Ferguson Genealogy Descendants of Henry Ferguson Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal, Ireland Dulcius ex asperis “Sweeter after difficulty” Crest and Coat of Arms (Printing/Update timestamp 17 Jan 2014 07:25:14 EST) © 2006/2014 Neil S. Ferguson 17 January 2014 Page 1 17 January 2014 Modified Register for Alexander FERGUSON Page 2 Table of Contents Forward 5 Beginnings… 8 Original Immigrants 12 First Generation 26 Second Generation 29 Alexander Ferguson Descendants 36 Thomas Ferguson Descendants 201 John Ferguson Descendants 260 Illustrations 438 The Saga of “The Ledger” 441 The Question of Scottish Heritage and DNA Analysis 446 Name Index 450 17 January 2014 Modified Register for Alexander FERGUSON Page 3 17 January 2014 Modified Register for Alexander FERGUSON Page 4 Forward Why write a family history book? Should several hundred pages be written about an “ordinary” family, even if the family isn’t or wasn’t “famous”? Can’t we just pass along the stories of our family history by telling them to our descendants? Not always. Family history was something that was rarely discussed in the family as this author was growing up. This is not meant to imply that the family wasn’t a close or loving family. It was very close and loving in many respects. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were filled with many a family gathering and they were events that were looked forward to. There were occasions, of course, when someone in this author’s grandparents’ generation would tell a story or two about their earlier life experiences, but, as happens in many families, there was little effort to write very much down or record that story in some other way. What little information that was written down was sketchy, at best. Also, most of it was simply written on sheets of tablet paper or was typewritten on one or two sheets of stationery. Sometimes, a sheet with a few birth dates for some great aunts and great uncles were about all that was listed – and very few narrative stories were included. But other relatives in other branches of the family tree had additional information to add, and other people who did write about their family history provided a good deal of historical information that helped fill in some of the missing pieces. This helps provide a reason for such a book. If one still wonders about why, given that no one so far seems to be exceedingly famous, remember that our family story is still evolving. Who knows whether a future descendant might become famous? All we need is a starting point… To collect information fo a family history, we could try starting with the living descendants, but this does not really go back very far. Any direct knowledge of the family history prior to the birth of our oldest living ancestor would have to come from written records or some other kind of physical documentation. Stories recalled from parents or grandparents are certainly helpful, but if those ancestors did not somehow record this history, the direct knowledge of family history and events perishes upon their deaths. For example, this author was born in 1953. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, it was quite rare to have, for instance, tape recorders around for someone to use that would allow someone to preserve the family’s stories. Certainly there were no video cassette recorders at that time, either. Even those who might have made a recording or two would have to be careful to keep it safe from the perils of potential damage. Moisture, heat and age all contribute to the disintegration of recorded material on most non- digital media. Any family history recorded on such media can be easily lost if the player snaps an old and brittle tape. A book is perhaps a better solution, but even then, the assumption is that there should be several copies in existence so that at least one can survive certain events -- such as fires, floods, tornadoes or an accidental toss into a trash basket that ends up with a trip to a landfill somewhere. As of 2008, this author’s grandparents have been gone for over twenty five years. Three of the four have been gone more than thirty years; all dying within eighteen months of each other. The direct knowledge about the family history that they carried but which was never recorded is now gone forever. Some of their stories still survive because they are retold by their descendants. However, it is easy to begin to lose track of certain details. Before too long, the entire story is forgotten. When you are young, it is seemingly rare for a young person to take the time to talk about past life experiences with Grandma or Grandpa. Even rarer, it seems, is a grandparent or parent who takes the time to write down some of those stories. Now that this author has grandchildren of his own, it is hoped that this unfortunate circumstance will not be repeated. Hopefully, this book will be something that can be referenced in the future for anyone who cares to find out more about our Ferguson heritage. 17 January 2014 Modified Register for Alexander FERGUSON Page 5 - Gathering this data has been a quest, of sorts, since the process of documenting any family history is an on-going process. As long as life events keep occurring, there will always be new information to record. As the text describes later, this book started out as a search for descendants of John Ferguson. The discovery and documenting of John’s parents was accomplished fairly early. But along with this came the discovery of John’s siblings. With the virtual explosion of data that became available through electronic means during the late twentieth and early twentifirst century, it was possible to find connections to family that probably would otherwise have been forever undiscovered. We must give credit to at least two significant genealogists who took the time to record what they knew. One was a descendant of John’s older brother, Thomas. The other was a descendant of Thomas’ older brother, Alexander. Discovering that they each had written books, obtaining a copy and being given permission to include their work is worthy of an incredible “Thank you!” Because of this author’s experience working in data processing, it was natural for an electronic copy of the family information database to be posted on the web, too. It was hoped that someone else who might be searching for their distant family would also find a connection. If luck was on our side, this person would have information that was previously unknown. In the spring of 2008, this is precisely what happened when not one, but two descendants who were otherwise unknown found records of their connection to the family. Each was able to add valuable information to our records. There are probably more descendants “out there” somewhere. Perhaps we will someday be able to include them with the rest of the family, too. In August 2013, even more Ferguson family was “discovered” when Wayne Thomas Ferguson of Louisville, KY emailed the author with news that his Y-DNA analysis turned out to be an extremely close match to the marker data that the author filed with the Fergus(s)on DNA Project in 2006. As we each pieced together the pieces of the family history that we knew, we were able to determine that Wayne’s 3 rd -great grandfather, Benjamin Ferguson, was the son of Alexander and Mary “Polly” (McNutt) Ferguson. Alexander is one of the three sons of Henry and Margaret Ferguson from whom we can currently trace living descendants. If you are reading this Forward for the first time, have a connection to the family and have additional information, it is hoped that you will seek out someone who can add your knowledge to this publication. Besides just adding the basic date and place data for people that you know about, consider taking the time also write down a few paragraphs about your own immediate family’s history. Consider writing about what your typical school day was like when you were young. What may seem “typical” or “ordinary” to you now may just be the source of significant fascination by some future great-grandchild or great-great-grandchild. Regretably, none of this author’s grandparents kept a diary, it seems. Had even one of them done so, or had even one of this author’s eight great-grandparents done so, it might have included notes about what was seemingly mundane to them. However, being able to read about their “typical” or “ordinary” day would be a wonderful way to keep their heritage “alive.” Long after someone has passed on, and long after the advances of science and technology have forever changed what daily life was like, a diary would be a veritable gold mine of family history information for someone to be able to read. If you have photos of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., try to find someone who can assist with having them digitized and included. If you are already “computer savvy” and can digitize them yourself, even better. Surely one of the greatest benefits to having a photo scanned and digitized is that the image will never be subject to weathering, fading, or damage by fire or water. Photos that have 17 January 2014 Modified Register for Alexander FERGUSON Page 6 already suffered damage can often be repaired; recovering or nearly recovering what was originally there. Home movies can also be transferred to digital images, along with video cassette recordings.