Born September 8, 1796 in Granby, Massachusetts, son of Noah Ferry, a farmer, and Hannah Montague, William was eighth or ninth in a family of ten. William graduated from Union College in Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821, and he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in 1822. In 1823, he married Amanda White, born August 20, 1797, the eldest daughter of Thomas and Hannah Harwood White of Ashfield, Massachusetts. The Ferrys moved to Mackinac Island, where William was a missionary and established a school. In the summer of 1834 he had made a circuit of Lake Michigan and he and Pierre Duvernay reached William's future home by hiking across the peninsula from Detroit and down the Grand River. He drew a Plat of the City of Grand Haven, dated September, 1834, showing the city east to Fourth Street. This original plat was placed in the archives of the Tri-Cities Historical Museum. William came to Grand Haven to seek his fortune in lumbering.
When the Ferrys arrived in Grand Haven on Sunday, November 2, 1834 , they had a family of four, including a daughter, Amanda Harwood, who was born on Mackinac Island on September 30, 1828 , but moved to Ashfield, Massachusetts to reside with her grandparents. Amanda married Henry Clay Hall in New York on June 20, 1855. The other Ferry children were three sons: William Montague Ferry II; Thomas White Ferry and Noah Henry Ferry. Later William and Amanda had three more children: Hannah Elizabeth and twins Mary Lucina [Lucinda] and Edward Payson, both born in 1837. Mary was said to be the first white girl born in Grand Haven. Rev. Ferry established the area's first church and built the first permanent home, a log cabin on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Harbor Avenue, where the Kirby Grill later was located. This cabin burned down in a disastrous fire of 1866. William engaged in the lumber business at Grand Haven and became a wealthy man. In 1841 he was a member of the commission that laid out the road between Muskegon and Grand Haven. From 1835 to 1853 he was Postmaster. Rev. Ferry was the Father of Grand Haven as well as its spiritual and moral leader for nearly a half century. The cities of Ferrysburg, Ferry, Whitehall and Montague were named for him or members of his family. He died December 30, 1867, leaving $120,000. He was buried in the Ferry Lot in Lake Forest Cemetery. The inscription oh his headstone read, "First toil, then rest: First grace, then glory." Ferry Street and Ferry School are named in his family's honor. His wife, Amanda, died in 1870. (text by Wallace K. Ewing PhD.)[American Biographical Notes, p. 138, Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth century, p. 357. and Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary 146 of Notable Americans, Vol. IV, p. 72]
When the Ferrys arrived in Grand Haven on Sunday, November 2, 1834 , they had a family of four, including a daughter, Amanda Harwood, who was born on Mackinac Island on September 30, 1828 , but moved to Ashfield, Massachusetts to reside with her grandparents. Amanda married Henry Clay Hall in New York on June 20, 1855. The other Ferry children were three sons: William Montague Ferry II; Thomas White Ferry and Noah Henry Ferry. Later William and Amanda had three more children: Hannah Elizabeth and twins Mary Lucina [Lucinda] and Edward Payson, both born in 1837. Mary was said to be the first white girl born in Grand Haven. Rev. Ferry established the area's first church and built the first permanent home, a log cabin on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Harbor Avenue, where the Kirby Grill later was located. This cabin burned down in a disastrous fire of 1866. William engaged in the lumber business at Grand Haven and became a wealthy man. In 1841 he was a member of the commission that laid out the road between Muskegon and Grand Haven. From 1835 to 1853 he was Postmaster. Rev. Ferry was the Father of Grand Haven as well as its spiritual and moral leader for nearly a half century. The cities of Ferrysburg, Ferry, Whitehall and Montague were named for him or members of his family. He died December 30, 1867, leaving $120,000. He was buried in the Ferry Lot in Lake Forest Cemetery. The inscription oh his headstone read, "First toil, then rest: First grace, then glory." Ferry Street and Ferry School are named in his family's honor. His wife, Amanda, died in 1870. (text by Wallace K. Ewing PhD.)[American Biographical Notes, p. 138, Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth century, p. 357. and Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary 146 of Notable Americans, Vol. IV, p. 72]
Born September 8, 1796 in Granby, Massachusetts, son of Noah Ferry, a farmer, and Hannah Montague, William was eighth or ninth in a family of ten. William graduated from Union College in Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821, and he was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church in 1822. In 1823, he married Amanda White, born August 20, 1797, the eldest daughter of Thomas and Hannah Harwood White of Ashfield, Massachusetts. The Ferrys moved to Mackinac Island, where William was a missionary and established a school. In the summer of 1834 he had made a circuit of Lake Michigan and he and Pierre Duvernay reached William's future home by hiking across the peninsula from Detroit and down the Grand River. He drew a Plat of the City of Grand Haven, dated September, 1834, showing the city east to Fourth Street. This original plat was placed in the archives of the Tri-Cities Historical Museum. William came to Grand Haven to seek his fortune in lumbering.
