JAMES C. FERGUSON

With the rapid settlement of the country and the development of the prairies the land of Iowa has become very valuable, and the man who is fortunate enough to own a goodly tract has an almost unfailing source of income. An eminent student of the economic conditions and resources of the country has said that there is no better or more paying investment in all America than the farm lands in the middle Mississippi valley. Mr. Ferguson has therefore wisely chosen to ally his interests with the agriculturists of this portion of the state, where he now owns and occupies a farm of three hundred and eighty-eight acres on sections, 28, 29, 32 and 33, Pioneer township. He is strongly attached to this district, not only because it is his present place of residence but also because it is his birthplace. He was born in Pioneer township, December 10, 1852, a son of Claudius and Mary (Steele) Ferguson, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born in Allegheny county and was reared in that and in Westmoreland counties, being married in the latter county to Miss Steele. Removing westward to Iowa about 1849, they took up their abode in Pioneer township, Cedar county. Much of the land was still in possession of the government and Mr. Ferguson entered a tract upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. He bent his energies to the arduous task of preparing the land for cultivation, the breaking plow being followed by the harrow and the hoe, so that in course of time the seed, planted in the early spring, brought forth generous harvests in the late autumn. Subsequently Mr. Ferguson added to his original tract by purchase, becoming the owner of the farm upon which his son James now resides. It was upon this place that the father spent his last years, passing away on the 30th of August, 1876, while his wife died in September, 1879. Their family numbered four sons, James C., Oliver S., John S. and Rueben C. and four daughters, Mrs. Alice McKee; Mrs. Emma J. Studer; Mrs. Jeannette Luen, who is now deceased; and Irene, who became the wife of C. C. Brown of Mechanicsville.

The riotous games of youth, the quiet periods of the schoolroom and the arduous tasks of the fields occupied the time and claimed the attention of James C. Ferguson in his youthful days. His early educational privileges were supplemented by study in the high school of Mechanicsville, and a year’s study in the state university, and for some years in early manhood he engaged in teaching. This was a valuable experience, developing in him not only the power of imparting knowledge which he had acquired, but also promoting his self-control, deliberation and adaptability—qualities which are valuable in all relations of life. After teaching for a time in Iowa, he went on a visit to Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and there accepted a school, but after teaching for some months in that state he returned to the Cedar county farm. On the 28th of March, 1878, he was united in marriage to Miss Oceana E. Brookman, a native of Connecticut, who was there reared.

The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm which Mr. Ferguson now owns and the spirit of progress and enterprise which has dominated him in his life work is manifest in the large two-story residence which he has erected and the two large barns which he has built near his home. He also has a cattle farm on another part of the place. There is a natural grove upon the place and many attractive features. Woven wire has been used to enclose the farm and fence the fields, and he has the latest improved machinery with which to facilitate his work. He inherited one hundred and sixty acres of his land from his father and from time to time has added to this until his holdings embrace three hundred and eighty-eight acres. He is also well known in connection with the raising, feeding and sale of stock, shipping about a carload of cattle and two carloads of fat hogs each year. He handles high grade shorthorn cattle and has a pure blooded bull for breeding purposes. In addition to his agricultural interests he is known as one of the stockholders of the Mechanicsville State Bank and also the Mechanicsville Savings Bank, and his name has become an honored one on commercial paper. His business integrity as well as his enterprise has long stood as an unquestioned fact in his career and what he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of time, talent and opportunity.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson have been born five sons: J. R., at home; Howard C., a student in the State Agricultural College at Ames; Frank G., at home; Everett, who is attending the Mechanicsville high school; and Morris, who is also attending the Mechanicsville high school. Mr. Ferguson is prominent in Masonic circles in Cedar county, holding membership in the lodge and chapter at Mechanicsville, in the commandery at Anamosa, Iowa, while in Cedar Rapids he crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the basic principles of Masonry find exemplification in his life. He has filled all of the chairs of the order and is now a past master of the subordinate lodge. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his political views are manifest in the unfaltering support which he gives to the democratic party. He was first called to public office when elected assessor, in which position he served for three terms, and in 1904 he was reelected. In 1894 he was chosen to the position of county clerk and served for one term of two years. He has been a delegate to county and state conventions and does all in his power to further the interests of the political party in which he believes. For fifty-eight years he has been a resident of Cedar county, since which time he has witnessed many changes, none being more marked, however, than along agricultural lines. The crude farm machinery of a half century ago has been replaced by that of modern manufacture, greatly lessening the labors of the farm.