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SOURCE: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern
Arkansas. Chicago:Goodspeed Publishers, 1890.
Alexander H. Ferguson, the present efficient and popular treasurer of Crittenden County and also a merchant at Marion, was born at Greenock,
on the Mississippi River, in this county, March 17, 1839, and is the son of Horatio N. and Jane G. (Proctor) Ferguson, natives of Tennessee
and Arkansas.
The Grandfather Ferguson went from Greenock, Scotland, to Virginia,
while a young man, moving from there to Tennessee, where he lived until his death. He was the father of three children: William D.,
Allen McL. and Horatio N. (all now deceased). The boys came to Arkansas in 1820 and settled at Greenock, a Scottish town named after
the town in which their father was born.
William D. was the first sheriff of Crittenden County, holding the
office from 1825 to 1835, and died at Memphis, Tenn., in 1866. He fought in the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815; was a member of
the L. O. O. F. fraternity and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He took active part in the development of this county and filled the
office of deputy surveyor for several years. Allen McL. served as postmaster of Oldman, now Greenock, and was justice of the peace for
several years. He died in Sharp County, Ark., in 1872.
Horatio N. the father of our subject, came to this State when a young
man, married upon attaining his maturity, and settled at what was afterward called Greenock, remaining here until 1835. Then he moved to
a [p.414] place lower down the river. He was an extensive farmer and owned large tracts of land which he acquired after coming to Arkansas.
He died in 1841 at Frankfort, Ky., where he had gone for his health.
Jane G. Proctor, his wife, was also an Arkansan by birth, her parents
having emigrated here about the beginning of the nineteenth century, settling below Memphis on the river. Mrs. Ferguson was a member of the
Presbyterian Church and remained a widow till her death, which occurred in 1871. She was the mother of six children, two sons and
four daughters, of whom three are now living: Mrs. Kate A. Brown (who lives at Marion), Mrs. Nancy E. Lyon (in this county) and Alexander H.
(the youngest).
The latter was reared in this county where he has always lived. As
school advantages were not very good hereabouts in his youth he attended school at Memphis until the death of his brother, when he had
to return home and assume charge of affairs. In that position he remained up to the death of his mother, when he was married to Miss
Kate Ritche, of Memphis.
In 1884 he located at Marion and has since been engaged in
merchandising. In 1880 Mr. Ferguson was elected county clerk, and discharged the duties of that office until elected treasurer in
1884, in which position he is now serving his third term. He has always taken a great interest in the advancement of education and is
also a hard worker in the Democratic party.
He was married January 19, 1882, and after the brief space of eight
months was left a widower. His wife was a true Christian lady and devoted wife, and was a member of the Baptist Church.
Alexander Ferguson entered the Confederate army in August, 1862, and
had served but a short time when he was wounded at the battle of Corinth, being several times hit in the body by grape-shot from a
cannon. He was taken from the battlefield to a hospital at Iuka, where he had his leg amputated between the knee and ankle. He started
home as soon as able to travel, coming to Memphis in a buggy, his sister, Sarah J., and Thomas Baldwin, having gone after him to the
field of action. Mr. Ferguson is a competent officer for the place which he fills and is in every way worthy of the trust reposed in him. |
