The Ferguson family was among the earliest Ulster Scot families who settled along the waters of Steele Creek in Mecklenburg County before the Revolution. For more than half a century, beginning in 1775 (and possibly 10-15 years earlier,) the Fergusons began buying land on the North fork of Steele Creek near what is now Westinghouse Boulevard. With the help of nearly a dozen slaves, they farmed up to 800 acres, and fought the British to help win our independence. One Ferguson son (William Ferguson) was a founding elder of two early Presbyterian seceder churches (Lower Steele Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian and Little Steele Creek Associate Presbyterian) which united in 1858 to form Central Steele Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, now Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church (PCUSA).

The Fergusons are long gone from Steele Creek, having migrated to Greene County, Ohio in 1833. I am the first of their descendants to return to Mecklenburg County, having arrived in 1968,135 years later. In the late 1980’s, my mother, Marguerite (Watkins) Ferguson (now deceased) and two more of Thomas’ Great-Great-Great-Great Grandchildren, my sisters Judith Ann (Ferguson) Smith and Gloria Maxine (Ferguson) Kuczminski, relocated to Charlotte, to be close to their mother. My third sister, Carla Jean (Ferguson) Howard currently resides in Chesapeake, Virginia. It was a total surprise when I discovered our Ferguson roots were here, and it’s a pleasure and a privilege to share what I’ve learned about them.

Moses Ferguson’s date and place of birth and death, as well as the date of his marriage to Martha, whether they had any children, and their final resting place are unknown at this time.

According to his tombstone in Steele Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Thomas was born in 1729. The names of his parents, and his exact date and place of birth are unknown at this time, but (given the history of the Scots-Irish emigration to America) he was probably born in the Province of Ulster, quite possibly in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.

This supposition is based on the Rev. John Douglas’ book, The History of Steele Creek Church, published in 1872, which states that as early as 1775 there were a few families of Scotch-Irish immigrants, mostly from County Antrim, Ireland, settled on the waters of Steele Creek, North Carolina. A second basis for this supposition is that the Fergusons settled in an area purchased in 1745 by Colonel John Selwyn and Arthur Dobbs (a former High Sheriff of Antrim, Mayor and Deputy Governor of Carrickfergus, and member of the Irish Parliament.) Together, King George II granted Dobbs and Col. Selwyn 400,000 acres of land in what are now, roughly speaking, Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties. The grant required that the proprietor settle one white person on every 200 acres and that any unsettled land would revert to the Crown after ten years. As a result, Dobbs sought out suitable families in his native Antrim, and offered them all kinds of inducements to settle on his lands in the New World. Even before Dobbs became Royal Governor of the Colony of North Carolina in 1754 (an office he held until his death in 1765), some 500 people had settled on his lands. He willingly paid the cost of their transportation and on one occasion, at least, he chartered a ship to take his settlers across the Atlantic.

I do not know yet if Thomas and other members of his family (like many Ulster Scots) settled and farmed for a time in Cecil County, Maryland or Lancaster or Chester Counties of Pennsylvania before journeying southward to Mecklenburg County in the early 1770’s. Probably, like many of the Scots-Irish immigrants at the time, whenever they did make the long trek here, they traveled down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia into the Carolina Piedmont. This "Great Road" was formerly known as the "Warriors’ Path" because it was originally carved by Iroquois Indians and before them, buffalo. It roughly followed the path of the current US Highway 11. Just picture them, slogging their way for one to two months down that crude, rutted, muddy path on foot, in oxen-pulled wagons, on horseback (or a combination of all three!) Then think of how we, today, can sail down that same general path on Interstate highways in the air conditioned comfort of our cars in just eight or nine hours, or hop on a plane, and be here in just over an hour!

Like I, every amateur genealogist must certainly wish that their ancestors had kept a diary or copies of old letters, telling of their incredibly arduous, fascinating and brave adventure as they boarded a sailing ship in one of the five Ulster ports of Belfast, Londonderry, Portrush, Larne or Newry. If only we had a personal account of what motivated them to leave Ulster! If only we knew who their Ulster parents were, when and where they were born and where they lived!

