Monday, December 21, 2015

Fergusson

Wood carving celebrating Adam Fergusson one of two founders of Fergus, Ontario

According to the Dictionary of Canadian Bibliographies, Adam Fergusson "was a lawyer by training and a country gentleman by inclination."  Fergusson was born in Scotland but emigrated to Canada with his family in 1834 after having been sent a couple of years earlier to "Upper Canada" (now Ontario) to check out agriculture here. Obviously, he was impressed by the farming possibilities. (Remember he was a hardy Scot!)

Front view from the street side

A year later, he and James Webster purchased a large parcel of land, some of which became the village of Fergus.

Side view

Three year later, Fergus commanded a militia unit in the Rebellion of 1837. He was loyal to the British Crown and in 1850 was opposed to Upper Canada being annexed by the United States, preferring to remain under the British flag. He worked hard to improve Canadian agriculture and at the same time worked to establish political reform, attempting to safeguard the interests of the common people.

As seen from the back

In 1841, Lower Canada (Quebec and Labrador) and Upper Canada (Ontario) joined to create the Province of Canada until July 1, 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was formed uniting Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Sadly, Fergusson never saw this union as he died five years earlier in 1862.
More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.


34 comments:

Francisco Manuel Carrajola Oliveira said...

Uma bela escultura.
Um abraço e boa semana.

Andy said...

I am impressed with the carving and the history behind Fergus, Ontario.

Tom said...

A work of art!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love his shield and feathers. very cool statue. carving. maybe is a better word for him. have a Merry Christmas!! ( :

eileeninmd said...

Hello, what an awesome wood carvinh. Beautiful statue.

Happy Monday, have a great new week! Merry Christmas!

Anvilcloud said...

Nice carving and good info. Given his background, I imagine that his name was pronounced something like Fairgus back in the day.

MadSnapper said...

really awesome woodcarving and true talent to create it. i knew none of this history about your country...

Shammickite said...

A hardy Scot indeed.

John's Island said...

Hi EG CG, This is absolutely the first time I've ever seen a tree trunk carved into a statue like this. Fascinating and wonderfully done. Thanks for taking the excellent photos and giving us the story! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Taken For Granted said...

Adam Ferguson sounds like an interesting fellow. This is a fine sculptural carving in his honor. Interesting post.

Penelope Postcards said...

What a strong image and fascinating man! Things might have turned out differently were it not for people like him. I wonder if when dreams are realized but we do not see it happen, there is another secret realm where such things are known.

Mary Hone said...

I love that. And the story is fascinating. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for early settlers.

Christine said...

Great sculpture and history!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Now that is cool. I was intrigued and googled about the rebellion. Who knew the Canadians could get so riled up about things. They seem so mellow.

Lowell said...

Sounds like quite a guy! The sculpture is a strong piece, reflecting the kind of person he was. I'm glad he took the path he did!

Sylvia K said...

Fascinating history to go with that awesome statue! What an incredible man he was!! Thank you so much, as always, for sharing the beauty and the history of your world, EG!! I hope you have a wonderful holiday week!! Enjoy!!!

Cloudia said...

Glad to meet this great Canadian







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Warm ALOHA,
ComfortSpiral


Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

I bet I'm not the only American that went...what...rebellion in Canada? I went to wikipedia to read up on the 1837 rebellion...must have been written by an attorney...because it made no sense. ...Thanks for challenging me :O)

Existe Sempre Um Lugar said...

Para si e sua família desejo um Natal de Luz! Abençoado e repleto de alegrias.
AG

VP said...

An impressive and unusual work!

cieldequimper said...

Interesting! The Scots are everywhere... :-)

Nancy Chan said...

Great work of art.

Anonymous said...

When I saw the fierce headshot, I expected a tall statue:) But his history is fierce:)

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful post for OWT ~ What a magnificent sculpture carved out of word! Great photos!

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to all,
artmusedog and carol

Rajesh said...

Wonderfully sculptured statue.

Anonymous said...

What a magnificent carving!

Indrani said...

Very impressive figure!
Well presented.

s.c said...

So have every part of the world its own story. Only reaching an ear is sometimes difficult.

Rose said...

Wonderful talent...I did not know this history. All so interesting.

Susan Anderson said...

I've never seen anything like this, and I love it! Thanks for capturing such a beautiful work of art.

=)

William Kendall said...

This one I've seen before while in Fergus, but it's been years!

Fun60 said...

Enjoyed reading about the background to the sculpture. Merry Christmas.

Valerie said...

Thank you for sharing this piece of Canadian history, EG. Christmas is a time of remembering and celebrating. Wishing you a happy one with your loved ones.

TheChieftess said...

Interesting bit of Canadian history!!!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.