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Title: |
Sidney Edgerton Papers |
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Repository: |
Archives and Special Collections, University Libraries, The University of Akron
Phone: 330-972-7670 http://www.uakron.edu/libraries/archives |
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Creator: |
Edgerton, Sidney, 1818-1900 |
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Dates: |
1846-1901 |
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Quantity: |
0.86 cubic feet (2 document cases) |
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Abstract: |
The Sidney Edgerton Papers (1846-1901) contain correspondence, speeches, certificates, and biographical matter. The correspondence is the majority of the collection, particularly those letters between Edgerton and his wife, Mary. The Civil War is the prominent subject, especially as it is seen from Congress and from the people of the Akron area. The expansion of the West is also seen through the letters and speeches. |
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Identification: |
99/114 |
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Language: |
The records are in English |
Sidney Edgerton (1818-1900) was an abolitionist and a Republican who served as a U.S. Congressional Representative for the Akron area from 1859 to 1863. He later was chief justice for Idaho (1863-1864) and the first territorial governor in Montana (1865-1866). He then returned to Akron at age forty-seven where he stayed, practicing law, for the remainder of his life.
Edgerton moved to Akron at the age of twenty-six and within a few years worked as a lawyer and entered politics. In 1848 he went as a delegate to the Free Soil Convention, and in 1856 he attended the first Republican Convention. From 1852-1856, he was the prosecuting attorney in Akron. In 1859, he went to Charleston and visited John Brown in prison.
After Edgerton's Congressional term concluded in March of 1863, he was appointed United States judge for the Territory of Idaho and soon moved his family out west. Edgerton found he had little enforcement ability and was frustrated with his position. In 1865, Lincoln appointed Edgerton as the Governor of Montana Territory. He was only in office a year when his term was cut short because of the assassination of President Lincoln. In the short time Edgerton was in office, he and the secretary of the territory, General Thomas F. Meagher, made improvements in the state government and in Montana's educational system. However, Edgerton and Meagher also evicted Native Americans from Montana land.
Along with his political duties, Edgerton also was husband and father to nine children. His wife, Mary Wright Edgerton (1827-1883), came from a Tallmadge, Ohio family with a Puritan background and they did not agree with Edgerton's lack of religious affiliations. The difference in religious views almost kept Edgerton and Mary apart. The young couple finally married only after Mary fell dangerously ill.
The Edgertons had nine children: Martha (Mattie), (Mary) Pauline, Idaho, Nina, Wright Prescott, Sidney Carter, Francis, an adopted niece, Lucia and a nephew, Wilbur F. Sanders. Sources disagree as to whether Lucia and Idaho were two different people. Mary Wright Edgerton died at the age of fifty-six, and her husband died seventeen years later at the age of eighty-two.
The Sidney Edgerton Papers include the following series: I. Correspondence, II. Speeches, III. Certificates, and IV. Miscellanea. The papers span Sidney Edgerton's adult life and political career. The papers are especially useful for researchers regarding its coverage of the Civil War period in both Washington, DC and Akron. Information about the United States' westward expansion can also be found here.
The bulk of the papers are correspondence (Series I). The personal lives and relationship between Sidney and Mary is contained in the correspondence series. Letters also exist between Sidney and other family members. Series I is organized according to correspondent, then chronologically. One notable correspondence is the gubernatorial letters, which pertain to territorial business, 1865-1866. They are reports sent to Edgerton, who was away in Tallmadge, Ohio by his nephew, Wilbur F. Sanders, and General Thomas F. Meagher.
The few speeches relate to the abolition of slavery, Mormons, Roger Williams, and a testimony to fallen soldiers. The eyewitness view given by Edgerton of Brigham Young and Salt Lake City may have research value. Speeches are organized chronologically.
Series III contains certificates relating to various accomplishments of Edgerton, including education, law, memberships, and deeds. Arranged chronologically.
Miscellanea (Series IV) contains biographical material and notes. Included are two printed biographies, one is of Sidney Edgerton written by his nephew, Wilbur F. Sanders for Rocky Mountain Magazine (February 1901) and the other is of his wife, Mary Wright Edgerton. The latter was published in The Montana Magazine of History.
No restrictions on use; except not available through interlibrary loan.
No restrictions on access.
Related Material: Related MaterialNone
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Identification of Item], Sidney Edgerton Papers, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
Donated by Mrs. Frances A. Murphy in 1983.