Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2015 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= USGenNet Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== A History of Northern Michigan and its People. Vol. II Perry Francis Powers, Lewis Publishing Co., - 1912 [764-767] EDWIN I. FERGUSON, proprietor of the New Emmet Hotel and Annex and a prominent factor in business and political circles at Harbor Springs, Michigan, is a representative citizen and a man who not only has achieved his individual success but has also public-spiritedly devoted himself to the general welfare of his fellow men, and has been foremost in advancing enterprises and improvements which will prove of lasting benefit to the city, county and state. He is, furthermore, a self-made man, having earned his own livelihood from early youth. From the first he was possessed of ambition and determination and his eneray. courage and business judgment have brought him to a position of esteem and influence among the citizens of this state, where he is a man of mark in all the relations of life. A native of Michigan, EDWIN I. FERGUSON was born at Paw Paw, in Van Buren county, the date of his birth being the 7th of June, 1855. He is a son of PHILO N. and MARY (IRVING) FERGUSON, the former of whom was born at Oswego, New York, and the latter of whom was a native of the Dominion of Canada. The father was summoned to the life eternal in 1893, at the age of sixty-two years, and the mother attained to the age of seventy-four years, her demise having occurred in 1904. Of the six children born to MR. and MRS. PHILO N. FERGUSON but three are living at the present time, namely,- HENRY S., who is now residing at Elmhurst, California; EDWIN I., the immediate subject of this review; and ELLA, who is the wife of DAVID TILLISTON, of Charlevoix, Michigan. PHILO N. FERGUSON was a millwright by trade and he came to Michigan from New York, in the year 1854, locating at Paw Paw, in the vicinity of which place he erected a number of mills. Sub- sequently he engaged in farming near Lawton and eventually he located in Ionia county, Michigan, removing thence to Pleasantview township, Emmet county, Michigan, in 1875. In the latter place he established the family home on a farm at Forrest Beach near Harbor Springs and there he was identified with the great basic industry of agriculture during the residue of his life. He was very prominent in Odd Fellow circles, having installed the first lodges of that organization at Cadillac, Mackinaw City and other places. In politics he was aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party. EDWIN I. FERGUSON was reared to the invigorating influences of the old homestead farm and he received his preliminary educational training in the public schools of Ionia county, Michigan. He was associated with his father in the work and management of the old homestead until he had reached his twentieth year. In 1875 he came to what was then known as Little Traverse but which is now called Harbor Springs. Here he entered the employ of the general merchan-dise firm of HARTWELL & FELTER, continuing to work in the store of that concern for a period of two and a half years, at the expiration of which he located on a homestead in Pleasantview township, Emmet county, Michigan. For the ensuing five years he was actively engaged in clearing his farm and in the spring of 1881 he came to Little Traverse, where he turned his attention to the dray and express business. With the latter line of enter-prise he continued to be identified up to 1898, at which time he engaged in the hotel business, continuing to devote his entire time and attention to that work during the intervening years to the present time, in 1911. The New Emmet Hotel and Annex, the splendid hostlery of which MR. FERGUSON is proprietor, holds distinctive prestige as one of the finest hotels in northern Michigan. The following statements, taken from an illustrated booklet gotten out about the hotel is a good summary of its attractions. "Closely nestled, the green hills of Emmet to the north, and the cool, sparkling waters of Little Traverse Bay to the south, lies Harbor Springs, in the heart of the northern Michigan resort country. A beautiful little city of two thousand five hundred population, it is the center of supplies for all north shore resorts, and the rendezvous for thousands of visitors during the summer months. It has many conveniences and advantages of larger cities, and its harbor is the best and safest on the Great Lakes. It is one of the oldest places in Michigan, and, aside from its picturesque location and famous springs, is full of historic interest. It was here that the famous missionary, Pere Marquette, erected the first mission church in this region and labored among the Indians." The hotel is complete in all its appointments, the rooms being large, light and airy. It is heated by steam and lighted by electricity and the plumbing throughout the house is constructed on the most sanitary principles. A special feature of this well equipped hotel is its dining-room, in which all the tables command an extensive view of the water. The table is excellent and everything possible is done to increase the comfort of the guests. By way of amusement there is dancing, sailing, rowing, bathing and golfing. Many trips of exceptional interest are open to the guests, the same including a visit to the Indian village at Ya-way-ga-mug, where may be seen members of the Ojibway, Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in a vivid production of Longfellow's "Hiawatha." The climate is ideally cool and balmy; there is no hay-fever in this region and the nights are just right for restful sleep. In politics MR. FERGUSON accords a stalwart allegiance to the cause of the Republican party, in the local councils of which he has figured most prominently. He was the first marshal of the village of Little Traverse and in the early days also served as the first street commissioner. For some thirty years he has resided in this city and it may be said without fear of contradiction that no man in Harbor Springs commands a higher place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens than does he. As "mine host" he is kindly and genial, his reminiscent mind being filled with anecdotes from the early pioneer days, when this section was mostly virgin wilderness and occupied largely by Indians. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with a number of repre-sentative organizations and in religious matters he and his family are devout members of the Presbyterian church. On the 22d of June, 1878, MR. Ferguson was united in marriage to MISS HANNAH L. BARBER, whose birth occurred in Livingston county, Michigan, and who is a daughter of SAMUEL L. and ELIZABETH (FIELD) BARBER, both natives of the state of New York. MR. BARBER came to Michigan overland at an early date, having driven hither from New York in an ox-cart. He located in Livingston county and there literally hewed a farm out of the wilderness. The nearest milling point in those days was Detroit. In 1876 the BARBER family removed to Emmet county, settling on a farm near Harbor Springs. In his political convictions MR. BARBER was originally a Whig but after the organization of the Republican party he transferred his allegiance to its principles and policies. MR. and MRS. BARBER were the parents of four children, of whom MRS. L. FERGUSON was the second in order of birth. MR. and MRS. FERGUSON have two children,- ORVAL S., who married ALTA BOSTON, and now resides at Harbor Springs, where he has been freight agent for the railroad for the past fourteen years; and Mae, who is the wife of DeWITT D. PORTER, of Harbor Springs. MR. PORTER is connected with MR. FERGUSON in the new Emmet Hotel. ================================================================================ If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ================================================================================