Fenner Ferguson

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Fenner Ferguson

|image = Fenner Ferguson (Nebraska Congressman).jpg

|office = Delegate to the
U.S. House of Representatives
from the Nebraska Territory's
at-large district

|term_start = March 4, 1857

|term_end = March 3, 1859

|predecessor = Bird Chapman

|successor = Experience Estabrook

|office1 = Chief Justice of the Territorial Nebraska Supreme Court

|term_start1 = 1854

|term_end1 = 1857

|predecessor1 = Position established

|successor1 = Augustus Hall

|state_house2 = Michigan

|district2 = Calhoun County

|term_start2 = January 1, 1849

|term_end2 = December 31, 1849

|predecessor2 = John Pierce

|successor2 = Henry Clark

|birth_date = {{birth date|1814|4|25}}

|birth_place = Nassau, New York, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|1859|10|11|1814|4|25}}

|death_place = Bellevue, Nebraska, U.S.

|party = Democratic

}}

Fenner Ferguson (April 25, 1814 – October 11, 1859) was an American attorney and politician from Nebraska Territory. He was most notable for his service as member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1849, chief justice of Nebraska Territory from 1854 to 1857, and Delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska territory (1857–1859).

Biography

Fenner Ferguson was born in Nassau, New York on April 25, 1814, the son of Stephen Ferguson and Dorothy (Palmer) Ferguson.{{cite magazine |last=Forbes |first=Alice Ferguson |date=January 1925 |title=Fenner Ferguson, First Chief Justice of Nebraska |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iEJLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA308 |magazine=Nebraska Law Bulletin |location=Lincoln, NE |publisher=Nebraska State Bar Association |pages=308–316 |via=Google Books}}{{cite book |last=Light |first=Richard Upjohn |date=1990 |title=Upjohn: A Study in Ancestry, Covering 14 Generations and 450 Years |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVtmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22fenner+ferguson%22+nebraska+son+arthur |location=Kalamazoo, MI |publisher=R. U. Light |page=186 |via=Google Books}} His father Stephen Ferguson owned and operated a farm, and Fenner Ferguson worked on the farm while attending the local schools. After graduating from Nassau Academy and deciding on a career as an attorney, Ferguson studied law at the Albany, New York firm of Coon and Branhall.{{cite book |last=Bicentennial Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States |date=1983 |title=Judges of the United States |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLKAP6dGK6AC&pg=PA160 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=US Government Printing Office |page=160 |via=Google Books}} He was Admission to the bar in 1840 and commenced practice in Albany as a partner in Coon, Branhall, and Ferguson.{{cite web |url=https://history.nebraska.gov/collections/fenner-ferguson-1814-1859-rg3518am |title=Fenner Ferguson: Background Note |date=April 1, 2010 |website=Nebraska Stata Historical Society Manuscript Finding Aid: Fenner Ferguson |publisher=History Nebraska |location=Lincoln, NE |access-date=August 26, 2021}}

In 1846, Ferguson moved to Albion, Michigan, where he continued the practice of law. a Democrat, he served as master in chancery and district attorney. In 1849, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives.

In 1854, President Franklin Pierce appointed Ferguson to serve as chief justice of the Nebraska Territory, and Ferguson relocated to Bellevue, Nebraska. While on the bench, he organized the first district and supreme courts of Nebraska, and assisted the first Territorial legislature in drafting the first code of laws enacted for the government of the Territory. He resigned as chief justice in 1857, having been elected as a Democrat to serve as Nebraska Territory's non-voting delegate in the 35th Congress. Ferguson served from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859. He was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1858.

Ferguson died in Bellevue, Nebraska, on October 11, 1859. He was buried at Bellevue Cemetery in Bellevue.{{cite web |url=https://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=171611 |title=History of Bellevue Cemetery |last=bwhiteing |date=January 16, 2011 |website=Nebraska Gravestones.org |publisher=Nebraska Gravestone Photo Project |access-date=August 26, 2021}}