San
Joaquin County
Biographies
WILLIAM E. FERGUSSON
A veteran of the Civil War, William
E. Fergusson was born in Glengary County, Ontario,
August 2, 1848, a son of Rev. William E. and Jane (Mason) Fergusson, natives of
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The father was a graduate of St. Andrews
University with the degree of M. A. and was ordained a minister in the
Presbyterian Church. Coming to Ontario
he preached for many years until he accepted the position of inspector of
schools for Dundas County until he retired. He and his wife died in Ontario.
Of their ten children, William E. is
the fifth oldest and was educated in the public school at Winchester. Living close to the U. S. line, his
patriotism was stirred when sixteen years of age he left his books and made his
way across the line to enlist in Company K., 193rd New York
Volunteer Infantry, March, 1865, was sent into the Shenandoah Valley where he
served nearly a year, being mustered out at Harper’s Ferry in the spring of
1866 and was honorably discharged in Albany, New York. He returned to his studies and then taught
school in Ontario until 1870, when he came to Nevada and taught school in Reese
River until he began mining, in which he met with fair success. In 1884 he came to Shasta County, California,
where he followed farming.
In 1872 Mr. Fergusson made a trip
back to Ontario and was married to Miss Elsie Neveu,
a native of that province. She died in
Shasta County in 1893 leaving six children.
Foresta presides over her father’s home; W. P.
Fergusson, Kenneth T. Fergusson, D. D. S.; Franklin Fergusson, Mrs. Elsie
Proctor and Wilbur, all of Stockton. For
a time Mr. Fergusson was in the employ of a lumber company. Later he became manager of a store and was
assistant postmaster for several years.
Several of his children having located in Stockton he also came hither
and for three years he engaged in the grocery business, since which time he has
lived retired. In Shasta County he was a
member of the school board. He was made
of Mason in St. Johns Lodge in Ontario and is now a member of Morning Star
Lodge No. 68, F. &. A. M., and also a member of Rawlins Post No. 23 G. A.
R. serving as adjutant for the last six years and is also a past commander of
the Post. He is a trustee in the United
Brethren Church and politically he is a staunch Republican.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
681. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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