If only we knew when they crossed the channel to Ulster from the Scottish Lowlands! We’d give our eye teeth to know exactly when they made their journey to the American Colonies, the name of the ship they sailed on, who came with them, and if all survived the journey! I’m dying to know what the conditions and the weather and the food were like as their ship was tossed about on the seas for two months or more! If only they had kept a diary giving the intimate details of their daily lives and struggles, their joys and sorrows, once they reached the American Colonies! If only they had jealously guarded these details and passed them down to future generations, we would be able to know and appreciate them, and value their sacrifices so much more! After all, had they not surmounted all of the difficulties that confronted them on the ocean and in the American frontier, none of us would be here today!

How I detest having to write the words "possibly", or "most likely", or "we can assume that", or "we don’t know", when telling the story of our ancestors! How earnestly I wish I could fill in all the gaps and nail down all the facts about them and their lives, without any question, and not get a single thing wrong! Just imagine if we could only hear their Scots-Irish brogue today!

All that remains of the Fergusons’ belongings from North Carolina is an old tin lantern that William’s mother Sarah and his brothers reportedly took with them on their journey. It now enjoys a place of honor on a table in the entry foyer of my Great Grandfather Isaac Alexander ("I.A.") Ferguson’s former farmhouse near Cedarville, Ohio, now owned by one of Thomas Ferguson’s descendants, Catherine (Ferguson) Kyle, and her husband Bill Kyle. They still farm "I. A.’s" land today.

Sadly, with few exceptions, most of us must content ourselves with what we can learn about our ancestors through court and church records. Surprisingly, if you search hard and long and far and wide enough, perhaps, like I, you will learn far more about your ancestors than you ever dreamed possible! Why, you might even come upon some original letters, like the ones I found from my Great-Great Grandfather William Ferguson, and my Great Grandfather Isaac Alexander Ferguson, written in their own hand, stored away in dusty archives at a Federal repository of court records in East Point, Georgia!

If Martha was, indeed, Thomas’ first wife, we can presume that his second marriage, to a widow named Eleanor Wilson, occurred sometime after Martha’s death. Thomas’s second wife was a widow named Eleanor Wilson, who had a son Joseph Wilson, by her first husband (whose name is unknown at this time.)

Born 1754, died March 25, 1817

My Great-Great-Great Grandfather William Ferguson, (exact date and place of birth unknown,) had a long and very productive life in Steele Creek. He served in one of the Mecklenburg County Militias in the Revolutionary War and doubled the size of the Ferguson farm. He helped found two early Presbyterian Churches, married twice, and fathered nine children in the space of just 12 years, starting with his second wife, when he was 51 years old and she was less than half his age!

Revolutionary War records show that a William Ferguson (most certainly our ancestor) was listed as a Corporal on the rolls of Captain Adam Alexander’s militia company. William was in his twenties at that time. Adam Alexander was among the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which is purported to have declared Mecklenburg’s independence from England more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. A Samuel Ferguson and an Alexander Ferguson (whose relationship, if any, to our family is unknown) were also listed as members of Alexander’s company. I have found no record yet of what military engagements Captain Alexander’s militia may have fought in.

No doubt, our ancestors (like many of their Ulster-Scot neighbors) brought very strong and strict Presbyterian beliefs across the Atlantic with them from their membership in the Associate Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland. Among them was the tradition of singing in unison, without any instrumental or choral accompaniment, Psalms from the old Scottish Psalter of 1650, written by Francis Rous. The Psalter consisted of the entire Book of Psalms, each Psalm literally paraphrased, rhymed, metered, and set to music. In comparison to today’s hymns, they were solemn, slow, and often awkwardly phrased.

Sometime during the 1780’s or early 1790’s, the pastor of Steele Creek Presbyterian, the Rev. James McRee, introduced new, livelier and more melodic hymns written by Isaac Watts (the English pastor, poet and hymn writer who wrote "Joy to the World".) This change created dissension in the church, (much as the switch from the red hymnal to the blue hymnal, with its politically correct, gender-neutral revisions of hymns did in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in 1990.)

The Fergusons and other members who preferred the old songs and who may have felt Watts’ hymns were too secular, seceded in 1793 to form Lower Steele Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. It later came to be known as "Blackstock", in honor of its first minister, the Rev. William Blackstock of Ballynahinch, in County Down, Northern Ireland. William Ferguson and James "Jimmy" Grier were among the first elders.

