Hello everyone! I am giving the information that I have researched on the Ferguson side of the family. The Ferguson's are on Ethel Ferguson Jones, my grandmother's side. Ethel's grandparents were Madison and Delia Wideman Ferguson. Madison was born in 1819 a slave in Charles county,Port Tobacco, Maryland. He and his sister Mary Jane were slaves there, then sold to other Fergusons' in Georgia and Alabama. The last Ferguson slaveowner brought them to Smith county, Texas near Tyler as slaves around 1857. The first slaveowner of the Ferguson's was Robert Ferguson. He was from Scotland and had a tobacco company in Charles County, Maryland. Ferguson owned two plantations-- in Charles County called Nanjemoy and another named Mulberry Grove. He died in 1812 and gave the slaves in a will to his nephew John Fergusoon. John Ferguson died in 1826 an in the will he wanted Mary and William , slaves to be emancipated, but if the law said freed states had to leave the state, then they would not be emancipated. They would be allowed to work for themselves wherever they pleased. I believe this was possibly Madison's parents as our cousin Lonnie said he was told that Madison always said that he was freed before emancipation. Madison most likely said his parents were freed. Here is the will emancipating Mary.

John Ferguson died in 1847 and an inventory of his personal estate including the slaves were listed. They were still in Port Tobacco, Maryland. The slaves worked in the tobacco and corn fields, growing wheat and vegetables and tending to livestock It shows Madison 27 years old worth $600. and his sister Mary 19 years old worth $650. William, their parent may possibly be dead. The mother I don't see listed. Here is the inventory for February 1848.

It appears that by 1855, Madison and his sister Mary have been sold to a relative of slaveowner John Ferguson. They are now owned by Alfred Ferguson. It shows on the 1850 census in Chambers county, Alabama that he has 18 slaves. I know from the 1870 census that a child of Madison's was born in 1855 in Alabama. So Madison was there by 1855 and possibly the 1850 Slave census. I found a male 32 years old which may be Madison. Also a female 16 years old, that may be Delia his wife. There is a female 22 years old that may be Mary Jane, Madison's sister. See the attached slave census pg.1 &2.