Samuel Ferguson

Suffer little children _____and forbid the not
__________ the Lord
when I make up my jewels

Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales

Biography

The gravestone of little Samuel Ferguson indicate that he was a small infant who was born on October 10, 1875 and died on November 18, 1876. The gravestone reports that he is the son of Lars and Amanda Ferguson. The Nueces County Marriage Records (Vol. D page 131) list the marriage of Eli Larkin Ferguson to Mary Amanda Jane Myers by C. M. Rogers on January 21, 1875 so little Samuel may have been born premature. The Corpus Christi Weekly Gazette (January 23, 1875, page 3, col. 4) also carries a short announcement of the marriage "at the home of the bride's parents". It is unclear who Amanda's parents are, however, since the 1870 census of Nueces County lists her with a professor and his family where she is serving as a domestic servant (1870 Nueces County, page 147). At any rate, the marriage of Mr. Ferguson and Amanda ended some time within the next years as the records of Nueces County then record the marriage of Amanda J. (Jane) F. (Ferguson) Myers to Mr. J. P. Nelson. Amanda and John P. Nelson are listed in the 1880 census (Duval County, page 228A) where John is listed as a railroad contractor. Their first son also died young and is listed on the same stone as little Samuel Ferguson. Walter Charles Nelson was probably the first born of Amanda and John P. Nelson as he died on August 1, 1881 at only 4 months and 5 days old. Amanda would lose at least two other children: Maud A. Nelson (1884-1885) and Blanch Mabel Nelson (1886-1887) who are also buried in Old Bayview Cemetery.

Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell