I have Ferguson listed as Capt. W.M. Ferguson, captain of the 8th Confederate Cavalry, Company D "McCaa's Raiders"/"McCaa Rangers". It appears that he became Captain when Capt. Burwell Boykin McCaa was promoted to Major. Burwell B. Salmond then appears to have become Captain when Ferguson was captured.

I have William S. Campbell listed as 4th Sgt. of Company C of the 5th Alabama Infantry.

I also have a W.L. Campbell listed as a Private in New Company H of the 5th Alabama Infantry, another Pickens County company.

Note that Sydenham "Sydney" Ferguson was the captain of Company C of the 5th until it was reorganized, and S.V. Ferguson was capt. of the Pickens Co. company of the 7th Alabama Cav.

Researching William A. Ferguson who was a soldier in the 8th CS Cavalry during the Civil War. He was married to Mary Chalmers. He was a captain in the war and was a prisoner of war. They resided in Pickensville, Pickens County, Ala. The second individual is William S. Campbell who served in the 5th Alabama Infantry and was a cousin to either Mary or William. He was called Cousin Willie by them. I have a large letter grouping related to the three individuals mentioned. Sam Small

New information, and the help of Alan Pitts, has convinced me that Dr. Sampson Noland Ferguson was actually the Captain of Company C of the 5th Alabama Infantry and Company I of the 7th Alabama Cavalry.

There is still the possibility that Sydenham "Sidney" H. Ferguson was involved with the recruitment of another cavalry company. I believe, though, that it is more likely that this, too, was Sampson Noland Ferguson.

Do you know of a George Freguson of Pickens Co Al, also have you heard of Ann Chalmers of same Co. The reason I ask is I have a George Ferguson in my family history by the way is white he has childrens by Ann Chalmers.George was born in Virginia

I realize this post is old, but I have information on Mary Chalmers and William Ferguson, and am especially interested in the letters you mention.

Hi,

Can you please tell me the parents of Mary Chalmers and William Ferguson?

My Chambers/Chalmers of Pickens Co. had some sort of connection to Fergusons in Pickens Co. through the Cotton family.

Catherine, This information is from a Chalmers family file at the Pickens Co Historical Society. Mary Chalmers was the daughter of James Chalmers b Nov 1820 in Paisley, Scotland, who died in 1899 in Salem, Va. Her mother was Eliza Campbell who was born in New York, daughter of Jacob and Mary Skaats (sp?) Cambell who settled in Pickensville in 1839. James and Eliza married 10-21-1841 in Pickens Co. On April 4, 1861 Mary married William H. Ferguson, only son of Bryant Ferguson. After the Civil War most of the Chalmers family moved to Salem Va, including William and Mary Ferguson.

I am interested in this family because of their tie to the Miller family. Drury Miller, b 1822 Tn, d 1888 Pickens Al was a brother of my husband's 2great-grandfather Andrew Lewis Miller b 1809 Tn, died 1865, buried Screven Co Ga. i am trying to trace their family, and have connected them with a George Miller b 1746, d 1823 Kershaw SC. Drury was living with James and Eliza Chalmers in the 1850 Pickens Al census, listed as a merchant. The Chalmers file says that "
James Chalmers was engaged in merchandising with Drury Miller, owned a cotton brokerage firm with Messrs. Miller and Stinson in Mobile and owned a large plantation between Pickensviille and Bridgeville."
This Mr. Stinson may have been James Stinson who married Nancy Cotton. Is this your relative?
I think there is some possibility that James Chalmers and Drury Miller were related, and there is also a marriage in Kershaw SC between George Miller's granddaughter and a William Stinson.
I would love to find more information about these people.

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your information on these folks. The Chalmers/Ferguson connection is very interesting to me.

To give you a bit of background, my Chambers/Chalmers line was in Newberry Co., SC, migrated to Pickens Co., AL, and then moved just over the state line to Noxubee Co., MS. Some of the Chambers remained in Greene Co.

I do have some information on Nancy Cotton Stinson's family, but I don't know how much it will help you. As you can see from the notes below, she and James Stinson did reside in Pickens Co.

Noxubee Co., MS Court Records Vols. C-D
1851-1855
LDS Film #9099866

p. 1
29 Sept. 1849
Estate of Abner Cotton, deceased.
Nicholas C. Cotton, administrator
Notice to sell land. Heirs being notified:
John W. Cotton
Jane Watts and husband James R. Watts
Minerva Ferguson and husband William C. Ferguson
James Gardner Cotton
Nancy Stinson and husband James Stinson
Abner and Bryan Aycock, minors of Mary A. Aycock
William A. Ferguson, minor of Martha Ferguson, and the unknown heirs of Martha and Thomas J. Haynes, both deceased and late of Texas
All others interested in the real estate of Abner Cotton, deceased.

Notice published in the Noxubee Rifle newspaper by proprietor Edward W. Ferris. Printed in Macon.


Noxubee Co., MS Court Records. Vols. E-F
1855-1856
LDS Film #0900867


p. 344
8 Jan. 1856
Estate of Margaret Cotton
N.C. Cotton, administrator
John W. Cotton, petitions for final settlement. Heirs are:
John W. Cotton of Noxubee Co. and petitioner
Jane Watts and James R. Watts
James G. Cotton
Minerva Ferguson
Nancy Stinson and spouse James Stinson
All above heirs of full age.
W.A. Ferguson, minor of Martha Haynes, late Martha Ferguson, deceased
All reside Pickens Co., AL.
Two unknown children of Martha Haynes Ferguson who reside in Texas.
Bryan Aycock, of full age, and Abner Aycock, minor, sons of Mary Ann Aycock, deceased.

Pickens County, Alabama
1841-1861
Compiled by Marilyn Davis Barefield and Carr Byron Barefield
Copyright 1984


p. 23
30 Jan. 1855
Pickens Republican

James Stinson and Robert T. Johnston, exec. of LW&T of William C. Ferguson, who was in his lifetime guardian of William A. Ferguson, filed account current and vouchers for final settlement.

James Stinson and Robert T. Johnston, exec. of William C. Ferguson who was in his lifetime guardian of William A. Ferguson, Cornelia and Corrilla Haynes, minor heirs of Martha M. Haynes, dec'd, filed account current and vouchers for final settlement.

James Stinson and Robert T. Johnston, exec. of William C. Ferguson, who was in his lifetime guardian of William A. Ferguson, filed account current and vouchers for final settlement.

[According to another researcher, Martha Cotton Ferguson Haynes was married to Bryant Ferguson and then to Thomas J. Haynes.]


p. 30
23 Feb. 1860
James Stinson and R.T. Johnston, Exec. of W.C. Ferguson's Estate, filed account current and vouchers for annual settlement.


p. 13
1 Oct. 1842
Pickensville Register
Orphans Court 9/7/1842. William C. Ferguson, Administrator of Estate of Bryan Ferguson, filed petition for the sale of land to pay debts of the Estate. One parcel in Pickensville is bounded by Mrs. Ragsdale, John Bonner and Hughes Taylor.

p. 37
11 Oct. 1860
Pickens Republican
Lellie Jane Stinson, 1 year 5 months 14 days, youngest child of James and Nancy Stinson, died suddenly of fever Sept. 27. Survived by her parents, one brother and one sister.


p. 9
26 March 1842
Pickensville Register
George Shelton Stinson, infant son of James Stinson, died on the 23rd instance, 1 mo. 8 days, in Pickensville.

James Stinson and wife Nancy Cotton Stinson are buried in the Lower Pickensville Cemetery as is Abner C. Stinson (1855-1887) - probably Abner Cotton Stinson.

Also in this cemetery is a Drury Miller Long, son of J.R. & Dora S. Long. He was born 1881 and died 1900. Since your Drury Miller married a Long, I assumed these folks were part of their family.

I hope you find something of use in here.

Catherine

Wow, all of this is very interesting. It does seem that the more I research these Miller, the more names that I find. Yet I do think that finding this link to the Chalmers and Stinsons may be the most helpful yet.

So, it appears that Martha Cotton who married Bryant Ferguson and Nancy Cotton who married James Stinson were sisters,and it seems likely that this James Stinson is the one who was in business with Chalmers and Miller.

There were a couple of names of interest from your notes, with Gardner and Shelton being two names that I have associated with this Miller family. Also, the Drury Miller Long in the Lower Pickensville Cemetery was, I believe, a nephew of Julia Long, Drury Miller's wife. Julia was born in 1832 in Alabama, and I think that her parents were Richard and Mary H Long who are buried in the Garden Cemetery in Pickens Co. Richard was apparently born in 1794 in Abbeville SC and died about 1850 in Pickens Co Al.

I am really more interested in the Chalmers connection. Who are your Chalmers/Chambers? Do you think that they were related to this James Chalmers? I have a theory that, even though he was born in Scotland, he was related to some earlier Chalmers settlers in Virginia. Do you by any chance have any Lanier or Daughtry connections to your family?

The Millers lived in the area of Pickens Co that was near the Sipsey River and near the Greene Co line. Other families that I have connected to this extended Miller line in Pickens Co are Ingram, Knox, McKinney, Cunningham, Summerville, Gardner, Hood, Horton, Baker, Sherrill, Propst, McKinstry, Steele, Coleman, Binford, among others.

Many of these families moved to Pickens Co from the Kershaw area of South Carolina in the 1830's or so.

I don't have any evidence that any of my three Miller brothers ever actually lived in South Carolina, though it is certainly possible. I am having trouble finding the connect to Tennessee. All that I know is that Andrew's wife, Priscilla Harris, was born and raised in Monroe Co Tn, and family legend is that the family was from Sweetwater in that county.I think that Andrew and William wound up in Screven Co Ga because they inherited land there. Drury also owned land in the area, but apparently he never lived in Georgia.

Thanks for sharing your Stinson-Ferguson information. Maybe we can find some more connections.

By the way, does anyone know who Robert T. Johnston was?

Hi,

I'm glad that some of these notes were helpful!

I have no idea if these Chalmers were connected to mine. My family came from Newberry Co., SC to Pickens Co., AL and then to Noxubee Co., MS. The father of my line of Chambers died in Newberry Co. in 1801. There were two other Chalmers/Chambers families there at the time, and I strongly suspect they were related to mine. I know that the grandson of one of these earlier Chambers came to the States from Ireland about 1810. This suggests that the others probably also came from Ireland (or perhaps Scotland). That said, it's entirely possible they were related to James Chalmers of Pickens Co., but I really don't know.

My direct ancestor was Maxfield Chambers who migrated with his mother Martha, brother Samuel, and several sisters. Maxfield married Mary Jane Gillespie of Pickens Co., AL about 1830. Maxfield had a brother-in-law named Robert A. Dugan who later migrated to Noxubee from Newberry Co. Both Maxfield and Robert had children/grandchildren that intermarried with the Cottons in Noxubee.

I'll keep my eyes open for Miller data in connection with these families. Pickens Co. is a tough place to research due to the destruction of early records.