interest. He left New Orleans for the Isthmus in the steamship Alabama Dec. 10, 1850. He thoroughly enjoyed the out-door life, the rough and tumble of a semicivilized land and his notes on the people, their customs, the plant life, the geological formations and the animals and birds of the country show how keen and observant was his interest. His diary is full of exciting episodes and visits to strange places and peoples. In November, 1852, he was in Tehauntepec on the Pacific coast, when he was seized with a violent attack of Mexican fever and was obliged to return to the United States. After a journey full of severe hardships and great fatigue, he arrived in Whately on his birthday, Mar. 19, 1853. The fine stimulating air of the Whately hills soon restored his exhausted strength and in a few months he felt able for work again. He joined his brother William in Tennessee but the climate and surroundings proving uncongenial, he soon left to take charge of a section of the Tiffin and Fort Wayne Railroad, which was then in course of construction, and of which his brother Peter was engineer-in-charge. For three years he lived in his brother's home; years of quiet home comfort and influence, so different from the rough camplife of Mexico. One fact alone was significant. It was a time of quiet growth and, at their close, he gave himself to the ministry. The great financial depression of the year 1857 caused a suspension of the railroad construction and he returned to the old home. Soon after his return came the sad tidings of the sudden death of his younger brother James, in New Orleans. This great sorrow changed the purpose of his life. The ministry, which had been distasteful to him, became a privilege. He went to Andover to pursue his theological studies and on Sept. 5, 1860 was ordained by the Presbytery of Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

as a minister of the Gospel. Prof. Tyler of Amherst College, who had been a life-long friend of the family, preached the ordination sermon. His first pastorate was a country village in the northeast corner of Duchess County, N. Y., hence called North East. This church society which he brought together removed to Millerton, N. Y. and dedicated a church there Feb. 17, 1866. He preached his farewell sermon there on Sunday, March 29, 1874. In 1875 he accepted a call to become pastor of the Congregational church in Torringford, Conn. where he labored for three years.

In 1874, his younger sister, Abby, went to Wellington, Cape Colony, at the call of the Rev. Andrew Murray, to found a young ladies' school after the plan of Mt. Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts. The desire of a number of young men to be trained for mission work suggested an institution which should be devoted to their training and at the same time be a home for others who might attend the boys' school. In 1877 came an urgent invitation from Dr. Murray to Mr. Ferguson to come to Wellington and take charge of a Mission Training Institute for the sons of the colonists, and in August, he and his family met Mr. Murray in England and they sailed together for South Africa, arriving in Cape Town in September, 1877.

The work Mr. Ferguson was now to undertake was the great work of his life. He felt afterwards, and others saw it, too, that all his previous experience had been in preparation for it. His life in Mexico had given him a knowledge of business matters, and his work as a minister had softened and deepened his spirit, so that he was now a thoroughly practical and an earnest, humble, christian He possessed qualities which are not often found together and which were necessary for the carrying out of

man.

his great work-he was a man of the world and yet a man of God. Though the work was to be of lasting benefit to South Africa, it opened humbly enough in a house in Wellington capable of accommodating some twenty boys. Gradually the work grew, and in 1884 a new Training Institute was completed. It was a handsome building, with accommodations for over fifty boarders, with class-rooms and rooms for the use of the family. Though his mission class was his first interest, he was deeply interested in the youths who found a home in the Institute and attended the village school, and valued the opportunity to influence and mould their lives. He was a pastor as well as a teacher and a father. Only once during his nearly nineteen years of service did he take a year of rest, and then he and his wife visited America.

The value of his work may be estimated by this fact: When he came to South Africa, in 1877, the Dutch Church, with its many congregations and great wealth, situated at the very portal of the Dark Continent, supported only three missionaries in what might be called the foreign mission field. New mission stations have been dotted all over South Africa, and a new and promising work has been started on the western shores of Lake Nyassa, in the very heart of the Dark Continent. He began the year 1896 in great weariness, and grew gradually and steadily weaker until he passed quietly to his last rest on the nineteenth of June. The children of George R. and Susan (Pratt) Ferguson :

44. MARGARET EMMA', born Jan. 14, 1865, in North East, N. Y. 45. GEORGE PRATT', born Jan. 15, 1867, in North East, N. Y.

46. ERNEST WILLIAM' born Dec. 15, 1868, in Millerton, N. Y. 47. MAXWELL', born Apr. 15, 1870, in Millerton, N. Y.; died Jan. 14, 1876, in Torringford, Ct.

48. KATIE', born Oct. 4, 1872, in Millerton, N. Y.

49. WALTER MILLS', born Mar. 17, 1876, in Torringford, Conn.