Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 351 - 352

JOHN W. FERGUSON, retired farmer, now engaged in real-estate transactions, with an office at No. 1,003 South Lawrence avenue, is one of the esteemed and honored citizens of Wichita; he is notable for his sound judgment, tireless industry,  sterling integrity, and earnest religious character.  He is a worthy descendant of an old Virginia family of Scotch-Irish ancestry; four brothers of the Ferguson name settled on the James River in Virginia among the earliest colonists. Thomas Ferguson, the grandfather of our subject, who was descended from one of these brothers, was a brave soldier in the Revolution, and was killed at the battle of King's Mountain, Va. His widow survived him many years, her life being prolonged to the advanced age of ninety-two or ninety-three years.  Thomas Ferguson, their son, and father of our subject, when a boy, was a carrier of despatches during the Revolutionary War.  He was a bold, resolute youth, endowed with great strength and vigor, and when he grew to manhood he became a pioneer farmer of Kentucky and a trader among the settlements on the Cumberland River; he was a contemporary frontiersman with Daniel Boone, and was in quite prosperous circumstances for those days. He moved to Indiana Oct. 20, 1819, and located in Greene County, of which he was an early settler, and he died in his log cabin in his pioneer home, at the age of seventy-seven. The maiden name of his companion and helpmeet was Nancy Young. To them were born fourteen children, of whom four sons are now living, namely: Samuel, Thomas, John W. and Augustus. There were ten brothers in all, nine of whom at one time lived in one neighborhood. They were men of large and fine physiques, our subject being the smallest, and he stands six feet. He has been a very powerful man, and formerly weighted 200 pounds. The brothers were all men of great strength, and at all log-rollings, and at similar gatherings, they were noted for their wonderful feats of lifting.

      John W. Ferguson, of this sketch, was born in Knox County, Ky., Feb. 18, 1814, and was but a small child when his father became a pioneer, making his new home in Greene County, Ind., and there he was reared to manhood. His educational facilities were very scant, consisting of a three months' attendance in a little school-house which he describes as being build of buckeye and cottonwood poles, with a puncheon floor, with very small windows, covered with greased paper, admitting a very dim light.

      Mr. Ferguson was first married when but seventeen years of age, in Greene County, to Miss Nancy H. Stone, a native of Kentucky, her parents being natives of Virginia. She was in many respects a remarkable character; she was of an earnest religious nature, and had a wonderful knowledge of the Bible, and her beautiful musical voice was often lifted in sacred song; though unlearned, she was exceedingly intelligent, and understood the political affairs of the day; her strength was remarkable, and she could easily shoulder two bushels of wheat; she carded, spun and colored her own flax, and was in every way a helpmeet, indeed, to her husband. At the time of their marriage neither Mr. or Mrs. Ferguson could read or write, and the young couple assiduously set themselves to learn to read together by the light of a hickory-bark fire. Mrs. Ferguson died in 1853. Her union with our subject was blessed by the birth of ten children - Mary F., Stephen R., Jeremiah L., John H., Eliza A.; the remaining children died in infancy. Mr. Ferguson's second marriage was to Mrs. Frances Stafford, nee Gregory, of Indiana. To them were born six children, four living - Ira, Arminta J., Demma and Pheraba. His second wife, a most amiable and estimable woman, was also taken from him, and Mr. Ferguson married, Feb. 10, 1878, to Miss Martha Lee, of Decatur County, Ind.

      Mr. Ferguson remained a resident of Greene County, Ind. for many years, and accumulated money by his farming operations and stock-dealings. In 1878 he removed with his family to Kansas and settled on a farm in Illinois Township, Sedgwick County, where he lived for six years. He then took up his residence in Wichita, on the corner of South Lawrence and Gilbert streets. He bought property in this city, and has since done a good business in real-estate dealings. He is now seventy-four years of age, is well preserved, retaining in a remarkable degree his early strength and vigor of body and mind, and takes an earnest interest in all matters in which he can do good, and work some benefit to his fellowmen.

      In politics, Mr. Ferguson was an old Henry Clay Whig, and on the formation of the Republican party became one of its firmest supporters, and his worth and ability received due acknowledgment from the hands of his fellow-citizens, who twice elected him to the Legislature of Indiana, in which he did honorable service in three sessions, one of which was an extra one called during the war. We have referred to his religious faith; he is now an active member of the Christian Church, in which he has been an ordained minister and Elder for more than fifty years.

[ Home ]