By Jessica Gorman
Elizabeth Ferguson, born in 1776, has the oldest known year of birth in the Minden Cemetery and, to my knowledge, the parish. While we don’t know her exact date of birth, and as we celebrate 250 years of our country’s independence, we also acknowledge 250 years since Elizabeth’s birth. Next week, July 27th, is the anniversary of her death in 1851.
Elizabeth has been on my list to write about for some time, but I’ve struggled to find more about who she was. As I committed to writing this article, I hoped I would find the missing link that would put the pieces neatly together. That hasn’t happened, but that in itself is something to write about, the lesson in the search. We can learn from what we don’t find, or at least what hasn’t been found yet. We can also learn from analyzing what we do have.
So, why have I had trouble pinning down who Elizabeth Ferguson was? It’s partly because she’s a woman and one born during a time when there tends to be fewer records for women. She died in 1851 meaning, that unless she was widowed and a head of household during an earlier census year, the 1850 census is the only one that lists her individually by name. Even then, it’s just going to be a married name and, if we’re lucky, maybe some clues to a maiden name.
I start with a quick Ancestry.com search hoping to find Elizabeth in Claiborne Parish in 1850. No such luck. However, there is an Elizabeth, of the right age, in Avoyelles Parish. Next, I look for clues at the cemetery. There is no defined family plot where her grave is located. I check for other Fergusons that could be related. Elizabeth’s grave is located adjacent to graves for members of the Scott and Wade family. On FindAGrave.com, a contributor has listed Eliza Scott’s maiden name as Ferguson. That is my first solid clue.
Eliza Catherine Ferguson Scott was the wife of Rev. Winfrey B. Scott. A monument was erected in her memory many years after her death and indicates her death occurred 15 May 1864. Her husband was killed in the Civil War two weeks later on 1 June 1864, and then their son, Robert, was killed 18 December 1864.
Eliza’s marriage to W.B. Scott occurred 19 September 1839 in Avoyelles Parish, a possible connection to Elizabeth Ferguson listed in the census in Avoyelles Parish. That Elizabeth was married to James Ferguson. My focus shifts to him hoping for a record that names his wife and children. Typically, I would hope for a probate record. In this situation, I already know that he outlived Elizabeth. James is listed on the 1860 census in the household of a daughter, Elizabeth Morrison. His wife is not.
I have yet to find a probate record for James Ferguson, but I did find one for Elizabeth Ferguson Morrison filed in April 1867. This record indicates she had inherited land as part of her mother’s estate. It names her mother as Elizabeth Curry Ferguson.
Still unable to make any solid connection back to Claiborne Parish, I turned my attention back to Eliza Catherine Ferguson Scott, who I feel certain is the daughter of Elizabeth Ferguson buried in the Minden Cemetery. That’s when I finally found the only real evidence I have for now.
Eliza’s marriage to W.B. Scott was not her first. On 24 December 1830, she married Isaac Enoch in St. Landry Parish. A notarial record in New Orleans, dated March 1839, names Mr. Elijah Curry Ferguson as representative of Mrs. Eliza Ferguson, widow of Isaac Enochs. It doesn’t reveal their relationship, but it certainly supports the possibility that the Elizabeth Ferguson I’m looking for was Elizabeth Curry Ferguson, wife of James Ferguson, resident of Avoyelles Parish.
Sometimes, in researching a person’s life, we find less by concentrating that search on them. We have to cast a wider net and look at the people around them to find the clues that tie them together. For now, the story of Elizabeth Ferguson is one of a woman who lived 75 years and for whom there is minimal evidence of her existence but her grave marker in the Minden Cemetery tells us that she did exist. Circumstantial evidence ties her to potential family members and I’ll keep digging.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, and an avid genealogist.)