Ensign Samuel Ferguson ^416,421

• Born: 3 Mar 1744, Ulster, Ireland ⁴²⁰
• Marriage: Mary Jameson in 1765 in Ireland ^415,416,417
• Died: 12 Feb 1825, Cabell Co, Virginia, USA ^416,421,422

  General Notes:

The author's 5th Great-Grandfather

Photo of his gravestone can be viewed at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ljhall/

Revolutionary War Veteran.  The Wayne county Genealogical and Historical Society erected a sign commerating Samuel Ferguson, which shows the following:  "REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER'S GRAVE - Sameul Ferguson (1744-1825) and wife Mary Jameson (1746-1827) are buried nearby.  Served in Montgomery Co, Va. Militia at battles of Alamance and King's Mountain.  An early settler on Bluestone Creek, he gave land for Tazewell Courthouse in 1772.  In 1804 moved here to Kanawha Co., later Cabell, now Wayne.  Progenitor of the area's extended Ferguson Family."

" Samuel Ferguson who married Mary Jameson," Chapter 1 Pag e 2 -10: "SAMUEL FERGUSON was born 3 March 1744, and die d 12 February 1825 in Cabell County, Virginia (now Wayne County, West Virginia)."

Son Williams' family bible shows: "SAMUEL FERGUSON departed this life February, 12 between the hours of 7 and 8 o'clock in the afternoon in the year of our Lord 1825, aged 80 years and eleven months and nine days, and MAR Y FERGUSON, wife of SAMUEL FERGUSON, departed this life on 21 day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven, aged eighty one and a half years."

On page 291 of "Davis Genealogy" Elizabeth Davidson said that that the Jameson family was of Celtic origin and that they migrated from Scotland to Ireland i n 1616. She said that James Jameson, migrated to North America , with wife Jane and their seven children, settling in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

In 1774, when men and supplies were being gathered for Dunmore to fight at Point Pleasant, SAMUEL paid for one hog. His name was found on the Auditor's Accounts for Dunmore's War, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia, as printed b y Mary B. Kegley in Soldiers of Fincastle County, Virginia 1774.

SAMUEL swore allegiance to the Untied States on 30 September 1777 from Montgomery County, Virginia. The original list is in the Revolutionary War Book at Christiansburg, Montgomery County Court House, Virginia. It is also on page 149 , Volume I of Mary B. Kegley's Early Adventures on the West ern Waters. SAMUEL was at the Battle of King's Mountain, South Carolina, 7 October 1780. He is listed as going with Thomas Peery (the distiller), Thomas Peery (the blacksmith) , William Peery and John Peery. The above account was written by David E. Johnston in History of the Middle New River Settlements, page 145. He was appointed Ensign in Capt. James Moore's Company of Montgomery County, Virginia Militia on 3 April 1781 per Summers in Annals of Southwest Virgi ia, page 751.

Sometime around 1804 SAMUEL FERGUSON, his four sons, and on e of his four daughters, came to Kanawha County which lay s uccessively with Cabell and Wayne Counties. The love for ne w adventure must have played a part in bringing the FERGUSO NS from the Bluestone area of Virginia to explore the hill y and broken surfaces of the frontier land of Twelve Pole V alley. Their settlement, tin the western section of the pre sent Wayne County, was about eighteen miles from the Ohio R iver.

Hardesty's West Virginia Counties, Volume 7, page 185, states that in 1802 SAMUEL FERGUSON and Jesse Spurlock were th e first settlers in what is now known as the Union District of Wayne County, both of whom built cabins near where the court house now stands. He was described by Hardesty a s a distinguished Indian fighter and hunter who took part in several Indian engagements (pages 187-8).

Sources: "Samuel Ferguson who Married Mary Jameson" by Henry & DIane Blankenstein. Published on: http://pages.prodigy.net/blankenstein/samuel_ferguson_&_mary_jameson.htm

SAMUEL FERGUSON Will recorded in Cabell County, West Virginia; Will book 1, Page 52

"In the name of Almighty God. Amen.

I SAMUEL FERGUSON SENOUR of the County of Cabell State of V irginia possessing soundness of mind and being of disposin g memory, do hereby in the fear of God make ordain & seal t his my last Will & Testament in the following words and fig ures on this 85h day of November one thousand eight-hundre d and twenty four.

In the first place it is my will that all my just and lawfu l debts be paid. Secondly I do hereby will and bequeath t o my son Samuel my plantation that I do now live upon wit h all its improvements thereunto belonging or in anywise ap pertaining. Thirdly it is my will & I do thereby liberate m anumit and forever discharge Molly my old black woman fro m slavery at the death of my wife MARY and at my death tha t is to say at our deaths the said Molly is to be free fro m slavery from me, my heirs, executors, administrators & as signs forever. And I do hereby will and bequeath unto the s aid Molly her bed and its furniture and a Cow to give her m ilk to live upon in her old age. Forthly it is my wil l & I do hereby liberate manumit and forever discharge Seal ly my half coloured or mulatto Girl servant from slavery a t our deaths that is to say at the death of my wife MARY an d at my death the said Seally my yellow Girl is to be fre e from me my heirs executors administrators and Assigns for ever - And I do hereby will and bequeath unto the said Seal ly her bed and its furniture and a little wheel for spinnin g on. Fifthly it is my will & I do hereby liberate manumit and fo rever discharge Sampson, my half coloured or mulatto boy fr om slavery in thirteen years from the date of this will, an d at the expiration of thirteen years from the date of thi s will is free from me my heirs executors, administrators , and assigns forever. And I do hereby will bequeath unto t he said Sampson a good ax at the time of his freedom that h e may be able to get his living by honest industry."

It is my will and I do hereby bequeath unto my son William all my wheelright tools. Seventhly, it is my will that all the remainder or residue of my personal Estate be equall y divided among the children as is hereafter named in this Will (to wit) John Ferguson, William Ferguson, Thomas Ferguson, Isabel Bailey, Sally Bailey, and Elizabeth Booth. But & if any of my own children as mentioned in this will should be dead before the execution of this will or division of my Estate among them, then and in that case I wish to be fully understood that it is my will, that my Estate be equally divided among the remaining part of my own children that may survive & not among my grand children or among my son's wives that may survive their deceased husbands. And be it understood that it is not my will that my son Samuel should possess and enjoy my plantation until my death & the death of my wife MARY only as we permit him to the privil ege of living on the plantation - and it is further my will that Sampson my yellow boy after the death of me & my wife may be hired out to some good man that will use him wel l until the said Samson is free as stated in this Will and the price of said hire equally divided among all my own children which may be living at that time. Signed sealed & delivered from under my hand this eighth day of November 182 4.

SAMUEL FERGUSON (Seal) Burwell Spurlock Stephen Spurlock Abraham Trout Cablell County Court February 1825."

Samuel married Mary Jameson, daughter of John Jameson and Jean Erwin, in 1765 in Ireland ^415,416.^,417 (Mary Jameson was born on 27 Mar 1745 in Virgina, USA ⁴¹⁸ and died on 27 Sep 1827 in Cabell Co, Virginia, USA ^417,418,419.)