Jennie Ferguson Turnbull

1898 - 1986  (88 years)

• Name	Jennie Ferguson Turnbull
  Born	12 Feb 1898	North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Female
  Residence	1911	North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Presbyterian
  Died	15 Nov 1986  [4]
  Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region	Bef 2012	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Jennie Ferguson Cowan, a native of North Dumfries Township, and a historian, was educated at Mill Creek School, and Galt Collegiate Institute and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1926, with an Arts Degree in the Honour Course in Household Science. She was a teacher for seven years. Much credit is due Cowan for her enthusiasm in arousing public interest in the history of Waterloo County. She was one of the earliest convenors of historical research and current events for the Women's Institutes in South Waterloo and London districts, encouraging at all times the assembling of records of local history. A member of the session of Knox's Presbyterian Church in Galt, she was the writer of a large part of the church's history on the occasion of the centennial of the church building in 1969. She stimulated research by the Waterloo Historical Society of which she was president from 1951-53. She was one of the early members of the Board of Directors of Doon Pioneer Village, and also of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame Research Committee. After her marriage to Thomas D. Cowan in 1932, she lived at Clochmhor, the family farm since 1834, until the sale of the farm to the City of Galt. Past and Present Inductees. (2017). Waterlooregionmuseum.ca. Retrieved 25 June 2017, from https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/exhibits/past-and-present-inductees.aspx
  Interesting	history, story
  Name	Jennie Ferguson Cowan
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-74223
  Buried	Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Person ID	I74223	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Jared Turnbull,   b. 2 Oct 1859, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Sep 1938, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Jessie Ferguson,   b. 20 Jan 1864, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 17 Jun 1944, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 80 years)
  Married	7 Feb 1894	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  Family ID	F19305	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Thomas Deans Cowan,   b. 2 Apr 1878, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 21 Sep 1970, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 92 years)
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F39258	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Jennie Ferguson Turnbull

  
  

• Notes

  Jennie Ferguson Cowan, a native of North Dumfries Township, and a historian, was educated at Mill Creek School, and Galt Collegiate Institute and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1926, with an Arts Degree in the Honour Course in Household Science. She was a teacher for seven years. Much credit is due Cowan for her enthusiasm in arousing public interest in the history of Waterloo County. She was one of the earliest convenors of historical research and current events for the Women's Institutes in South Waterloo and London districts, encouraging at all times the assembling of records of local history. A member of the session of Knox's Presbyterian Church in Galt, she was the writer of a large part of the church's history on the occasion of the centennial of the church building in 1969. She stimulated research by the Waterloo Historical Society of which she was president from 1951-53. She was one of the early members of the Board of Directors of Doon Pioneer Village, and also of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame Research Committee. After her marriage to Thomas D. Cowan in 1932, she lived at Clochmhor, the family farm since 1834, until the sale of the farm to the City of Galt. The Waterloo Region Hall of Fame ___________________________ Jennie Ferguson Turnbull was born in 1896 on the family farm in the Mill Creek area of North Dumfries Township. Her great-grandfather, Duncan Ferguson, was an original pioneer settler at Mill Creek. Her parents were Jerad Turnbull and Jessie Ferguson, and Jennie's life-long interest in history - an interest which led to her substantial contributions in the field of local history - seems to have been encouraged by both of them. Of her father, Jennie said, "he was very fond of telling stories... I was given wonderful pictures of his childhood days." Of her mother, she reflected, "I feel that she'd had a very very keen mind... And she had a wonderful memory [for] things... And [she was] very ambitious for her daughter." Jennie's paternal grandparents had immigrated from Scotland; Andrew Turnbull was one of the first trustees of Mill Creek School. Jennie had a vivid memory of her maternal grandmother, Jane Elliott Ferguson, crossing Mill Creek by walking along a log with Jennie's mother, in order to return to the family's farm. Jennie's precise memories of her childhood evoke a long-vanished way life in rural Ontario at the beginning of the last century. She was educated in a one-room school, the Mill Creek Public School, attended by 40 students of all grades. The school had two ante-rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls, and was heated with a large woodstove located at the back of the room, with the wood stored in a woodshed behind the school. The teacher's desk was on a raised platform at the front of the room. Jennie fondly remembered.... Women of Waterloo County, edited by Ruth Russell ____________________________ Jennie Ferguson (Turnbull) Cowan was born in the Mill Creek area near Galt in 1898, a daughter of Jared Turnbull. She was educated at Mill Creek School and at the Galt Collegiate Institute before graduating from the Toronto Normal School and the University of Toronto. She taught school in Bruce County, Kitchener and Galt. The latter positions assisted in developing a keen interest in the history of Galt and particularly of Waterloo County and she spent much of her life acquiring and sharing her knowledge of the area. She served as the president of the Waterloo Historical Society from 1951 to 1953 and, between 1940 and 1960 was a regular contributor to the Waterloo Historical Society's annual volume. In later years she was a more occasional contributor with her last article appearing in 1984. Mrs. Cowan was active in the Mill Creek Women's Institute and in 1941 and 1942 served on the Board of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario. She gave leadership in the Women's Institutes to compile the community histories named for Lady Tweedsmuir and served as London area curator. She felt strongly that these books were useful ways to preserve and share historical information. She was a charter member of the Ontario Pioneer Community Foundation that established the Doon Pioneer Village, now Doon Heritage Crossroads. In 1952 Mrs. Cowan acted as official historian for Waterloo County's centennial. She was on the research committee of the Waterloo County Hall of Fame and was herself elected to the Hall in 1978. Mrs. Cowan died at the age of 88 on November 15, 1986 and is buried in Mount View Cemetery. Cambridge Hall of Fame

