Fergus(s)on DNA Project

There are at least two Alexander FERGUSSON who are often confused with one another resulting of a convoluted set of errors. They are:

Annie LAURIE's husband who died March 8, 1748; no place is mentioned but by context one can assume Craigdarroch¹.
Alexander FERGUSON who died in York, Maine in 1731.
Alexander FERGUSON who died 1719. According to Mary Beaumont Statham "Gentleman, came from Craig-Darrach, Co. Dumfries, Scotland to York Co., VA, probably in 1716; convicted as a rebel against George I, was banished to the Colonies as a Jacobite prisoner. [Compendium of American Genealogy of the First Families of America, edited by Frederick A. Virkus, by the Institute of American genealogy, 1925-1942, vol 5, p. 510-511.]

Here are some of the errors concerning Alexander FERGUSSON of Craigdarroch and examples of where the may be found:

Daniel FERGUSON who married Mildred DONAHOE does not descend from Alexander FERGUSSON and Annie LAURIE. In fact there doesn't seem to be any evidence that Daniel's father was even named Alexander.
[TxJessy's Genealogy page]
There is no evidence that Alexander FERGUSSON died in York County, Virginia and his death certainly was not circa 1712-1719.
[Higgins, Ramsey, Burt, and Hajny Families]
Alexander FERGUSSON did not have a second wife who begat William FERGUSON (~1715-1776) of Doonholm. His first wife, Annie LAURIE outlived him.
(Ancestral file AFN: 15RL-S2R)

Annie is sometimes said to have a husband named James FERGUSSON and a son named Alexander.

This mistake can be attributed to E. Cobham Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1898. If an errata could be published for his work it would read:
- Annie LAURIE's husband was Alexander FERGUSSON
- Her son was James FERGUSSON
- Her grandson Alexander FERGUSSON, was the hero of Burns's song called 'The Whistle'.
One common error which results:
- John FERGUSON who married Margaret DOUGLAS is not son of James FERGUSON and Annie LAURIE
  [World Family Tree Vol. 32 (Disk #1), Ed. 1]

The LDS Ancestral File shows James as having a third wife, Jane HUTCHESON (AFN: 18GT-SLB).

In fact a James FERGUSON and Jane HUTCHESON were married 16 Oct 1734, Ayr. The parish registers Church of Scotland at Ayr, LDS Film 1041330; their children are:
- Jane FERGUSON b. 14 Oct 1738
- Elizabeth FERGUSON b. 05 Oct 1739
- Elizabeth FERGUSON b. 20 Dec 1740
- James FERGUSON b. 20 Aug 1742
- Margrit FERGUSON b. 05 Apr 1745
- John FERGUSON b. 24 May 1746
- Elizabeth FERGUSON b. 15 May 1750
Annie LAURIE's son James married Euphemia NISBET in 1743. Since the couple above are having children before and after this date, the James above could not be Annie's son.

Records of the Clan and Name of Fergusson, Ferguson and Fergus, by James Ferguson and Robert Menzies Fergusson, Edinburgh, 1895, p.399.