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Items in the collection are originals.
Alson (Al) W. Ferguson (1894-1981) was a newspaper reporter in Salt Lake City. Over the course of his career, Ferguson worked for
The collection includes Ferguson's research for several key moments in Utah's history, presumably as a reporter. Ferguson researched the Robert Marshall Lynching (1925), which occurred in Price, Utah after the town's residents suspected Marshall of killing the white marshal of Castle Gate, J. Milton Burns. Burns was murdered at night while he was making his rounds. Two boys said they saw a black man running from the scene. Rumors spread through the town of a black murderer, and the story became more violent with each retelling. Marshall sought refuge at the shack of an elderly black man named George. Afraid of being implicated in the crime, George turned Marshall to the authorities three days after the murder, and subsequently, a mob hanged Marshall from a tree in Wellington. It was the last lynching in the West. The collection includes Ferguson's research about the case.
Ferguson also researched the Albert Edmund Barlow case. Barlow, a
member of a Salt Lake polygamist clan, was jailed in 1944 and again in 1959 for
"unlawful cohabitation." Salt Lake City police and federal forces rounded up
Barlow and 30 other polygamists in 1944. Barlow was later paroled to support
his many children. In 1955, Barlow was again convicted for unlawful
cohabitation, but after numerous appeals, served his prison sentence beginning
in 1959. The collection includes several documents relating to
Al Ferguson's son, Robert C. Ferguson (1932-), attended Roosevelt Jr. High School and South High School (Class of 1949) in Salt Lake City. He received his B.S. from the University of Utah in 1956, and developed a career at Mail Well Envelope Company in Salt Lake City. The collection includes Robert's junior high school newspapers.
The collection includes those documents produced by Alson W. Ferguson during his newspaper career, including research notes, programs and guild membership. The collection also includes high school newspapers from Ferguson's son, Robert C. Ferguson.
Alson W. and Robert C. Ferguson Papers, 1925-1995, Utah State Historical Society.
Gift of Robert C. Ferguson, 7 September 2001.
The Alson W. and Robert C. Ferguson Papers are the physical property of the Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah. Literary rights, including copyright, may belong to the authors or their heirs and assigns. Please contact the Historical Society for information regarding specific use of this collection.
Ferguson, Robert C. Oral interview by Melissa S. Ferguson, Salt Lake City, Utah, 18 May 2005.
Gerlach, Larry R.
"S.L. Polygamist Barlow Dies at 91."