From: Danny Wade
Subject:

im searching desperatly infos about william Ferguson....here what i have..i
need to find official documents about this story..thank you very much

Danny Wade
Montreal

William and Thomas Ferguson and their families
William Ferguson (c. 1742-1831) and his brother Thomas Ferguson (c.
1751-1845) were born in Northern Ireland, possibly of Scottish parents, but
almost nothing is known of their early life. Documents at Universite St.
Joseph suggest that William and Thomas received a good education prior to
their departure to the New World.
The circumstances which brought William to North America are unclear. It
appears that he owned land in Pennsylvania, and in fact may have had some
family members living with him. He was dispossessed of his land due to his
loyalist sympathies at the outbreak of the American Revolution. He took up
arms in the 29th Pennsylvania Loyalist Regiment where he served as a sargeant.
Meanwhile, William's younger brother Thomas enlisted in the Royal Regiment
of Artillery, 4th Batallion, and within three years of enlistment rose to
the rank of Corporal. He served for a total of thirteen years and four
months, and was a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
In 1783 after the war, the brothers were discharged. William married, and
he and his wife Margaret McComb arrived in Tracadie in the spring of 1786.
They proceeded to establish themselves, obtaining land from the Crown as a
reward for loyalty. In 1795, Margaret died about two weeks after the birth
of their third child, and in 1802 William remarried Esther Richard, widow
of Pierre Dugalet. William and Esther had ten children together. William
occupied the position of justice of the peace and land surveyor. William
died in 1831, leaving an estate valued at 126 pounds, and Esther died in 1833.
Thomas did not arrive in Tracadie until some time later. He had been
married to Margaret (Peggy) Dwyer. He obtained land from the Crown and was
listed a tax assessor in Tracadie in 1790. Some time after 1805, he ran
afoul of his creditors and left Tracadie with his family. They eventually
settled with their nine or ten children in what is now Restigouche County,
about twelve miles west of Campbellton in Flatlands. Thomas and Peggy never
recovered financially and their son Richard soon lost the farm following
Thomas' death in 1845 (Peggy having died some time earlier). The place of
Thomas and Peggy's burial is unknown, although it is possible that they
were buried in the Athol House Cemetery in unmarked graves. Half of the
original 200 acre grant was eventually brought back into the family by
grandson Michael, son of William Dwyer Ferguson and Elizabeth Middleton
White, and it is still owned by their descendants' family today.