Born June 7, 1827, in Rome, Oneida County, New York,[1] Edgerton graduated from Wesleyan University in 1850 and read law in 1855.

[citation needed] He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Mantorville, Minnesota, from 1855 to 1861.

[3] By January 1864, he had risen to the rank of Colonel of the 67th Regiment Infantry United States Colored Troops.

[1] He served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and returned to private practice in Mantorville from 1878 to 1881.

[1] His service terminated on August 9, 1896, due to his death in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.