TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
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Inventory of the John Edgerton Papers, 1867-1912
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Polly Smith, 2008. ©2008. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Edgerton, John, 1829-1912 |
| Title | John Edgerton Papers |
| Dates | 1867-1912 |
| Extent | 2 linear feet (5 boxes) |
| Abstract | Collection of small diaries kept between 1867 and 1912 by Michigan and New York State farmer and real estate speculator John Edgerton. Includes letters, bank transactions, receipts and other material relating to Edgerton’s investments in buying and selling stocks, buildings and land primarily dealing with Walter C. Newberry in Chicago, Illinois. Also a small group of mostly unidentified images and a girl’s autograph book. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Edgerton |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 38 13 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
John Edgerton Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Purchase: Benjamin Katz, 2006.
Processed by
Virginia Hay Smith, 2008.
Access
The John Edgerton Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The John Edgerton Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of John Edgerton
Michigan and New York State farmer.
John Edgerton, the son of Ezekiel and Maria Parker Edgerton, was born in Sangerfield, Oneida County, New York in 1829. He worked as a farmer in Manlius and Bridgeport, New York, and then in the 1880s was farming in Michigan, near Traverse City and Owosso. In 1900 he was living in Minoa, New York, near Syracuse, and he died there in 1912. Apparently Edgerton moved from New York State to several locations in Michigan, and then back to New York again, where the Edgerton family is still prominent in the Syracuse area. He was married to Jane Terwilliger and had two daughters. Edgerton was a cousin of Walter Cass Newberry of Chicago, who served as Edgerton’s agent in banking and real estate transactions in the city.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Forty-two pocket diaries kept by Michigan and New York State farmer John Edgerton that contain scanty entries with many misspellings. The diaries run from 1867 to Edgerton’s death in 1912, with the years 1872,1875,1885 and 1890 missing. Sparse content of diaries consists of daily activities on the farm and recordings of his health, the weather, his visitors, and trips to neighboring towns and places. Included is a small collection of personal business letters and documents, mostly dealing with building and land transactions in Michigan and in Chicago, where his agent was his cousin Walter C. Newberry. Also, a few letters from Edgerton’s brother Charles, his daughter Grace’s autograph book, and a group of early images, undated and mostly unidentified.
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Arrangement
Arranged by type of material.
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Edgerton, John, 1829-1912 -- Diaries
- Newberry, Walter Cass, 1835-1912
Subjects
- Cartes-de-visite
- Correspondence -- Middle West -- 1851-1900
- Correspondence -- Middle West -- 1901-1950
- Diaries -- Middle West -- 1851-1900
- Diaries -- Middle West -- 1901-1950
- Farm life -- Michigan -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Farm life -- New York (State) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Farmers -- Michigan -- Diaries
- Farmers -- New York (State) -- Diaries
- Manuscripts, American -- Middle West
- Real property -- Michigan
- Real property -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Tintypes
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1-10 | Diaries, 1867-1878 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11-20 | Diaries, 1879-1889 | |||||||||
| 3 | 21-29 | Diaries, 1891-1899 | |||||||||
| 4 | 30-38 | Diaries, 1900-1908 | |||||||||
| 5 | 39-42 | Diaries, 1909-1912 | |||||||||
| 5 | 43-48 | Business Accounts, Receipts, Letters, etc., 1880-1912 | |||||||||
| 5 | 49 | Correspondence, Edgerton, Charles to John Edgerton, 1897-1912 | |||||||||
| 5 | 50 | Miscellaneous: Autograph book of Grace Edgerton, 1882-1889 | |||||||||
| 5 | 51 | Miscellaneous: Christmas card, 1912 | |||||||||
| 5 | 52 | Miscellaneous: Images - carte de visites and tintypes, undated and mostly unidentified | |||||||||