Catherine "Katy" Ferguson (1779 – July 11, 1854) was an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 pioneer

Innovator

An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...

, philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, social worker and educator who founded the first Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Early life

Ferguson was born into slavery in 1779,, while her mother, Katy Williams, was being transported from Virginia to New York City. After her mother was sold as a slave when Catherine was eight years old, she never had the chance to see her again. Ferguson referred to their master, a Presbyterian elder, only by the initials "R. B.", in order "to conceal his identity" and to prevent embarrassment from his own family. Her separation from her mother became her inspiration for helping children later in her life.

At about sixteen or seventeen years old, a female friend bought her her freedom for the amount of US$200, an amount which she had to repay during a period of six years. But the original agreement was changed later: instead of paying back the sum, Ferguson's benefactor decided to accept her offer of serving the "lady of the city" for eleven months which became the equivalent of US$100. The remaining half was raised by Divie Bethune, a merchant in New York. Afterwards, Ferguson became a baker of cakes sold for "weddings and parties".

Ferguson married at the age of eighteen. She bore two children who both died during their infancy. She died of cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 at her home in 1854, at about 75 years old.

As an educator

Although illiterate, Ferguson took care of poor and neglected black and white children in her neighborhood. Every Sunday, she brought these children to her home on Warren Street, New York, in order to provide them with religious education. From her house, and through the encouragement of a local minister, Rev. Dr. John Mitchell Mason of the Associate Reformed Church, her Sunday School was moved to the basement of a church - where there was a lecture room - on Murray Street in about 1814. Because of her illiteracy, Ferguson was unable to write about her experiences in early America, thus being seldom mentioned by historians, but she was described to have responded to "the needs of the poor in an era which the poor were notably neglected". Later on, her school became known as the Murray Street Sabbath School. Ferguson's teaching instructions included the memorization of hymns and Scripture. Among Ferguson's visitors to the school were Isabella Graham and Reverend Isaac Ferris

Isaac Ferris

In 1820 Rev. Isaac Ferris was appointed by the Board of Domestic Missions to labor in the Classis of Montgomery.Later, he was active at Market Street Dutch Reform Church in New York. He served as the 3rd President of New York University from 1853 to 1870....

.

Apart from her efforts in educating children, Ferguson also held prayer meetings for children and adults twice a week, a work that went on for more than 40 years. She also took care of 48 children she had gathered "from the streets or from the unfit parents" until she was able to find "suitable homes for them".

Recognition

Ferguson gained a degree of prominence during her lifetime because of her social work, as evidenced by the attention she received from the press when she died. Examples were the notice about her death in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

on July 13, 1854 and a brief biography published by the Tribune

Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

on July 20, 1854. Ferguson was also included among 330 notable persons in a biographical dictionary of Benson J. Lossing.