Some ten years later, a split developed within Rev. Blackstock’s congregation over a move to do away with the tradition (brought over from Ulster) of fasting the day before the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and observing the day following as a day of thanksgiving. Preferring, once again, to stick with the old ways, William and fellow elder Jimmy Grier and many of their fellow congregants split away from Lower Steele Creek ARP, and formed Little Steele Creek Associate Presbyterian Church near Sandy Porter and Shopton Roads, which was much closer to their farms.

William was apparently married twice. His first wife was Mary Bigham, who died on February 6, 1795 at the age of 41. Apparently that marriage bore no children. William’s second marriage resulted from an acquaintance he made with a young woman less than half his age, while carrying out his duties as an elder in Lower Steele Creek ARP. Records show the Rev. Alexander Moore (a seceder Presbyterian minister from Glafkerin in County Down, Northern Ireland) died on April 19, 1797 at the age of 44, leaving a widow, Sarah Moore, their four sons, Thomas, Alexander, Robert and William and two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah. Rev. Moore apparently had not yet been called to a pulpit in the Carolinas, but may have served several churches as a stated supply. After Rev. Moore’s death, William Ferguson and Robert Bigham were appointed as trustees by the Associate Reformed Presbytery of the Carolinas and Georgia to use $300 in silver donated by area citizens to purchase a plantation for the widow Sarah and her children. In about 1805, William married Sarah Moore’s daughter Sarah, when she was about 24 years old and he was 51! Talk about robbing the cradle!

Sarah and William had nine children (five sons and four daughters.) The first, Thomas, was born December 30, 1805. The second, William, was born April 14, 1807. The third, Alexander M., was born March 15, 1809. The fourth, John M., was born November 28, 1810. The fifth, Polly, was born about 1811. The sixth, Martha G., was born September 10, 1812. The seventh, Sarah, was born about 1814. She died about four years later, and is buried in the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery. The last, Jane Eliza, was born January 19, 1817, just over two months before William died. There apparently was a ninth child, a brother, born sometime during those 12 years, who died when he was just a few days old.

An inventory of William’s estate, taken in accordance with his will on August 21^st, 1817, gives a very interesting glimpse of the family’s possessions and their lifestyle. And who would have thought we would ever learn the names of some of William’s horses, or the names, ages and valuations of his slaves! But, despite the long odds, here’s the list!

Inventory of the Estate of William Ferguson with Valuation assessed, viz. That part Retained under the Direction of the will for the use of the family August 21^st 1817.

$ c

1 Bay horse called John valued to..………………………...30."

1 Black horse……………….…………………………..70."

1 Bay horse named Charley………….…………………...60."

4 Milch (sic) Cows……………….……………………52."

5 Head Dry Cattle...………………………………….....37."

4Calves………………...……………………….. … …. 8."

8 Head Sheep……………………………...…….....…...16."

Dresser and Furniture…………..……… ..……………..17.60

Drawers, Bookcase and Sealed yard……………………....20."

Cupboard and contents………...………………………....13."

Bread Tray, servers, candlestick…………….……………..4."

2 Looking Glasses ………….……………………..……..1.50

Kitchen Furniture…...………………..……….………39.12

Bedding and Bed Furniture…………………….……....117."

1 large plough $5…1 Small plough $4……………………....9."

2 One horse ploughs 2 Dollars each…………………….…...4."

3 Clavises $1.12-1/2, 1 Doubletree $2., one horse harrow $2.75…...5.87-1/2

3 Pair Ploughing Tackle $8.__3 bridles and lines $1………..…9."

4 hoes $3., 1 Mattock $1.50, 2 Axes $4.00……………….…..8.50

2 Iron wedges $1.75, augers and hand saw $2.25…………….....4."

Cutingbox (sic) and knife $2, 2 hayforks $1, ½ bushel 75 cents.....3.75

1 large hogshead 40 cts, watering bucket 50 cts, bridles 50 cts...…..1.40

1Fan 50 cts., 1 Pork barrel $1., 1 Pork barrel 75 cts, 2 Scythes $4.6.25

1 Cradle for Grain 1 $., 3 sides(?) leather $4.50, 1 spade 50 cts…6."

1 jug, 1 gal. oil $1.75, 4 hides $8., 2 tables $4.00…...….…….…13.75

8 Sitting Chairs $4.00, 1 Side Saddle and bridle…...……….15."

1 Side Saddle $6., 1 Man’s Saddle $5………….………….11."

50 Bushels wheat $1 per bushel…………...……….………50."

3 Spinning Wheels $6.50, 1 Cotton Wheel $1.50…….………8."

4 Bushels Salt $2 per bushel…..…..……………………..28."

42 lb. Wool at 40 cents per pound….…..……………..……16.80

Steel yards…..…………………………………………3."