  
  

• Sources

  [S180] Census - ON, Waterloo, North Dumfries - 1901, Dumfries (North) B-2 Page 4. [S562] Census - ON, Waterloo, North Dumfries - 1911, Div. 1 Page 10. [S2858] z Vit - ON - Birth Registration. Name:Jennie Ferguson Turnbull Date of Birth:12 Feb 1898 Gender:Female Birth Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father's name:Jared Turnbull Mother's name:Jessie Ferguson [S2697] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge, Mount View Cemetery Internet Link. [SW] In/ memory of/ William COWAN/ died Dec. 3, 1922/ in his 82nd year/ Helen ELLIOTT/ wife of/ William COWAN,/ died in Waterloo A.D. 1885/ aged 44 years/ Elizabeth Helen COWAN / died Feb. 24, 1930/ in her 54th year/ Robert ELLIOTT COWAN/ died 22nd day of Aug. 1961/ aged 91 years/ his wife/ Georgina ARMSTRONG/ died 16th day of Jan. 1949/ aged 83 years/ Thomas DEANS COWAN/ died Sept. 21, 1970- in his 93rd year/ Ethel Marion TURNBULL/ wife of Thos. D. COWAN/ died May 30, 1930 - in her 41st year/ Jennie FERGUSON COWAN/ Wife of Thos. D. COWAN/ Died Nov. 15, 1986 - In her 89th year/ James Elliott COWAN/ Aug. 13, 1921/ Feb. 10, 1997/ Elsie Mary COWAN/ Feb. 15, 1921 - / [S220] Waterloo Region Hall of Fame Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Jared Turnball Born: North Durnpies Ont Age: 34 Est. Birth: abt 1860 Father: Andrew Turnball Mother: Jane Turnball married Jessie Ferguson Age:: 30 Est. Birth: abt 1864 Born: North Dumfries Father: Archibald Ferguson Mother: Janet Ferguson married 7 Feb 1894 Marriage Place: Waterloo, Galt

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 12 Feb 1898 - North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Presbyterian - 1911 - North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region - Bef 2012 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth