Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Family of John Ferguson and Mary Strain

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Family of John Ferguson and Mary Strain

Generation No. 2

2. ANDREW² FERGUSON, SR. (JOHN¹) was born Abt. 1775 in SC, and died November 16, 1843 in Pickens County, South Carolina. He married MARY ALEXANDER Abt. 1798, daughter of JAMES ALEXANDER and MARY PEDEN. She was born Abt. 1775 in Chester Co., SC.

Notes for ANDREW FERGUSON, SR.:
1800 Pickens District entries for Ferguson:
F625 FERGUSON Hugh M-032 050 37 00010-20100-00 No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON James M-032 050 12 10010-40010-00 No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON James M-032 050 60 10100-00100-00 No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON James M-032 050 24 12010-21010-02 No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON John M-032 050 60 00001-02101-00 No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON William M-032 050 36 40010-10010-00 No Twp. Listed

1810 Pickens District entries for Ferguson:
F625 FERGUSON Anderson M-252 061 160 NdRcd No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON Anderson M-252 061 145 NdRcd No Twp. Listed
F625 FERGUSON William M-252 061 150 NdRcd No Twp. Listed
*****
"From the census records I have on Andrew Ferguson he could very well have had sons born in 1802, 1804 and 1807. The 1810 census Spartanburg Dist., SC shows him as Andrew Forgerson with 4 sons born between 1800 and 1810. The 1820 census for Pendleton Dist., SC shows him as Andrew Ferguson with 4 sons born betwee 1800 and 1808. The 1830 census for Pickens Dist., SC shows Andrew Furguson with 2 sons born between 1800 and 1810. The two oldest appear to have left home. There is a John Ferguson with wife both born betwen 1800 and 1810 and a James Ferguson who I have already identified as my ancestor on the same census in the same proximity. One of the sons remaining at home could have been Andrew, Jr.
My Andrew had to be in Spartanburg, SC by 4 Sep 1804, because my James' tombstone says he was born in Spartanburg Dist., SC on that date. The tombstone could be wrong, but other records support the birthdate and the son who had the inscription placed on the stone was educated and served as Clerk of the Ordinary in Pickens Co. On the son's tombstone it says that he was born in Pickens Dist., SC. Apparently there is some tradition in John L.'s family that says he was born in Aiken/Aiken Co., SC. Was Andrew in Aiken Co. in 1802 when John L. was born? The city of Aiken Co., SC was not chartered until 1835 and Aiken Co. of which Aiken is the county seat was only organized in 1871. John Lewis was born in 1802 and died in 1873. I might believe that Andrew was in what is now Aiken Co., SC when John L. was born, but how would someone know that. If his parents took him to Spartanburg Dist., SC before 1804, he would have been less than 2 years old. He would have been 33 when Aiken became a town and would have died 2 years after Aiken became a county.
I will concede that Andrew may have arrived in Spartanburg shortly before 1804 since James was born in that year and Andrew did not buy property in Spartanburg until 1805. He also sold his property in Spartanburg in 1818 and then was on the 1820 census for Pendleton Dist., SC. Pendleton Dist. originally was comprised of the present counties of Oconee, Anderson and Pickens and was divided into Anderson and Pickens Dists. in 1825. The dists. later became counties and Pickens was divided into Oconee and Pickens in 1868.
If your Andrew, Jr. was born 25 May 1807, it does not appear that he could have been born in Pickens Dist., SC, because Andrew, Sr. apparently lived in Spartanburg between 1804-1818. It has been my experience that the truth sometimes gets clouded with tradition.
You said that John L. and Andrew married Cobb sisters and then moved to Georgia about the same time. Do you know if they were in Habersham Co. in 1840?
You said that Dr. John L.'s grandfather said that they were half-Irish. Actually Ferguson is pure Scottish. Today there are several active Clans in Scotland bearing the name and all claiming descent from Fergus the first Scottish king. While this may not be true the Ferguson Clans are descended from Scotsmen who were named Fergus. There were some Scotsmen named Ferguson who went to Ireland in the 1600's and later migrated to the United States and were known as Scotch-Irish. --- Don Forsythe
****