1 Box shoe tools 50 cts., 2 flax hackles $6…………...……….6.50

21 Head of hogs $3.90 per head……………………… ….82."

William’s executors then compiled this list of the surplus property of his estate not needed by the family:

"List of articles the property of the Estate of William Ferguson, deceased, at publick (sic) sale by the executors on the 22^nd of August, 1817, for which notes were raken payable twelve months from this date."

$ c

Bedstead and drawing knife bought by James Hartt, Esqr…...1."

1 Whiskey Cask………...bought by Alexander J. Porter....38.

Lot of sundries, old irons....bought by Thomas Greer, Esqr.…25.

Old Horse shoes & augers..bought by Robert Bigham.………1."

Old Sand Boxes and Shaders bought by Matthew Marvel…1."

Ax and Clavises…………...bought by Robert Bigham …...1.50

Lott of old Scythes………....bought by James Rudisill…....1."

Lott of Sundrie old irons…….bought by James Rudisill…...1."

Box of Sundries…………...bought by James Rudisill…….60

Truckle Wheels……………bought by Samuel Roan……..1.60

Lott old barrels and keggs…..bought by John Bigham………..80

1 Barshear Plough…………bought by James Hartt, Esqr....1.20

1 Barshear Plough…………bought by James Hartt, Esqr…..37-1/2

1 Barshear Plough…………bought by Samuel Neel….…….80

1 Barshear Plough…………bought by Alex Grier...……….81

1 Barshear Plough…………bought by Sam’l Neel…..…… 2.05

Mattock…………………..bought by James Rudisill……1.62

Double Trees………………bought by Sam’l Neel…………75

Double Trees………………bought by Thomas J. Grier.…....85

1 Pair Drawing Chains and harness " " Thomas J. Grier……1."

1 Pair Drawing Chains and harness " " Thomas J. Grier……1.40

Hoe………………………bought by Thomas J. Grier.……25

Log Chain….……………..bought by Robert Bigham……4.60

18 wt. Iron per pound 8 cts...….bought by Alex Grier….....….1.44

44 wt. Iron per pound 8-1/4 cents " " Alex Grier ………3.63

Sundries, old barrel, scythes, hoop " " William Porter…...….99

Scythe and Cradle…...……..bought by William Porter…….1."

Waggon (sic).…..…………bought by Walter Faris…….100."

1 Cow………………..……bought by Alex Ross…....…..17."

1 Cow…………..…………bought by Thos. J. Grier…….15."

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 1^st choice per $2 " Hugh Bigham….…8."

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 2^nd choice per $2 " John Smith……….8."

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 3^rd choice per $1.50 Alex. Porter, Jr.…..6.40

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 4^th choice per $1.51 Wm. B. Hill…….. 6. 4

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 5^th choice per $1.50 Thos. J. Grier……..6."

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 6^th choice per $1.41 Thos. J. Grier……..5.64

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 7^th choice per $1.36 William B. Hill…..5.44

1 lot Sheep, 4 in the lott 8^th choice per $1.00 Thos. J. Grier……..4."

Frow……..………………..bought by Samuel Neel………..65

Rifle Gun……..………….bought by Robert Porter…..…16.37-1/2

Wheat 10 Bushels in a lott 1^st per bu. $1.25Walter Faris……...12.50

Wheat 10 Bushels in a lott 2^nd per bu. $1.29Andrew Alison…...12.90

Wheat 10 Bushels in a lott 3^rd per bu. $1.27.Samuel Whitesides.12.70

Wheat 10 Bushels in a lott 4^th per bu. $1.27.Samuel Whitesides.12.70

1 Plow Plain……………….bought by B. Carothers……..….50

1 Black Mare……………..bought by Thos. J. Grier….…..19.50

1 Bay Horse… ………….bought by Will. B. Hill……...59."

George Fite’s forfeiture on the above……George Fite…...……2.75

Wool 10 lbs. in the lott, 1^st per pound 40 cts.John Houghland..….4."

