Edmund Rathbun fought at the Battle of Ticonderoga in 1758 and at the siege of Quebec in 1759. (French and Indian War)
He moved his family first to Berkshire County, Massachusetts by 1774. In the 1780’s he moved to New York, first to Little Hoosick. Albany County, New York and then after 1787 to Delhi, New York. “One of the earliest western pioneers of whom we have a record is Edmund Rathbone (1737-1801), son of John3 Rathbun (John2-‘).
After serving in the Revolution , he moved about 1785 with his wife and eight children from Tyringham, Mass ., to Delhi , Delaware County , N.Y., where he operated a mill. About 1796, probably accompanied by his oldest son, John, and John’s family , Edmund set out for the west in a horse-drawn wagon . They probably followed the Susquehanna River valley south into Pennsylvania and then followed the Ohio River westward. On their trip, they fell in with another west-bound immi- grant, Isaac Taylor, and his family. They all continued together and settled near present-day Wheeling, West Virginia, then part of Ohio County , Va . They were joined in the next year or two by Edmund ‘s wife , Mercy, and younger children – Edmund Jr. and Lovica, both of whom married children of Isaac Taylor. Edmund died there in 1801 , and was buried in Jul 1801 in Little Pigeon Creek, Ohio, Virginia, United States 8 9 10.).
The cause of his death was The effect of drinking too much water while overheated from working.