The Ferguson Family

The Ferguson Family. Early Snohomish Heritage Trail. , Lucetta Gertrude Morgan was 11 years old when the family moved to Olympia, Washington Territory. Eight years later, she met Emory Ferguson during his service as a legislator., What a lucky break for both seasoned pioneers: An eligible woman from hardy stock meets the founder of his own town who now want to found a family!, They were joined in marriage, July 11, 1868, at the home of her parents in Thurston County., Emory Canada Ferguson (1833-1911) arrived in 1860 to take up occupancy of his one room cottage with a porch and a downriver view of the Snohomish River. In 1864, "E. C.," as he was referred to, opened the Blue Eagle Saloon next door. The saloon also served as the post office, city hall, even the first county courthouse. Emory went on to build two more homes for his family, but both were lost to fire. Only the cottage still stands, its location indicated by a stone marker on the Snohomish River Front Trail., Ivy Maud Ferguson, (1875-1912), a single woman in her late twenties, moved to Olympia for a position as a stenographer with the state insurance company. Returning to Snohomish for a visit, Ivy died "after an illness of a few days" on July 22, 1912, in the family home. She was only 37 years old., Sylvia (Ferguson) Lenfest, (1869-1955), was married to Elmer Lenfest in a modest ceremony in the Ferguson home in 1891. Together they became leaders of the community, with Sylvia leading the drive to build the Carnegie Library and Elmer working as the county surveyor. They gave birth to one child, Norman, three years later. In 1942, Sylvia donated her father's papers to the University of Washington, which she attended for one year., Emory Cecil Ferguson, (1881-1964), married Clara Schlieve from Minnesota, and raised three children Emory, Burdette, and Madeleine , all graduates of Snohomish High School in the 1930s. And all three children were recruited into the family business, Ferguson's Cannery, later incorporated as "Ferg's Finer Foods." Cecil is the only member of the family that has descendants living in Snohomish to this day.,