Virgil Stuart Ferguson (1844–1912) was an Illinois attorney and Republican politician. He represented Whiteside County in the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

from 1891 to 1895, serving in the 37th and 38th sessions of the General Assembly. He lived for most of his life in

Sterling, Illinois Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States, along the Rock River. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the city has long been associate ...

Early life and education

Virgil Stuart Ferguson was born to Andrew and Zerelda Brock Ferguson on September 18, 1844, in

Bedford, Indiana Bedford is a city in Shawswick Township and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 13,792. That is up from 13,413 in 2010. Bedford is the principal city of the Bedford, IN Micropo ...

. He was the eldest of eight children. He attended the

Mount Carroll Seminary The Mount Carroll Seminary was the name of Shimer College from 1853 to 1896. The Seminary was located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, in the United States. A pioneering institution in its time and place, the Mount Carroll Seminary served as a center ...

, known today as

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School ( ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, or ...

, in the early 1860s, while his family was living in

Milledgeville, Illinois Milledgeville is a village in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population of the village was 1,026 at the 2020 census. History The town originated from a gristmill that was built in 1834, of which the town got its name. When the Chi ...

. Prior to attending the Seminary, Ferguson had attended the Hazel Green School near Milledgeville, for which he helped to organize a large reunion in 1897. After completing his studies at the Seminary, Ferguson attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

for a time. He joined the Illinois bar on June 23, 1868, following his graduation from

Union College of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

, which later became the Northwestern University School of Law. Also in 1868, he married Annie E. Mickle; they had two children.

Political career

Ferguson was elected Assistant Supervisor of Sterling Township in 1888, without opposition. He resigned upon being elected to the state senate in 1890. He also served for at least eighteen years on the school board for the Wallace School, now the Wallace Educational Center, in Sterling. Ferguson was elected in 1890 to a four-year term in the Illinois State Senate, representing the counties of

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

and Whiteside. In 1891, Ferguson was one of two state senators to oppose a bill that required the weekly payment of wages, considering it unconstitutional. The law was subsequently overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in ''Bracewell Coal v. People'', 147 Ill. 66, for interfering in freedom of contract. In 1893, Ferguson sponsored legislation to reform Illinois law on the restraint and detention of the insane, replacing an 1874 law that had required a public jury trial for all such cases. After leaving the General Assembly in 1895, Ferguson returned to private practice in Sterling. Ferguson was struck and killed by a train while visiting in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, on September 23, 1912. A coroner's inquiry found the train to have been speeding. He was laid to rest in Sterling's Riverside Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Virgil Illinois state senators Illinois lawyers People from Bedford, Indiana People from Sterling, Illinois 1844 births 1912 deaths University of Chicago alumni Shimer College alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Accidental deaths in Illinois Railway accident deaths in the United States 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly