Page 401

 

THOMAS A FERGUSON

 

One by one the soldiers of the Civil war are answering to the last roll call.  All honor is due to those who remain and the country should never lose sight of the fact that her greatness is based upon the sacrifices which they made during the darkest hour in her history.  Among the residents of Taylor county who were numbered with the boys in blue is Thomas A. Ferguson, of Lenox, who for nearly thirty years has been associated with the business interests of the city in which he makes his home.  He is a native son of Iowa, having been born in Washington county on the 23d of January, 1847.  His father, John Ferguson, was a native of Tennessee and was there reared and married, the lady of his choice being Miss Jane Moore, who was also born and reared in that locality.  Because of his opposition to slavery Mr. Ferguson left the south and removed to Washington county, Iowa, taking up his abode there in 1843 among the first settlers.  There he entered land from the government and opened up a new farm, upon which he reared his family.  He was closely associated with the pioneer development of that part of the state for about thirty years or until his death in 1871.  His wife had passed away in 1867.  In their family were two sons and two daughters: Samuel, residing in Washington county; Elizabeth, who is the widow of James McCahan and lives in Lenox; Mary, the wife of Andrew Ferguson of Washington, Iowa; and Thomas A., of this review.

 

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for T. A. Ferguson in his boyhood and youth up to the age of sixteen years when, aroused by a spirit of patriotism, he enlisted in 1864 for one hundred days' service.  He joined the Forty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and was assigned to Company B and then went south to Tennessee.  The regiment brigaded with the Thirty-third Iowa and was engaged in guarding supply trains and in warfare with the guerillas and bushwhackers.  Mr. Ferguson served until the close of the war, when he was mustered out and honorably discharged.  Although so young he was a loyal and faithful soldier, never faltering in the performance of any military task assigned him.

 

When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Ferguson returned to the farm and there remained until after he attained his majority.  Subsequently he carried on the farm and afterward purchased the old home place, which he operated until 1879.  He then sold out and removed to Ringgold county, where he rented land for a year.  In 1881 he located in Lenox, where he engaged in clerking for several years, after which he established a business of his own in connection with a partner.  In less than a year, however, the store was destroyed by fire, after which Mr. Ferguson again engaged in clerking for several years.  Here he was appointed postmaster under President McKinley and filled the position for four years.  He had previously served as deputy postmaster and had (page 402) managed the affairs of the office for two years, so that practical experience qualified him for the work that then devolved upon him.  He discharged his duties in a prompt and creditable manner and on his retirement from the office was engaged for a few years in raising small fruits for the Lenox market.  He owns two residence properties in the town and also has five lots near his home.  His business affairs have been capably controlled and have constituted a source of substantial success which has won him classification with the men of affluence in the county.

 

In 1869, in Washington county, Iowa, Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage to Miss Clementine Dodds, a native of Ohio, who was reared in Iowa.  The death of Mrs. Ferguson occurred in Lenox in November, 1895, and in 1897, in Jefferson, Iowa, Mr. Ferguson was again married, his second union being with Mary Neiderheiser, who was born in Ohio and came to Iowa during her girlhood days, being reared in Washington county.

 

In his political views Mr. Ferguson is a stalwart republican and has been called to several local offices, serving as assessor for a number of terms and also as census enumerator.  He has been a delegate to various conventions of the party and his opinions carry weight in their councils.  He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church and he belongs to the Grand Army Post in which he has served as commander for one or more terms.  His wife is a member of the Relief Corps.  His first wife was for years president of the Relief Corps.  Mr. Ferguson is widely known in Lenox and his part of the county and at all times manifests a spirit of enterprising citizenship while the salient qualities that he has displayed in business connections have made him a man whom to know is to esteem and honor.