My Genealogy Hound

EDGAR H. FERGUSON, senior member of the firm of Ferguson & McCord, manufacturers of building brick and tile at Benton Harbor, is one of the young business men of the city, who, while securing a competency for himself, has also materially aided in promoting the growth and developing the resources of this section of the State. He is a native of Michigan, and was born in Lenawee County, January 10, 1853, being the son of Henry and Lydia (Dennison) Ferguson. The father was a native of Essex County, N. Y., and in an early day accompanied his parents to Michigan, where he died in Berrien County in 1892. The paternal grandfather, Henry Ferguson, was born in New York, and died in Lenawee County, Mich.; the maternal grandfather of our subject, Stephen A. Dennison, was also a native of the Empire State, and died in Michigan in 1878.

The subject of this biographical notice was reared to manhood in Lenawee County, Mich., where he was a pupil in the public schools. At the age of eighteen years he entered the Adrian Business College, from which institution he was graduated in 1871. Thus well equipped for the active labors of life by the training he had received both at home and in school, he entered upon a commercial career. For eight years he engaged in the buying and shipping of stock from Lenawee County, Mich., to Chicago, meeting with considerable success in that undertaking. In 1881 he came to Benton Harbor, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick in partnership with O. D. Dennison. Four years after the inception of the business, our subject purchased his partner’s interest, and in 1885 formed a partnership with Seely McCord, which still exists.

The firm of Ferguson & McCord is one of the most prosperous in southwestern Michigan, and engages extensively in the manufacture of building brick and tile, Mr. Ferguson being the General Manager, Secretary and Treasurer of the company. It is largely due to his energy and tireless exertions that the establishment has won the enviable reputation that it possesses among other manufacturing corporations. While his business interests demand close attention on his part, he nevertheless is actively interested in public affairs, and, politically, adheres with energy and enthusiasm to the principles of the Republican party. His fellow-citizens have frequently elected him to positions of trust and honor, in all of which he has served to the satisfaction of his constituents. In 1891 he was elected Alderman of the city from the Fourth Ward, and in that office was able to render efficient services in behalf of his fellow-townsmen.

April 29, 1875, occurred the marriage of Edgar H. Ferguson to Miss M. Juliett Cole, who at that time resided in Lenawee County, Mich., and is a daughter of S. B. Cole, also a native of Lenawee County, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are the parents of three sons, whose names are Lynn A., Harry M. and Carlton E. The family residence is a neat and comfortable house located on Stevens Avenue and Territorial Street. In his social connections, Mr. Ferguson is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Royal Arcanum, being prominently identified with both these organizations. Mrs. Ferguson is a member of the Methodist Church.