Wool 10 lbs. in the lott, 2^nd per pound 35 cts…Benjamin Parish...3.50

Wool 10 lbs. in the lott, 3^rd per pound 38 cts…Slaton Davis...….3.80

Wool 10 lbs. in the lott, 4^th per pound 37 cts…Slaton Davis…....3.70

Wool 18 lbs. in the lott, 5^th per pound 37-1/2 ctsThomas Moore…..6.75

Geese 10 in the lott, 1^st per head 37 cents……..Will B. Taylor…3.70

Geese 10 in the lott, 2^nd per head 32 cents……..James Willson.....3.20

Hogs 2 in the lott, 1^st per head $5.25….…..John Hepworth…....10.25

Hogs 2 in the lott, 2^nd per head $4.00…….John Hepworth……..8."

Hogs 2 in the lott, 3^rd per head $3.55………..Sam’l Roan...…..7.10

Hogs 2 in the lott, 4^th per head $3.12-1/2……..Sam’l Roan….....6.25

Hogs 2 in the lott, 5^th per head $3.00….……..Sam’l Roan...…..6."

Hogs 2 in the lott, 6^th per head $3.00…...……Sam’l Roan…….6."

Hogs 2 in the lott, 7^th per head $2.25………...Upton Byrum….4.50

Hogs 2 in the lott, 8^th per head $2.00………...Upton Byrum….4."

Hogs 2 in the lott, 9^th per head $2.00………...Upton Byrum….4."

Hogs 2 in the lott 10^th per head $1.90…….…..Upton Byrum….3.80

Hogs 2 in the lott 11^th per head $1.06………,..John Hepworth….2.12

Bullet Moulds……………………… James Grier Jr…...30

$19.50 Cash on hand __19.50

at his death to be added $484.78

to this total………………… Alex Grier

Phillis aiged 58 years valued to……………………………...$200."

Cain aiged 38 years valued to…....….……………………….. 700."

Hetty aiged 36 years valued to…….....……………………......500."

Harry aiged 10 years valued to……....………………………..400."

Getty aiged 8 years valued to…...……………………...……..300."

Milley aiged 6 years valued to……...………………….……..250."

Sillvey aiged 5 years valued to…………..………………...….200."

George aiged 4 years valued to……..…………………………200."

Cambell aiged 2 years valued to…..……………………….…..150."

Joseph aiged 6 months valued to…..……………………….….100."

Thos. Greer J.P. (Justice of the Peace) Sam’l Neel

Tho J. Grier

his

Upton + Byrum

Mark

Renting of land, hiring of Negroes belonging to the estate of William Ferguson, deceased.

Cain and Hetty…………………………………….$225.

Negro Harry…………………………………...…… 45."

Harry – Upton Byrum…………………………….…62.50

1822 Cain to James Greer……………..………….……....$100.05

Harry -- ……………………………………………. 45.00 $162.45

Harry – Wm (?) … …………………...……………. 42."

1824 Hetty to (?)………………………………………....27.50

Harry to ?)………………………………………… 45."

Camble to George Duncan…………... ………………. 12.30

Campble (sic) to (?)…………....…………….………..6.00

1825 Harry to (?)………………..…………………….....50.00

George to (?)…..………………………………….......15.00 $90.00

All the above hires are due at the end of the respective years to which they are affixed, except the rent which became due on the February following.---

Signed Alex Grier, Surviving Executor

January 1827

Retained in Estate (?)

Just over a year later, William’s Executors held another sale of his farm equipment and animals. Here’s the list:

