Lebbeus Egerton (May 4, 1773 – August 18, 1846) was a militia officer and farmer who served as the tenth lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1831 to 1835.
Biography Lebbeus Egerton was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on May 4, 1773.Vital Records of Norwich, 1659 – 1848, Part II, pages 165 to 220, transcribed by Coralynn Brown. Retrieved December 28, 2011 His family moved to Randolph, Vermont, in the early 1780s and Egerton became a farmer.Photos and records, Lebbeus Edgerton House, Historic Map Works web site, 2011
During the War of 1812 Egerton served as a captain. Initially commissioned in the 31st United States Infantry Regiment, Egerton subsequently raised and commanded a company in the Vermont militia during the Plattsburgh campaign, with Martin Flint as his second in command. Egerton later served as adjutant of a regiment.The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, by Carrie Elizabeth Hemenway Page, Volume 2, 1871, page 998An Anxious Democracy: Aspects of the 1830s, by John J. Duffy and H. Nicholas Muller III, 1982, page 120State of Vermont Roster of Soldiers in the War of 1812–14, prepared and published under the direction of Herbert T. Johnson, The Adjutant General, 1933, page 127History of Royalton, Vermont: With Family Genealogies, 1769–1911, by Mary Evelyn Wood Lovejoy, Volume 1, 1911, page 441
Egerton served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1825 to 1827, and was a delegate to the 1828 Vermont constitutional convention. He was Randolph's Town Clerk from 1830 to 1833.Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, Volume 8, 1880, page 2 During his life Egerton also served in other local offices, including town Selectman.Vermont Year Book, Formerly Walton's Register, published by E. P. Walton, 1836, page 83
Active as an Anti-Mason, in 1831 Egerton was elected Lieutenant Governor and he served until 1835. Because the annual elections were three way races, Egerton did not receive the majority required by the Vermont constitution, so he was chosen each year by the Vermont Legislature., published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1, published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1, published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont State Archives, June 9, 2006, page 1, published by Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, Archives and Records Administration, 2008, page 4The Proceedings of the United States Anti-Masonic Convention, held at Philadelphia, September 11, 1830, published by I. P. Trimble, Philadelphia, and others, 1830, page 9Newspaper article, Vermont Anti-Masonic Convention, Albany Evening Journal, February 23, 1832Newspaper article, Vermont Anti-Masonic State Convention, Albany Evening Journal, May 28, 1834
During the early to mid-1830s Egerton was responsible for designing and overseeing construction of the second Vermont State House.Journal of the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, published by Ebenezer Eaton, Danville, 1832, page 14Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, Volume 8, 1880, page 269Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, Volume 5, 1877, page 437
From 1837 to 1838 and 1839 to 1840, Egerton served in the Vermont Senate.Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, 1837, page 3Memorial Encyclopedia of the State of Pennsylvania, edited by James A. Ellis, 1919, page 69Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, 1839, page 9
Egerton died in Randolph on August 18, 1846, and was buried in Randolph Center Cemetery.Transcript, Randolph Center Cemetery gravestones, Randolph, Vermont, by Harriet Chase, 2002, Egerton – Fish pageDeath notice, Lebbeus Egerton, Vermont Chronicle, September 9, 1846
His Randolph Center home still stands and is a privately owned residence.Newspaper article, History of an Old House, by Miriam Herwig, Randolph Herald, October 23, 2003Newspaper column, Runnion in Montpelier: 'Mim' Herwig Brings a Smile To the Vermont State House, by Norman Runnion, Randolph Herald, February 2, 2006
Other His first name is sometimes written "Lebberis", "Libbeus" or "Lebbons", and his surname sometimes appears in records as "Edgerton".
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