Jonathan Edgerton”, daughters Fannie and Lucy both “died young”.  Fannie was married to Philip Helmer Cady and died at Florence, New York in 1823, at the age of twenty-four; she left an infant son, Wilford Cady, who died at the age of three.  Daughter “Florence” is believed to have been identical with the “Flora” Edgerton (1805 – 1876) who married Pliny Putnam in Oneida County and later settled in Winona County, Minnesota.  Apart from the geographical proximity, the strongest evidence of such a link is found in the fact that Flora (Edgerton) Putnam had sons named Alvis Zebina Putnam and Isaac Putnam, who were presumably named after Flora’s elder brother and father, respectively.  At the least, the juxtaposition of these names between the two families (particularly the unusual name Zebina) provides strong circumstantial evidence of a connection.  There is no further account of the daughter Polly.  The daughter “Alma” is believed to be the Almira Edgerton who married Charles Jenkins of Florence, New York and eventually settled with him in Pottawatomie, Kansas along with some Edgerton cousins.  Mrs. Sarah Edgerton (Isaac’s widow) was residing in Charles and Almira’s household at the time of the 1850 Federal Census.

Original Source Documents:

1800 Federal Census – household of Isaac Edgerton; Torrington, Litchfield Co., CT.

1810 Federal Census – household of Isaac Edgerton; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.

1820 Federal Census – household of Isaac Edgerton; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.

1840 Federal Census – household of Isaac Edgerton; Florence, Oneida Co., NY.

1850 Federal Census – household of Charles Jenkins; South Ottawa, La Salle Co., IL.

Gravestone photo – Isaac Edgerton; Cady Cemetery; Palatine, Cook Co., IL.

Gravestone photo – Mrs. Sarah Edgerton; Cady Cemetery; Palatine, Cook Co., IL.