William Herron……Shovel andSpade…….…………..40

James McKnight…Doubletrees…………..………....1.15

Larkin Stowe……... .2 Hoes………………………... ..80

William Herron...…..1 Hoe……………....…………....25

Capt. Al(?).....……1 Ax…………………………..1.55

Jonathan Reed……..3 Iron Wedges………...………..1.41

H. H. Glover...…….2 Clavises and Singletrees…….... 1."

Joseph Smith...……..1 Drawing Knife………………..73

James Grier, Sr……2 Augurs and Goudge……........….56

Jonathan Reed……..1 Hand Saw……………….........1.13

Thomas Grier, Esq….1 Harrow…….…...…..…............2.50

Robert McKnight....1 Couther(?).………...……..........80

Samuel Roan.……..Bridle and hook…………………....25

Alexander Porter…..Rake and pitchfork…………….…..63

Alexander Grier …...1 Pitchfork……...…...……….........42

James Grier, Sr…....1 Pitchfork………………………. 42

James Wilson……....1 Barshear plough………………..4.51

Richard Robinson…..1 Barshear plough…………….......6.50

Hugh Williamson…..1 Plough………………...…........... 90

Richard Robinson…..2 Whetstones………..…………......32

Alexander Porter…...Collar, hames (harness?) and chains….73

Alexander Porter…...Collar, hames (harness?) and chains...3.00

Jonas Rudisill…… .1 Cowhide…..………………….,..2.12-1/2

Jonas Rudisill..….…1 Cowhide……….……….…….....1.01

Jonas Rudisill……...1 Cowhide……………………..….1.01

Walter Faris..……....1 Scythe and Cradle……………….3.

"Robert Bigham ……1 Scythe………………………….2.01

Robert Caudle……...1 lott corn, 20 bus. at 70 cents per.…….14."

Hugh Williamson…...1 lott corn, 20 bus. at 75 cents per……..15."

James Wilson………1 lott corn, 20 bus. at 73 cents per.…….14.60

James Wilson………1 Brake………………...…………1."

Alexander Porter….....1 Stack of hay…….……...................8.35

Capt. John Harris..…1 Stack of hay……………………...9.15

Francis Semril……....1 Stack of hay…………...….............9."

John Taylor………....1 Stack of hay…………………...…3.65

Hugh Williamson...…1 Sow and pigs………………….….9.20

George McCoy…….2 Shoats……………..…..……...…7."

John Gilla…………4 Sheep………………………..…..7."

Robert McKnight....2 Barrows…………………..……..17.37-1/2

H. H. Glover,,……..1 Sow and pigs………………..…......9.25

James Wilson…..…..1 Sow and pigs..…..…………..…….10.20

Samuel W. Lindsey...1 Sow and pigs……...………………10.25

Thomas Spratt…..….1 bay horse…… ……………………76."

Robert Bigham...........1 Black Horse……..….………..…..90."

Capt. John Harris….3 Calves……….….………...….… 7.25

Capt. John Harris….1 young Steer…………………...…....6.

Francis Simril……....1 Red Cow………………………….11.20

Alexander Grier……1 Tann (?) Bark……,…………….….1."

Capt. John Harris…Cutting knife and box……….…………2.80

Ephraim Kindrick….2 Riddles(?)………… …………….…50

Alexander L. Ross…Lott of flax…….……………………..7."

Walter Faris………Rye share (?)…………………...……10.80

Robert Bigham…… Ham (?)………….……...………….….25

Walter Faris……… .3 Rakes……...…………………..……1."

W. B. Taylor & Alex Greer..1266. Cut Fodder @ 100 per (?)…...12.66

Walter Faris……….Hogshead and Hail (?)………...………..1."

Richard Robinson…..Grindstone…...……….……………......7.36

Thos. Moore

In accordance with William’s will, after his son Thomas reached age 21, men chosen by the Court divided his 800-acre farm into four equal parcels. Here’s the transcript of the document that describes how that procedure was carried out:

State of North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. Agreeable to an order from the Worshipful Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (?) November Term 1828 to us the Subscribers to lay off and divide the lands of the late William Ferguson deceased among his four sons viz. Thomas,William, Alexander and John, agreeable to the last Will and Testament of the said William Ferguson deceased, we have met this 14^th day of January, 1829 and after being duly sworn and impaneled have proceeded to examine said lands and partition the same in the following manner. We have divided said lands into four parts or lotts, numbered each of the lots beginning at 1-2-3-4 and the names of the four legatees, having been put into a box and hat, separate from the numbers, and the numbers and names drawn alternately until all were drawn. Alexander has drawn lot No. 1, John has drawn lot No. 2, Thomas has drawn lott No. 3, and William has drawn lot No. 4------which will appear more fully by reference to the accompanying Platts made out by Mr. John Black. Given under our hand and seal this ___ day of January, 1829. Thomas J. Grier

Hugh McDowell

John Hartt

Four years after the division of the 800 acre Ferguson farm in Steele Creek equally among the four sons, they and their widowed Mother Sarah, and three of their four sisters set off on a 500+ mile journey over the Appalachian Mountains to Greene County, Ohio. Their sister Polly was not among them. She would have been about 22 years old at the time of the family’s departure, so there is a possibility that she had married someone by then and remained in Mecklenburg County. But it is very curious to note that Polly’a brother William Ferguson did not mention her when he listed the members of his family in the deposition he gave in 1882 in the family’s lawsuit over the estate of his brother, Alexander M.

