Adam Fergusson (March 4, 1783 – September 25, 1862) was a farmer and political figure in
Upper Canada and
Canada West.
He was born in 1783 at Woodhill,
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
,
Scotland, studied law and became a magistrate. He was a director of an agricultural society, the
Highland Society of Scotland
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) was founded in Edinburgh in 1784 as the Highland Society of Edinburgh.
The Society had its root in 1723 when the Society of Improvers of the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland was ...
, and was sent by them in 1831 to determine the state of agriculture in
Canada and the
United States. Impressed by his visit, he settled with his family on a farm, which he also named Woodhill, near
Waterdown
Waterdown was a hardcore punk and post-hardcore band from Osnabrück, Germany. The band emerged onto the scene in 1999 under the formation of: Axel Pralat (guitar), Marcel Bischoff (vocals), Jörg Schwoeppe (drums), Christian Kruse (bass), Holger ...
in
East Flamborough Township, Upper Canada in 1833. In 1834, he established the village of
Fergus with
James Webster James Webster may refer to:
* James Webster (Australian politician) (1925–2022), Senator in Australia
* James Webster (rugby league) (born 1979), rugby league player for Widnes Vikings
* James Webster (musicologist), musicologist on the faculty o ...
. He commanded a militia unit during the
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...
of 1837. In 1839, he was appointed to the
Legislative Council of Upper Canada and was a member of the
Legislative Council for United Canada until his death in 1862. Although loyal to Britain, prosperous and well-connected, he supported the Reformers.
He remained interested in improving agriculture in Upper Canada. He imported cattle from Britain and established a competition, the Fergus Cup, for the best
Durham heifer. He was the first president of the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada in 1846 and a member of the Board of Agriculture of Upper Canada. He was a senator at the
University of Toronto and played an important role in establishing the Upper Canada Veterinary School which became the
Ontario Veterinary College, now part of the
University of Guelph.
He suffered a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
in 1860 which left him paralyzed and died at Waterdown in 1862.
His son
Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair served in the legislative assembly for the Province of Canada and was later named to the Senate.
External links
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Adam
1783 births
1862 deaths
Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada
Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
People from Centre Wellington
People from Perth and Kinross
Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
Immigrants to Upper Canada