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Robert Fergusson was born on 20 July 1830, son of Robert Fergusson, tenant of Netherholm Farm, Kirkmahoe, Dumfriesshire (who died 30 November 1853 aged 72). He was apprenticed to Walter Grierson as a draper. He left for New York in 1851, where he was employed by James Beck, also a Dumfries man; and then he joined the huge business of A T Stewart, becoming their European buyer. In 1871 he joined a Boston dry goods firm, Messrs Shepherd, Norwell & Co, and made a great success there, while able still to make frequent trips to Europe. He died in France on 6 August 1894. At his death his sister and niece Jane, later Mrs James Houston, still lived in Dumfries. His nephew, Robert Fergusson, was murdered by Cheyenne Indians in Montana, USA. Relatives included the Blount and Brand families in and around Dumfries.
[Scottish Archive Network, Person Code NA24275
Ref: Family Tree Ferguson, 03 Apr 1994, GGD234/1 [see also Tinwald & Trailflat Memorial Inscriptions, DGHFS]
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