Why, you might wonder, did the Fergusons leave Steele Creek for Ohio? Well, just think of the realities that confronted them at the time! When Sarah’s husband William died in 1817, his children ranged in age from a son just 11 years old to a baby girl, just four months old! The only farm animals left to his family after the auction, carried out in accordance with William’s will, were three horses, four milk cows, five cattle, four calves and eight sheep. Within a year, the rest of the livestock, including four horses, three cows, three calves, one steer, two sows and their pigs, two shoats (pigs less than a year old), 22 hogs, 36 sheep and most of the farm equipment, which had been auctioned off to raise cash for the family’s support. What’s more, the adult slaves, Cain and Hetty, so essential to helping perform the heavy labor on the farm, and the oldest slave child Harry (just 10 years old), had been hired out to neighboring farmers.

In 1824, when two slave boys, George and Cambell, reached ages 11 and 9 respectively, they, too, were hired out. Who was left to run the Ferguson farm? A five year old slave girl named Sillvey, whom William had willed to care for his widow, Sarah. That left five other slave children, aged 8 years to 6 months, and William and Sarah’s children, none of whom had yet reached their teenage years. Most of the farming equipment, even the family’s "rifle gun", "bullet moulds", and their "whiskey cask", had been auctioned away. Somewhere, somehow, William’s children had to be "schooled" in accordance with their father’s will. In short, it would seem likely that the Ferguson farm must have run down terribly and much of it must have gone uncultivated in the period between William’s death in 1817 and his eldest son Thomas’ reaching the age of 21 at the start of 1827.

It is also possible that a visit by the Rev. Francis Pringle, brother of the Fergusons’ minister Rev. James Pringle, shortly after William’s death in the spring of 1817, may have planted the seed for the family’s move to Greene County, Ohio 16 years later. According to Steele Creek historian the Rev. John Douglas, Francis Pringle, like his brother James, was also a Seceder minister and was pastor of the Sugar Creek Associate Presbyterian Church in Greene County. "Being in feeble health," Rev. Douglas writes, "he came south, on a visit to his bother James, in the spring previous to James’ death, and died a few months before him. Thus, the two brothers, with little more than a year’s difference in the time of their births, and though their fields of labor were far apart, strange to relate, died under the same roof…" (in the home of Col. Thomas J. Grier, with whom the unmarried James Pringle lived)…"in less than a year of each other. Tenderly attached in life, they were not long separated in death. They now lie side by side in the graveyard at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church. Francis died on the 15^th of March, 1818, in the fourth year of his ministry and the 29^th year of his age. James died on the 28^th of October, 1818 in the fifth year of his ministry and the thirtieth year of his life. The bereaved congregations (though locally far apart) united and erected one broad, white marble slab to cover the graves of the two pastors."

Then came a deadly spell of illness that swept through the Steele Creek community beginning around 1832, snuffing out the lives of many children and young adults.

Yet another factor to consider, which may have influenced the Fergusons’ decision to move to Ohio, was the rising tide of sentiment against slavery within their own denomination, the Associate Presbyterian Church of North America. The Rev. Abraham Anderson who pastored the family’s church, Little Steele Creek, and the Back Creek Associate Church from 1822 to 1833, is reported to have held very strong anti-slavery feelings. So strong was his opposition to slavery, and his distress over widespread slave ownership among members of his congregation (including the Fergusons) that Rev. Anderson left Little Steele Creek Church in 1833, and returned to his native state of Pennsylvania, where his convictions were adhered to.

And so it was that in 1833, Sarah Ferguson and her four sons, Thomas, William, Alexander M. and John M. and two daughters, Jane Eliza and Martha G., packed up their belongings and embarked on the long journey over the Blue Ridge Mountains toward Greene County, Ohio, more than 500 miles away.

