A GREAT AMERICAN STORY
The number of living people that can claim a direct line to early European royalty is estimated at one to three million, so the birthright is not exactly exclusive. Also, even by adjusting for inflation, there does not appear to be any wealth to fight over. Rather, it becomes a wonderfully personal way to view history for those who are so inclined. Professional genealogists estimate that the number of people interested in their heritage averages about one family member per generation. This information was shared by Shirley Ferguson Doran, the official genealogist of the Clan Ferguson of North America. At that rate, there are about 50 members of the Western branch of Ferguson family that will be actively interested in such a view of history. Frankly, if no one cared except the writer, this document would still be written, because, as Shirley stated in a recent letter, genetic interest moves quickly from curiosity to obsession
As to the 'Who cares?" aspect of lineage, one must agree that only present activity will influence the future. Another point of view, however, is the one taken about ancestry in species other than humankind. While lineage can't predict a winner, it is always comforting to know that good genes are in there somewhere. Expressing it another way, it is a fact that every thoroughbred horse in the world, has its origins in the Irish National Stud Farm. Perhaps the past does matter.
In no way, of course, can the forty-second generation grandchild of Alfred The Great, claim to be part of a pure breed. Don't feel bad, however, if you are one of the descendants, because Alfred had no pedigree, either. He was a rough and tumble descendant of the most ferocious family in Wessex, which was later to be called England. This barbarous family started with a warrior named Cerdic, who lived in about the 6th century. Alfred's dad was a gentleman called Aethulwulf. Alfred earned the title nearly always connected to his name by unifying the territories, and starting the era most of us touched on in history classes. The average life span in those times was less than forty years, and hygiene would not even be a thought for another six centuries. People worked from dawn until dusk, and individual liberty was not yet in the debate stage. These were not fun times.
Before asking a present member of the clan to read on, perhaps it would be beneficial to prove the case. It may look like a great deal of data at first glance, but tbe more it is studied, the more time becomes compressed, and the easier it becomes to make the past live. That is, for those who are so inclined in the first place.
Descendants of Alfred the Great
The preceding data was originally collected by, Margaret Ferguson Griffith Green, in her successful application for membership in, The Daughters Of The American Revolution, and its counterpart, the Society Of Descendants Of Royalty. Her daughter, Carolyn Green ApRoberts is also a member of the DAR. Between Alfred The Great, and Andrew James Glass (son of Mary Ferguson Glass) born in May of 1994, there are at least forty-two verifiable generations. For Andrew, six of those generations are in Oregon. His great, great, great, grandfather, Albert Wilkins Ferguson, is buried in Astoria's Ocean View Cemetery, a scant 90 miles from Andrew's current home. An additional four generations died in the state of Virginia The remainder of the line is easily verified through normal history hooks, because Andrew is one of those fortunate people to come from a group of people who distinguished themselves enough to be recorded by their contemporaries. Early in the life of this family, there was scandal as well as accomplishment, and it will be detailed for the reader. Happily, the really bad things are three to four hundred years ago. No one now living need fear embarrassment.
Alfred, The Great, should be remembered better for his love of learning than conquest. His patronage of learning and the arts may well have begun the slow, but irreversible move toward enlightenment, and freedom. He was the first ruler to make no distinction between England and Wales.
Of interest to the Ferguson part of this family, will be the name of Margaret, seven generations after Alfred. She became Queen Malcolm III, of Scotland, and gives the Ferguson line two direct routes to that wonderful part of the British Isles. The other avenue, of course, is the Ferguson name itself which came to Scotland in 836 through Fergus. of Ireland. He promptly claimed to be king of 'all Scotia'. Fergus was not as expansive as he sounded, however, and his kingdom encompassed only a tiny part of the Northern Highlands. Margaret's daughter married Henry I, King of England, thus assuring the line of several more generations of peerage.
The last king in this line of the family was Edward I, of England. He was born in 1239, and became king after the death of his father, Henry III, in 1272. During his reign he had several major battles with Scotland, subduing the Scots once, only to lose them for England for almost two hundred years after the Scots rallied behind the famed Robert Bruce. Bruce then became king of Scotland. Edward died on the way to try for a third time to crush the pesky Scots. His death was in 1307.
The last titled member of the clan was a gentleman named, Sir Philip de Courtney. Obviously, Philip was French, but marriage between royal persons of different nations was not unusual in those tines. Royalty roamed all over the Continent for both political and breeding purposes, to maintain power. If one family had more brains, but less territory, it could negotiate with other royal families, much as National Football league teams do currently in the United States. Just as today, one side was always certain that it had made the best of the deal. One of the little known facts of European history, is that most of the wars were fought between countries whose rulers were closely related. One guesses it was the forerunner of the American, "Family Feud." This battle of relatives carried down until the First World War, in 1914. Kaiser Wilhelm, of Germany, was a cousin to the British royal family. So much for familial love.
The first of the family to move to the New World, was Giles Rogers. He married Rachael Eastman in England about 1672, and records indicate that they both died in Virginia. It would be many generations before this line of the family would leave the great Commonwealth of Virginia, and head west.
Three generations after Giles came to America, Byrd Rogers married Mary Trice. This gave the family a double link to British royalty. Byrd was the son of Mary Byrd of Virginia. Three generations later, Francis Sampson died in Virginia in 1733. What makes this especially worthy of note, is that Francis was the subject of a work entitled, The Royal Descendancy of Francis Sampson, by Browning. It is from this book that the direct linkage of the family to events so long ago, can be easily proved.
Francis and Bridget Sampson had a daughter named Sarah. She married a man named John Maxey, and two generations later, their granddaughter, Elizabeth married a man named, Thomas Ferguson. His father was Edmund, the son of John, the son of Patrick Ferguson. Patrick was a Jacobite rebel exiled from Liverpool England, aboard the Elizabeth and Anne on June 29, 1716. Also aboard were James, William, Duncan, Lawrence, and Alexander Ferguson. Their relationship to Patrick Ferguson is not known at this writing. There are four generations between Thomas Ferguson. who was born on March 5, 1789, and this writer, who was born on Feb. 8, 1934. A mere two generations are added, and we meet, Andrew James (Ferguson) Glass, born on May 13, 1994, in Portland, Oregon. Andrew is at least the forty-second generation grandson of Alfred, also called, The Great