Person:John Ferguson (31)

article from WEST BAY CITY TIMES- Monday Evening, Oct. 13, 1902: DROWNED IN A SLIP- Joe Ferguson, aged 13, a victim of the river.-- Was playing in a Duck Boat with a Companion and the Craft Capsized.----

The Saginaw river claimed another youthful victim this morning.  Thomas Kelly, aged 15 and Joe Ferguson, aged 13, were playing in a duck boat in a slip north of the Davidson shipyard when their frail craft capsized and the Ferguson boy was drowned.  Kelly managed to catch hold of the boat as it went over, and hung on until rescued by some men in a boat who came to his assistance.  Ferguson missed the boat, sunk and did not come to the surface again.  

The accident happened within sight of a score or more of men employed in sorting and piling lumber on docks on each side of the slip, but it was all over before any of them realized what had occurred. "We saw the boys playing in the boat." said one of the workmen, "and I saw them when it tipped over. The boat went bottom up, and both boys got on top of it. Then it turned over again, and both got inside. I suppose they were only fooling there, as so many small boys do about the river, but when I saw then again the boat was overturned and there was only one boy in sight. Some lumber was thrown out to him, and then some people in a boat came up and helped him ashore." The Kelly Boy went home immediately, after the accident, and a search was started for the body of young Ferguson. This work was carried on for some time by some young men working with pike poles and a set of grappling irons from the shipyard. Coroner Van Tuyl, who had been notified, sent to Bay City for their grappling irons, and when they arrived took a hand in the work, but it was nearly an hour after the accident occurred before the body was recovered. A jury was impanelled and an inquest will be held tomorrow night. The body was removed to Coroner Van Tuyl's office. Ferguson's parents are Mr. & Mrs. Wm. J. Ferguson, residing at 312 South Catherine street. The boy attends St. Mary's school, but this is a church holiday and he did not go this morning.

1. ↑ Church baptism record
   St. Columbkille's R. C. ch., Uptergrove, Simcoe Co., Ontario; LDS film # 1305889, item # 2, p. 41.

   QUAY 3 "John Joseph Ferguson, born Maraa 30th Oct '89, baptized 1st Jan '90; son of Wm Ferguson, born Canada and Margaret Jane Crosby, born Canada; ; by W. J. McGinley"