In that same month, Sarah Ferguson’ sons, William, John M. and Thomas, granted their brother, Alexander M. Ferguson, power of attorney to sell the 800 acre Ferguson farm back in Steele Creek. Sarah Ferguson, (still apparently in frail health from her illness that had delayed the family’s journey from North Carolina,) died February 15, 1835, just months after their arrival in Greene County, Ohio. She is buried in the beautifully maintained and historic Massies Creek Associate Presbyterian Church cemetery (also known as Stevenson’s Cemetery) there.

Less than two years later, back in Mecklenburg County, on January 19^th, 1837, William Ferguson’s uncle, William Moore, (Sarah Ferguson’s brother) acting in his nephew’s behalf, sold William’s share of the Steele Creek farm to Col. Thomas J. Grier, (in whose home, you’ll recall, both Pringle brothers died.)

But, on April 14^th, 1837, a member of Massies Creek Church appealed the session’s dismissal of the Ferguson slave case to the Presbytery. The Presbytery upheld that appeal and the session then appealed to the Synod.

In the committee’s opinion, the Fergusons’ difficulties in freeing their slaves were legitimate, arising from a genuine concern for the slaves’ health and welfare. But, on November 4^th, 1837, the session of Massies Creek Church moved to suspend the Fergusons until they liberated their slaves. The moderator ruled the motion out of order because a similar motion had been appealed from the Presbytery to the Synod and was still pending. But the session appealed the moderator’s ruling and voted to suspend the Fergusons. The moderator appealed this action to the Presbytery. No record has been found that the Synod ever ruled on this matter, so it would appear that the suspension of the Fergusons was never actually carried out.

Sometime in 1838, Alexander M. Ferguson, who had been granted power of attorney by his brothers to sell off the remainder of the Ferguson farm, returned to Steele Creek to dispose of the property. Deeds on file at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse document that he did so, in several sales between 1838 and 1839.

Presumably, with the proceeds from those sales, William, Thomas and John, who had been renting a farm in Greene County since their arrival, purchased land of their own and built three separate houses, on the Clifton-Old Town pike, which are still standing today. Thomas and John’s houses were built of brick, hand-made from clay, dug on their farms.

In 1839, Alexander and a number of the Ferguson slaves left Steele Creek with Alexander’s uncles, William, Alexander and possibly Robert Moore, and traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where they remained for two or three years. Then in 1841 or 1842, Alexander and the slaves continued on to Mississippi where they apparently stayed for only a few days or weeks, before settling in Tennessee. For a short time, Alexander worked a farm near Memphis, before buying two acres of land on Beale Street in south Memphis.

By means that are not clear at this time, Alexander began to acquire numerous rental properties, including most of the entire block bordered by the 100 block of Beale Street, DeSoto Street and Hernando Street, as well as other properties in Memphis. Alexander was by many accounts illiterate. He never married, but took in a young man named Harry Dent, put him through law school, and then arranged for him to manage all of his properties for him. A lawsuit, brought by Alexander’s siblings after his death, alleges that Alexander’s adopted son, Harry Dent, cheated and deceived him out of all of his properties and left him destitute. The depositions and other documents on file in that case at the Federal Archives in East Point, Georgia reveal a fascinating, sometimes hilarious, but at the same time a very sad tale of Alexander’s decline into alcoholism, feeble-mindedness, poverty and utter despair. He died in Memphis, a pauper, on June 20th, 1880 and is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery there.

Back in Greene County, Ohio, two of Alexander’s siblings, his brother Thomas and his sister Jane Eliza, also never married. His sister Martha G. married and had children. His brother John remained single until his 60’s when he married his housekeeper, Anna J. (Annie) Wilson. By her, John fathered a son, Elmer C. Ferguson, who never married. On October 20^th, 1839, Alexander’s brother, William, (who like the other Ohio brothers all farmed for a living), married a Nancy Lackey who had moved to Greene County with her parents from Rockbridge County, Virginia. They had seven children. Two daughters and a son died in childhood. Another daughter, Eliza Elvira had mental problems and never married. William placed her for a time in the Dayton State Hospital, formerly known as the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum. Three other sons, Isaac Alexander Ferguson (my Great Grandfather,) William Henry Ferguson and Albert Lee Ferguson all married and had children, and continued to farm in Greene County. Some of their descendants are still farming there today.

For the purposes of this history on the Fergusons of Steele Creek, I will mercifully end the story here. But for the Steele Creek Historical and Genealogical Society’s files, I will include a copy of my family tree, and transcripts of several wills, letters and other documents which may be of interest.