Lester
Ulysses Ferguson
birth
February 22, 1865 - Plainfield Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin
death
March 8, 1932 - Iron River, Bayfield
County, Wisconsin
parents
Nelson Ferguson and Christina Morse
Laura Abigail Ferguson
birth
October18, 1871
Leola Township, Adams County, Wisconsin
death
February 9, 1941
Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
parents
Daniel Bemis Culbertson and Mary
Abigail Mason
married
January 1, 1889
their children
1
Minnie Edith
Ferguson b. October 18, 1889 in
Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
2
Nina May
Ferguson b. May 17, 1891 in Pine
Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
3
Susan Dell
Ferguson b. July 30, 1893 in Pine
Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
4
William
Henry Ferguson b. January 18, 1895
in Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
5
Chester
Dewey Ferguson b. January 29, 1899
in Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
6
Roy
Robert Ferguson b. September 24, 1901 in
Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
7 Walter Irving Ferguson b. April 23, 1903 in
Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
8 Estella Viola Ferguson b. August 10, 1905 in
Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
9 Ida Rose Ferguson b. May 27, 1908 in Iron
River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
10
Thomas Clayton Ferguson
b. December 19, 1910 in Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
11 Harold Woodrow Ferguson b. December 9, 1912 in Iron
River,
Bayfield County, Wisconsin
notes and bio
info
Lester was born to Nelson and Christina (Morse) Ferguson in Plainfield
Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin.
(click
here to visit a page on Nelson and Christina's Plainfield homestead)
Lester had three older
sisters, Ellen, Mary and Alice. He also had two younger brothers,
Clinton and Henry. Lester's mother Christina passes away when he
was around six or seven years old. Christina was laid the rest in
the family plot in Plainfield Cemetery. (She is the only one in
the plot and there is no marker.) Lester's father Nelson would
remarry to a woman named Margaret (Her last name may have been
Wheelock). This gave Lester
a third brother Orrin.
(click
here to see a picture of Lester and his siblings)
Sometime around 1876 Lester would move
just
a couple miles north where his family would farm in the neighboring
township of Pine Grove of Portage County, Wisconsin. This is
where Lester would finish growing up and would eventually marry Laura
Culbertson.
Laura was born to Daniel and Mary (Mason) Culbertson in Leola Township,
Adams County, Wisconsin. Leola Township was directly west of
Plainfield Township.
(click
here to visit a page on the Leola homestead)
The closest towns of Hancock and Plainfield
were located to the east of there. Laura would live in Leola till
she was eight
years old. Her family moves to Packwaukee Township, Marquette
County, Wisconsin. The reason the family moved was her father was
elected as Constable for Packwaukee. The family would live in
Packwaukee for
five years. While living here, her father would become paralyzed
from injuries he had gotten years earlier in the Civil War. To
help care for her father, her mother Mary moves the family back to the
Plainfield area, so to have help in caring for her husband and the kids
from family members living in the area. They would settle in Pine
Grove
Township of Portage County, Wisconsin in 1885. Laura's father
would
pass away the following spring.
On January 1, 1889 Lester and Laura would marry in Pine Grove.
This is where they would have
a 80 acre farm.
(click
here to visit a page for Lester and Laura's Pine Grove homestead)
Their farm may have once been Lester's fathers farm (unable to confirm
at this time, but very likely that it was). They would live on
this farm till 1907 and have
the first eight of
their children here before moving to a 160 acre farm near Iron River,
Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
(click here
to visit a page on Lester and Laura's Iron River homestead)
Sometime before 1895 Lester's father Nelson and his step-mother
Margaret get a divorce. Sometime before 1900 Laura's mother gets
married to Martin Ferdon. Laura's mother passes away sometime
after 1905 and is laid to rest in the Culbertson Plot in Plainfield
Cemetery next to her husband Daniel.
