Sir James Fergusson, MP
(1832-1907)

Volume 1, page 53, sitting number 414.

In 1849 Sir James Fergusson succeeded to the baronetcy of Kilkenan, whereupon he entered the Grenadier Guards and served in the Crimean War. From 1855 to 1868 he acted as the Member of Parliament (Conservative) for Ayrshire in southwest Scotland. During the latter part of the nineteenth century he became governor of South Australia, followed by a term as governor of New Zealand and then of Bombay. After returning to England he held a number of posts in the Foreign Office and was postmaster general.

He was killed, aged 74, in the earthquake that struck Jamaica on the afternoon of 14 January 1907. According to a report in The Scotsman (16 January 1907): 'A great shadow has been cast upon one of the oldest of our possessions in the Caribbean Sea. A telegram from St Thomas, in the Danish West Indies, reports that Kingston, the chief town of Jamaica, was destroyed by earthquake on Monday afternoon, and that there was much loss of life. It is feared that among the victims is Sir James Fergusson, for many years a prominent member of the House of Commons, and a public servant who served the Crown with distinction in great posts abroad. The terrible experiences of San Francisco and Valparaiso seem to have been in a measure repeated in this unfortunate city, though it may be hoped with less loss of life and of property. Fire, it is stated, broke out in Kingston immediately after the earthquake; the shocks continued; all the population have been driven out of the city; and there is much distress.'