Jesse Ferguson/Don Trosper - Exact Relationship As we tour the Union Pioneer Cemetery (here) in Tumwater we see the Rutledges, Fergusons and the Trospers.  Historian Don Trosper has often remarked that Jesse was his uncle.  In Don's latest book at last we had a chance to see more about this relationship.  So In The Tumwater We Never Knew For People Who Love History But Don't Realize It Yet...  here is Don's discussion of their relationship:  "Jesse was a member of the Simmons/Bush party from 1845 that founded Tumwater.  My great grandmother was Jesse's sister.  We, his descendants, still reside on the remaining 25 acre plot purchased from Uncle Jesse.   It has created deep roots that perhaps explains my passion for Tumwater history and the many historic stories and fragmentary morsels found in this book." Below is part of the Trosper family tree that shows Don's relationship to Jesse Ferguson's sister, Sarah Jane Ferguson.

	life span	paternal		maternal	life span	refer- ence	year married	marriage location	children	born
	1953 -	Don W Trosper		Debra K Trosper
Father	1926 to 2011	Robert William Trosper	Mother	Shirley Esther  Orcutt Trosper	1931 -	X	1951	lived in Tumwater	Don W. Gary Shelly	1953 1955 1952
Grandfather	1881 to 1968	William Robert Trosper	Grandmother	Elsie Esther Keller Trosper	1905 to 1999	W V	1925	born in Marshall KS married in Olympia	Robert William	1926
	life span	paternal		maternal	life span	refer-ence	year married	marriage location	children	born
Great Grandfather	1846 to 1909	John  Samuel Trosper	Great Grandmother	Mary Ann Conger Trosper	1852 to 1925	U T S	1870	married in Marshall KS 1889 Marshall KS to Tacoma. 1892 to Ferguson Lake.	William Robert John Calhoun Mary Belle Martin Glasby David Jacob Edward Conger Nathan Byron Frank O	1881 1870 1872 1876 1878 1884 1886 1890
Great Great Grandfather 1822 to 1903 William N Trosper Great Great Step Grandmother Sarah Bowen Trosper 1825 to 1923 R P N M L K J 1856 Second  marriage married in Marshall KS   Sarah Bowen  buried in Union Pioneer Cemetery in Tumwater Emma Josephine Sarah Margaret Virginia S Mary Amanda 1856 1859 1862 1865
Great  Great  Grandfather	1822 to 1903	William N Trosper	Great Great Grandmother	Sarah Jane Ferguson Trosper	1827 to 1852	H G F E	1843 First marriage	married in Marshall KS Sarah Ferguson buried in Missouri	John Samuel Anna Jane  Phebe K Robert P	1846 1844 1847 1850

Ferguson Family
	life span	paternal		maternal	life span	refer- ence	year married	marriage location	children	born
	1782  to 1844	Samuel F. Ferguson		Mary Jane Bonser Ferguson	1788 to 1852	D C B A	1809	Scioto Ohio	Sarah Jane Jesse Isaac Hugh Allen Henry Samuel Jr Vincent F  Joseph John Bonser	1827 1824 1810 1813 1814 1816 1819 1820 1822 1825

This family tree shows there is a direct link from Jesse Ferguson's sister to Don Trosper.  The reason it is difficult to follow the path is because Sarah Jane Ferguson (Jesse's sister) died at the age of 25 in Kansas leaving her husband, William N. Trosper, as a widower with four children.  After four years William married Sarah Bowen in Kansas. Finally after 33 years William and Sarah Bowen moved to Tumwater.  Sarah had a great impact on the Trosper family.  She took over from Sarah Jane Ferguson and had four more children with William Trosper.   Sarah Bowen lived much longer than William and died in 1923 at the age of 98 on the Trosper farm in Tumwater where she had lived for over 30 years.  William and Sarah are supposedly buried in the Union Pioneer Cemetery although no markers have been found.

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Here is another interesting part of Don's book...  "Trosper Road, over Interstate 5 at Exit 102 in Tumwater, is named for my great grandfather.  Our roots trace back to the founders of Tumwater.  Uncle Jesse Ferguson was among those who arrived here in 1845 with Michael Simmons, George Bush and others to create Tumwater, the first American community in what is now Washington State. My great-grandfather John Samuel Trosper and his family arrived here 47 years later (in 1892) and settled on 60 acres purchased from Uncle Jesse and his son David."

The original John Samuel Trosper property purchased from Jesse must have been 30 acres in 1892.  Thirty acres were purchased from David Ferguson (Jesse's  son) in 1906 (N) because Jesse died in 1900.