The Lee-Jackson Statue And Mr. Ferguson’s Motive

In the furry attendant upon the arrival and setting up of the Lee-Jackson equestrian statue, small mention has been made of the man whose gift of $100,000 made the monument possible, Mr. J. Henry Ferguson.

Mr. Ferguson was a native Baltimorean, a bachelor and a banker who amassed a modest fortune. In 1898 he founded the Colonial Trust Company, since merged with another bank, and served as its president until his death, in 1928. He lived quietly at Glenmir, his estate on Edmondson avenue, and for years was a member of the Maryland Club.

Most of his contemporaries have long since died, but there are still some who recall him as a man of dignity and refinement and a connoisseur of food and wine. Though customarily reserved, he could be outspoken on matters upon which he held strong opinions.

In his youth and middle age Mr. Ferguson was an enthusiastic sportsman, but an accident in the hunting field resulted in the amputation of a leg and made him inactive thereafter. In the will which contained the bequest for the monument, he stated that Lee and Jackson were his boyhood heroes and added: “Maturer judgment has only strengthened my admiration for them. They were great generals and great Christian soldiers. They waged war like gentlemen and I feel that their example should be held up to the youth of Maryland.”

On the occasion of Mr. Ferguson’s death the board of directors of the Colonial Trust adopted a resolution, published in The Sun, which spoke of his “gallantry, loyalty, kindly hospitality and high sense of honor.” His body now lies in Greenmount Cemetery.