Ferguson's point, named after William Ferguson
William Ferguson came from Ireland to Pennsylvania
After leaving the 29th regiment in 1784, he returned
home to Penn., to find out all he owned had been seized
and sold. In 1786 we see him petitioning for land in Tracadie
Land was granted and so began his "reign" over the area
He married first, Marguerite Coombs and had 3 children
Georges born 1795, Marie Anne born 1792 and Thomas born 1793
Marie Anne married Etienne Arsenault
Georges later married Monique Richard, they had 11 children
Jonas, Pierre, Luc, Felicien, William , Anne, Marie, Margot,
Pauline, Lisette and Catherine, he died in 1850
In 1803 William Ferguson married Esther Richard
widow of Pierre Dugulit and they had 10 children:
Guillaume born 1804, Pierre 1805, Marie Esther 1806
Henriette 1807, Francoise 1809, Anne 1810, Francois
David 1811, Anne 1815 and Flavien 1817
Henriette married Jacques Welch in 1828, and the second Anne
married James Young
Mr. Ferguson, opened a store, a cannery of blueberries
and a cannery of Lobster, which by the way back then sold
for as little as 15 cents a pound cooked
It is beleived that Sheila got its name in the late 1800's
when a Mr. Foster, an important man in the area as he was
the manager of a large mill, petitionned the Minister of Postal
services to have the name of the post office of Ferguson's Point
changed to Sheila in honor of his daughter Sheila
Much later around 1945, local people tried to have Sheila's name
changed to that of Bellefeuille but didnt succeed although when
doing research you will at times see the name used
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