Also buried in the Culbertson family plot is Laura's grandfather the
Rev. John B. Mason who was suposed to be buried back in Ohio next to
his wife. But Mary being a widow living on her husbands pension
while taking care of Laura, her siblings and father till his passing,
most likely had him buried in Plainfield because she could not afford
to send his body to Ohio to be buried. (note, only Daniel has a stone
marker, the others likely had wooden crosses)
In Iron River Lester and Laura would have the last three of their
eleven children. Already living in Iron River was Lester's Father
Nelson, as well as the family of his sister Alice. The rest of
Lester's siblings had also moved to the this area of Northern
Wisconsin. Lester's brother Clinton had lived in Iron River till
1906 and by 1907 Clinton was living in the nearby town of Lake
Nebagamon. Lester's sister Mary had lived in the area at one
point. Though by 1907 she had married her second husband and had
moved to Raymond, Washington. His other sister married Fred
French in nearby Ashland and by 1907 was probably already living in
Madison, Wisconsin. Lester's brother Henry had married Lura
Donahue in Ashland and by this time had moved to Superior,
Wisconsin. Youngest brother Orrin had gone west to work on the
railroad by this time.
One of Laura's siblings also moved to the area. It was said that
her brother Fredrick also had come to Iron River and lived there till
his passing in 1911.
Lester's father Nelson's farm was just North of the present day County
Fairgrounds. Which was just to the North East of Lester and
Laura's farm. Nelson would live here till his passing in 1909.
(click
here to visit a page for Nelson's Iron River homestead)
Lester's sister Alice and her husband Calvin Rogers had a farm near the
Fairgrounds as well.
Lester would pass away on his way home from his brother Clinton
funeral. The family would sell the farm after his death.
The Iron River Airport sits on half of the farm today. Sixty
acres of the land makes up a majority of the airport. Eighty of
the acres are public land as part of the Bayfield Couty Forest.
The last twenty acres are a private residence and is private
property. It is on the twenty acre section where Lester and
Laura's house stood. Nothing remains there today, it is just a
grass clearing.
(click here
to visit a page on Lester and Laura's Iron River homestead)
Laura would eventually be remarried to Edward Ross. Laura would
pass away nine years after Lester.
Lester an Laura are buried together in Iron
River City Cemetery.
(click
here view burial location)
sources
1 Title:
1870
Federal Census for Plainfield, Waushara County, Wisconsin
Publication: Federal Census
Media: Census
2 Title:
1875
Wisconsin State Census for Plainfield Township, Waushara County,
Wisconsin
Publication: Wisconsin State Census
Media: Census
3 Title:
1880
Federal Census for Pine Grove Township, Portage County, Wisconsin
Publication: Federal Census
Media: Census
4 Title: 1895 State Census for Pine Grove Township, Portage County,
Wisconsin
Publication: State Census
Media: Census
5 Title: 1900 Federal Census for Pine Grove Township, Portage County,
Wisconsin
Publication: Federal Census
Media: Census
6 Title: 1910 Federal Census for Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Publication: Federal Census
Media: Census
7 Title:
Buried
Brother; Died on Way Home (Lester Ferguson Obit)
Author: The Iron River Pioneer
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, Thursday, March
10, 1932
Media: Newspaper
8 Title:
Death
Claims Mrs. Ross
Author: The Iron River Pioneer
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, Thursday, February
2, 1941
Media: Newspaper
9 Title:
Ferguson
Farm
Auction (Newspaper Advertisement)
Author: The Iron River Pioneer
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Media: Newspaper
10 Title: Lester and Laura Ferguson Family Book
Author: Barb Ferguson
Publication: created by Barb Ferguson with help from family members
Media: Book
11 Title:
Iron
River City Cemetery Records
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Media: Tombstone
12 Title:
1895 Pine Grove Plat Map
Publication: Plat Map
Media: Map
13 Title:
1920 Bayfield County
Plat Map Book
Publication: Plat Map
Media: Map
14 Title:
Clinton A. Ferguson Obit
Author: The Iron River Pioneer
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Media: Newspaper
15 Title:
Nelson Ferguson Obit
Author: The Iron River Pioneer
Publication: Iron River, Bayfield County, Wisconsin Thursday June 10th,
1909
Media: Newspaper
16 Title: The Ferguson Family
Publication: Iron River Centennial History (1892-1992)
Media: Book
17 Title: 1879 Packwaukee Election Results
Publication: Election Results
Media: Document
