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Samuel M. Edgerton, son of Robert and Anna (Bull) Edgerton.

Anna Andrus, daughter of Lincoln and Amy (Short) Andrus.

Children:

1. Allen Andrus, b. December 8, 1824; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.
2. Harriet, b. December 9, 1827; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.
3. Harley, b. April 19, 1830; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.
4. Daniel A., b. March 16, 1833; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

Samuel M. Edgerton was born in Wallingford, Vermont on June 4, 1799, the second son of Robert and Anna (Bull) Edgerton.  He was raised in Wallingford and resided there his entire life.  Although a middle initial of “M” was listed on numerous records (eg. land deeds, town records and his gravestone), no mention of Samuel’s middle name has been found.

Samuel M. Edgerton was married circa 1823 to Anna Andrus, daughter of Lincoln and Amy (Short) Andrus, who had come to Wallingford from Taunton, Massachusetts.   Anna was born in Wallingford on April 8, 1803 (possibly 1802).  Her birth was noted in the Wallingford Miscellaneous Town Records (Vol. I, pg. 129) as follows:  “Anna Andrus, daughter of Lincoln and Amy his wife born April 8th, 1803, recorded on Oct. 19, 1804”.  Other sources, such as her death record (which gives an exact age at death) and her gravestone inscription, indicate that the correct year may be 1802.  However, census records (1850, 1860 and 1870) support a birth year of 1803.

Samuel and Anna Edgerton had four children:  Allen Andrus, Harriet, Harley, and Daniel A., all of whom were raised on West Hill in Wallingford.  The three sons, were farmers like their father and owned adjacent lands on West Hill.  The only daughter, Harriet, married Surry Walker Stimpson of Ludlow, Vermont, and had one son, Harry Palmer Stimpson, before her early death in 1857.

Samuel was a farmer and lived on West Hill in what was District 1 of Wallingford.   In 1826, From the estate of his father, Robert, he inherited lands there, including what was known as “Whinny Hill”, upon which he lived and farmed.  He appears to have been quite active in town affairs, having been a town representative in 1833, 1834 and 1843, and town selectman in 1833, 1834, 1848 and 1849.  His name appears throughout town meeting records of these years, as well as on numerous deeds and land records.

The household of “Saml Edgerton” was recorded in the 1830 Federal Census of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont (pg. 24), with the following enumeration:

1 male “of 30 and under 40”  (Samuel);

1 male “of 20 and under 30”  (? – possibly one of his younger brothers);

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

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

2 females “of 20 and under 30”  (wife Anna and ?); and,

1 female “under 5 years of age”  (daughter Harriet).

The household of “S. M. Edgerton” was recorded in the 1840 Federal Census of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont (pg. 163), with the following enumeration:

1 male “50 and under 60”  (Samuel – actually aged 41);

1 male “15 and under 20”  (son Allen);

2 males “5 and under 10”  (sons Harley and Daniel);

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

1 female “15 and under 20”  (?); and,

1 female “10 and under 15”  (daughter Harriet).

The household of Samuel Edgerton was recorded in the 1850 Federal Census of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont (dwelling #323; family #331; enum. August 10, 1850), as follows:

Samuel’s son-in-law, Surry Stimpson, and eldest son, Allen Edgerton, were listed as the next two households on the census roll.  They were residing adjacent to Samuel, probably on lands that he had deeded to them earlier.

On March 5, 1857, considering himself “in a very infirm state of health and sensible too of my liableness to sudden death”, Samuel wrote his Last Will and Testament, witnessed by his son, Harley, and brother, Zeley, in which he mentions his “beloved wife Anna Edgerton”, as well as his four children.  He lived for four and a half months further, dying in July of 1857.  There is some confusion regarding the exact date of his death.  Wallingford town records say that he died on the 21st, but his headstone gives the day as the 20th; and yet another family genealogy states that he died  “July 17, 1857 at 10 o’clock P.M. age 58”.  The most reliable date seems to be the 21st, which is also supported by the following obituary notice printed in The Rutland Herald on Thursday, July 30, 1857 (Vol. 63, no. 31):

“DIED…In Wallingford, on Tuesday, the 21st,  inst., Samuel M. Edgerton, aged 58 years.”

The Wallingford death record (VR I:41:10) lists Samuel’s age as 58 years; and gives the cause of death as “dropsy”. 

Samuel was survived by his wife Anna, his only daughter, Harriet Edgerton Stimpson (who died just four days after her father), and three sons, Allen, Harley, and Daniel.  Samuel was buried at the West Hill Cemetery, not far from where he lived.  His will was proved in Rutland Probate Court on September 7, 1857.  In it he named his cousin, Clark Bull, to be executor, and left lands to his three sons, and a sum of 300 dollars to his daughter, Harriet.   He also instructed that his youngest son, Daniel A., was to provide a home and support for his wife, Anna, throughout her natural life. 

Samuel’s widow, Anna (Andrus) Edgerton, resided on West Hill in Wallingford for the remainder of her life.  She appears in the 1860 Federal Census of Wallingford in the household of her son, Daniel A. Edgerton, as “Anna, widow, aged 57”, and again in the 1870 Wallingford Census in the household of her son, Harley.   Anna died in Wallingford on March 3, 1871.  The Wallingford death record (II:53:26) lists her age as “68 years, 10 months, 25 days” and gives the cause of death as “plurasy”.  Anna Edgerton was buried beside her husband at West Hill Cemetery.

The gravestones of Samuel and Anna Edgerton bear the following inscriptions:

Samuel and Anna’s youngest son, Daniel A. Edgerton, was buried adjacent to them at West Hill Cemetery.  Their two elder sons were also buried at West Hill Cemetery, along with their wives.  Samuel’s only daughter, Harriet, was buried in the Stimpson family plot at Pleasant View Cemetery in Ludlow, Vermont.

Original Source Documents:

1830 Federal Census – household of Samuel M. Edgerton; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

1840 Federal Census – household of Samuel M. Edgerton; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

1850 Federal Census – household of Samuel M. Edgerton; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

Gravestone photo – Samuel M. Edgerton, West Hill Cemetery; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

Gravestone photo – Mrs. Anna (Andrus) Edgerton, West Hill Cemetery; Wallingford, Rutland Co., VT.

Obituary – Samuel M. Edgerton, The Rutland Herald, Thursday, July 30, 1857 (Vol. 63, no. 31).

For the ancestry of Anna (Andrus) Edgerton, consult:

-          Andrews, Lieut. George;  Genealogy of the Andrews Family;  E. R. Andrews, Rochester, NY, 1887.