The parents of my 2x great-grandfather, Thomas FERGUSON, were Kennedy Brown FERGUSON and Emma DOWNES.
Kennedy Brown Ferguson was born 15 November 1841 in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire, Scotland, to Thomas FERGUSON & Mary BROWN. He had seven siblings: Elizabeth (1829-?), Joanna (1831-?), David (1833-?), Mary (1835-?), Robert (1837-?), Thomas (1840-?) and Marrion (1844-?).
About 1865, he left his family farm in Scotland to emigrate to New Zealand, and settled near Dunedin.
On 30 July 1869, he married Emma DOWNES at her family’s farm in Blueskin, Otago, NZ.
Emma Downes was born in 1851 in Hope Bagot, Shropshire, England, to Edward DOWNES & Jane GITTINS. She had five brothers: William (1840-1905), Edward (1846-1906), John (1849-1904), Thomas (1853-1932) and Henry (1857-1910).
In October 1853, the Downes family migrated to New Zealand, aboard the Stately out of Gravesend, landing in Otago on the 5th of February 1854. The family took up farming in the area called Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin.
K.B. and Emma soon started a family of their own, and eventually had 14 children in total, although not all survived to adulthood. The Fergusons became an important part of the Waitati community that formed in Blueskin, even donating land for the local school, and K.B. was a well-known cattle breeder.
He died on 27 December 1895 after suffering a year of acute intestinal colic, leaving behind a considerable amount of land & property in trust for his family. Emma passed away on 18 March 1911. They are both buried in Waitati Cemetery.
Children’s Details
Jane Downes FERGUSON
Born 1870, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 1891, Redfern, NSW, AUS, to George HOGG
Died 1930, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Thomas FERGUSON
Born 1871, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Died 29 Jan 1872, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Thomas FERGUSON
Born 1 Aug 1872, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 12 Feb 1896, Waitati, OTG, NZ, to Hannah Sarah RUTHERFORD
Died 20 Feb 1897, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Mary Brown FERGUSON
Born 11 May 1874, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 21 Jul 1897, Dunedin, OTG, NZ, to John MCKENZIE
Died 4 Nov 1933, Hawera, TNK, NZ
Emma Downes FERGUSON
Born 1876, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Married 31 Mar 1904, Dunedin, OTG, NZ, to James Dixon HAIGH
Died 4 Sep 1937, Mosgiel, OTG, NZ
David Kennedy FERGUSON
Born 16 Dec 1877, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Married 1903, Dunedin, OTG, NZ, to Catherine Jane MARSHALL
Died 26 Jan 1940, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Edward Downes FERGUSON
Born 12 Apr 1880, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Died 28 Sep 1901, Fortrose, SLD, NZ
Robert FERGUSON
Born 1882, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 1907, Dunedin, OTG, NZ, to Alison Simpson WILSON
Died 30 Nov 1962, Waikouaiti, OTG, NZ
Elizabeth Margaret FERGUSON
Born 1883, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Died 1 Oct 1883, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Joan FERGUSON
Born 1884, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 1911, NZ, to Ernest George MOLLISON
Died 22 Sep 1962, Dunedin, OTG, NZ
Kennedy Brown FERGUSON
Born 25 Jun 1887, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Married 1911, Dunedin, OTG, NZ, to Helen Marnoni RIVERS
Died 17 Jul 1952, Waitati, OTG, NZ
James Graham FERGUSON
Born 1890, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Died 6 Sep 1891, Waitati, OTG, NZ
William Murray FERGUSON
Born 4 Sep 1892, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Died 15 Dec 1918, Mosgiel, OTG, NZ
John Robert FERGUSON
Born 15 Nov 1893, Waitati, OTG, NZ
Died 12 Oct 1917, Passchendaele, Flanders, Belgium