Notes for MARY ALEXANDER:
Don Forsythe's notes say that Andrew's wife was possibly Mary Alexander, daughter of James Alexander, a neighbor of Andrew Ferguson's on a couple of deeds. If this is so, there is a wealth of information on this Mary Alexander and her father, James, on Rootsweb:
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=whvande&id=I3118

Children of ANDREW FERGUSON and MARY ALEXANDER are:

4.	i.	JOHN LEWIS³ FERGUSON, b. March 25, 1802, Aiken Co., SC; d. April 26, 1873, Gordon Co., GA.
5.	ii.	JAMES FERGUSON, b. September 04, 1804, Spartanburg Dist., SC; d. January 05, 1863, Jasper, Pickens Co., GA.
6.	iii.	ANDREW FERGUSON, JR., b. May 25, 1807, either Laurens Co., or Pendleton District (Pickens Co.), SC; d. May 22, 1887, Nashville, Howard Co., Arkansas.
	iv.	DAUGHTER FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1798.
	v.	SON FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1800.
	vi.	SON FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1808, Spartanburg, SC.
	vii.	SON FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1810, Spartanburg, SC.
	viii.	SON FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1812, Spartanburg, SC.
	ix.	DAUGHTER FERGUSON, b. Abt. 1814, Spartanburg, SC.

3. JAMES² FERGUSON (JOHN¹) was born 1756 in County Antrim, Ireland, and died December 29, 1847 in Pickens Co., SC. He married NANCY STRAIN 1790 in Pickens Co., SC, daughter of JOHN STRAIN and JANE ULN. She was born 1767 in Ireland, and died May 1850 in Pickens Co., SC.

Notes for JAMES FERGUSON:
James Ferguson received a 224 acre land grant from King George III on 6-5--1786 per the book "Barrett and Related Lines". The land grant was signed by William Moultrie, Esquire. This land lay near Pickens, SC on a small creek (now called Town Creek) of 12 Mile River on the headwaters of the Savannah River. On 8-17-1786, James Ferguson gave his sister, Mary Ferguson, a note for 100 Pounds Sterling for 100 acres on Mudlick Creek in Laurens County, SC; his father's old home place.
James built a house in 1790 in Pickens Dist., SC at the foot of Glassy Mt. which still stands. James Ferguson 1756/1847 m. Nancy Strain d/o John and Jane Strain. An Andrew Ferguson joined property with James before he moved to Georgia.
Era Davis (1989)<eradavis@compuserve.com>
*****
My husband and I visited Era Davis and her husband in SC in May 2001. She gave me a manuscript she had written about the line of James Ferguson, an ancestor of her husband. She also made arrangements for us to visit the original home built out of hand hewn logs in 1790 in Pickens Co. This home is now modernized and owned by Mrs. Carolyn Boggs. We had a very interesting time viewing the home from attic to basement and made pictures. You can still see the original timbers with ax marks intact from the basement. There are two port holes on either side of the chimney at the attic level for watching for Indians. Much appreciation goes to Era Davis and Carolyn Boggs for their generosity and kindness to us during this visit. -- Charlotte Jeffers

Children of JAMES FERGUSON and NANCY STRAIN are:

7.	i.	MARY³ FERGUSON, b. 1793, Town Creek of Twelve Mile River, Pickens Co., SC; d. June 04, 1860, Union Co., GA.
8.	ii.	JANE FERGUSON, b. March 08, 1794, Pickens Co., SC; d. February 25, 1887, east side of Hickory Nut Mountain, George's Creek, Pickens Co.,SC.
9.	iii.	NANCY FERGUSON, b. December 28, 1795, Pendleton Dist., SC; d. August 29, 1875, Craighead Co., AR.
10.	iv.	JOHN HARRISON FERGUSON, b. 1796, Pickens Co., SC; d. 1856, Pickens Co., SC.
11.	v.	JAMES THOMPSON FERGUSON, b. October 26, 1804, near Glassy Mountain, Pickens Co., SC; d. March 23, 1859, near Glassy Mountain, Pickens Co., SC.
12.	vi.	ELIZABETH FERGUSON, b. 1805, Pickens Co., SC; d. June 20, 1836, Pickens Co., SC.
13.	vii.	JUDGE GRIMKE FERGUSON, b. February 07, 1807, Pickens Co., SC; d. March 08, 1886, Pickens Co., SC.
	viii.	MAHALA FERGUSON, b. 1816, SC; d. Pickens Co., SC.

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