When the Ferrys arrived in Grand Haven on Sunday, November 2, 1834 , they had a family of four, including a daughter, Amanda Harwood, who was born on Mackinac Island on September 30, 1828 , but moved to Ashfield, Massachusetts to reside with her grandparents. Amanda married Henry Clay Hall in New York on June 20, 1855. The other Ferry children were three sons: William Montague Ferry II; Thomas White Ferry and Noah Henry Ferry. Later William and Amanda had three more children: Hannah Elizabeth and twins Mary Lucina [Lucinda] and Edward Payson, both born in 1837. Mary was said to be the first white girl born in Grand Haven. Rev. Ferry established the area's first church and built the first permanent home, a log cabin on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Harbor Avenue, where the Kirby Grill later was located. This cabin burned down in a disastrous fire of 1866. William engaged in the lumber business at Grand Haven and became a wealthy man. In 1841 he was a member of the commission that laid out the road between Muskegon and Grand Haven. From 1835 to 1853 he was Postmaster. Rev. Ferry was the Father of Grand Haven as well as its spiritual and moral leader for nearly a half century. The cities of Ferrysburg, Ferry, Whitehall and Montague were named for him or members of his family. He died December 30, 1867, leaving $120,000. He was buried in the Ferry Lot in Lake Forest Cemetery. The inscription oh his headstone read, "First toil, then rest: First grace, then glory." Ferry Street and Ferry School are named in his family's honor. His wife, Amanda, died in 1870. (text by Wallace K. Ewing PhD.)[American Biographical Notes, p. 138, Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth century, p. 357. and Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary 146 of Notable Americans, Vol. IV, p. 72]
When the Ferrys arrived in Grand Haven on Sunday, November 2, 1834 , they had a family of four, including a daughter, Amanda Harwood, who was born on Mackinac Island on September 30, 1828 , but moved to Ashfield, Massachusetts to reside with her grandparents. Amanda married Henry Clay Hall in New York on June 20, 1855. The other Ferry children were three sons: William Montague Ferry II; Thomas White Ferry and Noah Henry Ferry. Later William and Amanda had three more children: Hannah Elizabeth and twins Mary Lucina [Lucinda] and Edward Payson, both born in 1837. Mary was said to be the first white girl born in Grand Haven. Rev. Ferry established the area's first church and built the first permanent home, a log cabin on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Harbor Avenue, where the Kirby Grill later was located. This cabin burned down in a disastrous fire of 1866. William engaged in the lumber business at Grand Haven and became a wealthy man. In 1841 he was a member of the commission that laid out the road between Muskegon and Grand Haven. From 1835 to 1853 he was Postmaster. Rev. Ferry was the Father of Grand Haven as well as its spiritual and moral leader for nearly a half century. The cities of Ferrysburg, Ferry, Whitehall and Montague were named for him or members of his family. He died December 30, 1867, leaving $120,000. He was buried in the Ferry Lot in Lake Forest Cemetery. The inscription oh his headstone read, "First toil, then rest: First grace, then glory." Ferry Street and Ferry School are named in his family's honor. His wife, Amanda, died in 1870. (text by Wallace K. Ewing PhD.)[American Biographical Notes, p. 138, Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth century, p. 357. and Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary 146 of Notable Americans, Vol. IV, p. 72]
Inscription
First toil, then rest: First grace, then glory
Family Members
Siblings
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