San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN FERGUSON
A very interesting pioneer of San
Joaquin County who was highly esteemed by his generation and whose memory will
always be honored by all who know of his good works is the late John Ferguson,
who was a native of Belfast, Ireland, and came out to America in 1833 as a
young man, settling in Pennsylvania. He
was a tailor by trade and established a tailoring business at Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, from which place he set out in
1851 for California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, leaving his family back in
Pennsylvania. He proceeded to the
southern mines and mined on Woods Creek, and became interested in placer mining
at Chinese Camp and Jimtown for three years. Returning east to his family, he came back to
Stockton in 1865 and then established a tailoring business, which he conducted
until the time of his death in 1896, at eighty-two years of age, well known
among the pioneers and gold miners of the early days of California. He had numerous friends and was highly respected.
Mr. Ferguson’s first marriage occurred
in Belfast, Ireland, and he and his wife came to Pennsylvania with their
children in 1833. He had learned his
trade, that of a tailor, in Belfast, and was a very thorough workman. He was a leading tailor in Stockton, and many
of the leading business and professional men were his customers. Mrs. Eliza Ferguson died in Pennsylvania and
left three children: William Ferguson
was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was married in Canada to Mary Martha
Wainwright, born in England. He came to
California in 1878, later removing to the state of Washington, where he died in
1918. Six of his children are still
surviving. John died at Orangeville,
Canada, where for many years he was engaged in the tailoring business. He also left a large family. Elizabeth became Mrs. William Carson of
Buffalo, New York, and she is still living.
She had three children. John
Ferguson married his second wife in Stockton, but no children were born to their
union.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1295. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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