Bio-Ferguson, John

Home

John Ferguson
(1829- ? )

John Ferguson was born in 1829, presumably in Perry County, OH, the son of John H. and Sarah (Miner) Ferguson.

When John was a boy or teenager, sometime before 1850, he and his parents and siblings migrated to Michigan. They settled in Constantine, Saint Joseph County, MI, where they spent many years. He and his father labored as a teamsters.

We are exploring whether John served during the Civil War as a member of the 168th Ohio Infantry, Company K.

It's likely that he married Martha Churchill (1831- ? ). She was a native of New York.

The federal census of 1850 shows John and Martha residing just three homes away from his parents in Constantine. At that time, they had no children.

The Fergusons lived in Constantine in 1856, where one of their daughters were born. The Fergusons had six children -- Frances Ellen "Ella" Bristol, Samuel (or "Lemuel") Ferguson, Hugh Ferguson, Ellsworth Ferguson, Carrie (or "Callie") Arnold and Alice Grinder.

John and his brother in law, Lemon W. Bristol, were "pioneer" lumber operators who worked together and ran a sawmill on the banks of Little Fish Lake in Ropertown, Cass County, MI. (Ropertown has long since disappeared.)

When the federal census was taken in 1860, the Fergusons resided in nearby Porter, Cass County, with their children Lemuel (age 9), Alice (6), Ellen (5) and Hugh (1). That year, John labored as a farmer.

Old view of Constantine's buildings and unpaved streets

Sometime during the decade of the 1860s, John migrated westward with his wife and children, with Nebraska as their destination. By the time the federal census was taken in 1870, they made their home on a farm in Town 9, Range 9 of Pawnee County, NE. Their post office was Tipps Branch. (Today Tipps Branch no longer exists, and is considered a "ghost town." The 1942 booklet, History of Plumb Creek, states that it was named after the tributary of Plum Creek, and was started in 1870 about 2½ miles south and two miles west of Burchard.)

It's thought that John may have married Margaret H. (?) and died in about 1895, when she began receiving his monthly Civil War pension payments.

Daughter Ella (1856-1929) married her first cousin, Harvey S. Bristol. Click for more.

Son Lemuel Ferguson (1850- ? ) was a house painter. He married Ella (?) (1858- ? ), and they had at least three sons, Oscar Ferguson, Elmer Ferguson and Walter Ferguson. In 1874, the Fergusons lived in Nebraska, where their elder son was born. By 1878, they had migrated to Iowa and resided in Hastings, Mills County, where Lemuel was a painter. That year, his brother Hugh, also a painter, lived under their roof. Lemuel and Ella must have enjoyed life in Hastings, as he obtained employment in a merchant grocery. By 1920, they had moved again to Glenwood, Mills County, IA, where Lemuel continued his work as a house painter. Relocating again during the 1920s, they made their home in Whittier, Los Angeles County, CA in 1929 and 1930.

Son Elmer Ferguson (1878- ? ) was a locomotive fireman, living in Hastings, Mills County, IA, in 1900.
Son Walter Ferguson (1898- ? ) married Grace J. (?) (1897- ? ) in about 1918. Walter was an automobile salesman. They lived with Walter's parents in Whittier, Los Angeles County, when the census was taken in 1930.

South Side square in Glenwood, Iowa

Daughter Alice Ferguson (1854- ? ) married (?) Grinder. Circa 1929, she lived in Omaha, Douglas County, NE. She made her home in 1930 with her 44-year-old divorced daughter Alice (Grinder) Perdue (1886- ? ), who was employed as a life insurance agent.

Son Hugh Ferguson (1859- ? ) also resided in Whittier, Los Angeles County, CA in 1929.

Daughter Carrie Ferguson (1863- ? ) married William Arnold (1858- ? ), an Ohio native, but this is not yet confirmed. The wedding took place in about 1878, when Carrie was age 15, and William 21. They lived in Nebraska circa 1880-1892; in Colorado circa 1895; in Colfax Township, Wexford County, MI in 1900; and later in Los Angeles in the 1920s. They had at least eight children, all born in Nebraska except for the youngest two -- George Arnold, Lulu M. Vananburg, Blanche Leone Vandercook, Ralph C. Arnold, John Arnold, Hazel Foxworthy, Paul Arthur Arnold and one who died young between 1900 and 1910. When the federal census was taken in 1900, William boarded with Frederick House in Colfax Township, where he was a day laborer. Carrie and the seven children resided in another location that year within the same township. In 1910, William and Carrie were under the same roof, with son Paul and granddaughter Florence H. Boyd in the household. that year, William was listed as performing general farm work. By 1920, they had moved to Detroit, Wayne County, MI, where William was employed as a watchman in an auto parts factory. Between 1920 and 1930, they moved again, to Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA, and when the 1930 census was taken, during their 50th year of marriage, the 72-year-old William was a janitor in an auto factory, and the 650year-old Carrie a seamstress.

Son George Arnold (1880- ? ) is lost to history for now.
Daughter Lulu Arnold (1886- ? ) was married twice. Her first husband was shingle maker Arthur J. Boyd (1878- ? ), the son of James and Mary (Davis) Boyd. The wedding took place on Aug. 9, 1900, when Lula was age 16, and Arthur age 22. The clergyman who married them was Rev. Howard Moore, pastor of the Friends Church. Witnesses to the marriage were William and Mary Arnold. Nine years later, Lula married her second husband, Frank L. Vanamburg (1880- ? ), the son of Matthew and Betsy (Campbell) Vanamburg, on Nov. 2, 1909. The wedding was performed by Rev. William Murphy, the superintendent of the City Mission, and was witnessed by Chester and Lettie Thayer. Frank was a butcher. Nothing more is known.
Daughter Blanche Leone Arnold (1887- ? ) married Clarence Vandercook (1885- ) on April 4, 1905, at Cadillac, MI. Clarence was the son of Winthrop and Marian (Burgess) Vandercook. At the time, Clarence lived in Manton, Wexford County, and was a clerk. The wedding was performed by Rev. Thomas H.M. Coghlan, and was witnessed by Gertrude Hafer and Claud Moore.
Son Ralph C. Arnold (1889- ? ) served in the U.S. military during World War I, and afterward lived in Detroit, where he was a painter. He married Wilhelmine Becker (1893- ? ), the daughter of Thomas and Maude (Arnout) Becker, on June 18, 1921, in Detroit. At the time, Wilhelmine was a resident of Los Angeles. The wedding was officiated by Rev. Cassius E. Wakefield, and was witnessed by Paul A. Arnold and his wife.
Son John Arnold (1890- ? ) will be reported here when learned.
Daughter Hazel R. Arnold (1892- ? ) married railroad fireman Clyde E. Foxworthy (1882- ? ), the son of H.R. and Z.E. (Laforce) Foxworthy. The wedding took place in Wexford County on Oct. 13, 1910, by the hand of minister William H. Gray, with Elide Lund and Martha Gray serving as witnesses. A full decade separated the newlyweds in age.
Son Paul Arthur Arnold (1895- ? ) also served in the military during World War I, having enlisted in Genesee County, MI. After the war, he resided in Flint, Genesee County, where he was a rivet-heater. On Nov. 4, 1919, at Flint, he married 18-year-old Mabel M. Newberry (1901- ? ), the daughter of H.G. and Cora (Chapman) Newberry. The wedding was performed by Rev. George M. Vercoe, and was witnessed by the pastor's wife.

More will be reported here when learned.