Catherine Ferguson

Gender: Female

Life Dates: 1779 - 11 July 1854

Note: Born into slavery but was freed as a teenager. Though illiterate, Ferguson was a diligent religious educator, especially to poor and neglected children in her neighborhood in New York. Her own children died shortly after they were born, but it is estimated that she took care of 48 children over the course of her lifetime. "Homespun Heroines" indicates that she was born in 1749 and died in 1854, however other sources indicate that she was born in 1779 and died in 1854 at the age of 75. This seems far more reasonable.--while the preceding comment makes sense, Homespun cites a source that Katie Ferguson's school was founded in 1793, and it seems unlikely she was recognized for this as a teenager.