Henry Ferguson was born on July 14, 1900 in Grouard AB. He was the oldest of 8 children of St. Pierre and Philomene (Calliou) Ferguson. St. Pierre worked for the Hudson Bay Company in various posts, and in 1908 started homesteading in Spirit River area. In 1913 the family moved to Grande Prairie where St. Pierre owned a pool hall, but the children were not allowed to go in it. At age 17, Henry enrolled in Agriculture School in Vermillion. During WW I, Henry, though very young, served in the army. The Ferguson family moved to White Mountain in 1926, and lived at three different locations there. Henry took out his own homestead in Belloy in 1930. While in White Mountain, Henry and his brothers, played on the baseball and basketball teams, playing against neighboring communities. Henry also played the fiddle very well, and enjoyed playing for community dances. (Once in 1948, he entered a fiddle contest in Lethbridge, and he placed 6th out of 210 contestants.) Henry met his future wife, Marion Christopherson, who also lived in White Mountain, and they married on March 24, 1933 in Grande Prairie. The new couple travelled between White Mountain and their homestead in Belloy. Their first son, Terry was born in 1934. They had 11 children in all over the years: Terry, Eleanore, Gordon, Herbert, Dennis, Donald, Kenneth, Francis, Norman, Janet, and Gregory. In 1940 the young family moved to Rycroft where the oldest children went to school. Henry decided to enlist in the army again on May 19, 1942. Over the coming Christmas holiday, Marion left her children motherless as she gave birth to the 7th baby in Sexsmith. Posted to Picture Butte near Lethbridge the following year, Henry and the family moved there, staying there for twelve years. Since Henry was also a veteran of WW I, we went to the Veteran’s guard, and was at the P. O. W. camp. In 1955 Henry and Marion and family moved back to White Mountain. Henry worked in road construction. In the spring of 1976, they moved from the farm to live in Spirit River. Henry passed away on October 17, 1980 in Spirit River, and he was buried in the Mission Cemetery.
Source: Memories and Moments p. 277 (photo in uniform); p. 88-90 ( Henry family story); pp. 91-94 (St. Pierre family story)
Chepi Sepe pp. 184 and 402
Surname File – obituary of Henry