Ferguson Family Tree compiled in December 1959 by Lorraine Ferguson, pp. 28-32 {rearranged between Moses & Minnie to follow their life chronologically ]

Parents: Johann & Caroline 'Labodde' Pielke
Caroline "Labodde" Pielke
abt 1830 to abt 1865 Ceklin (Kreis Tuchel, Westpreussen, Prussia)
(Ferguson Book written by Lorraine Ferguson in December 1959)
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Wilhelmine Albertine Pielke's history:

23 May 1864 Birth Cekzin, Tuchel, West Preussen, Prussia
26 May 1864 Christening Tuchel, WestPreussen, Prussia

Caroline "Labodde" Pielke died about 1865, about a year after Minnie's birth.

1881 Wilhelmine and her father Johann immigrated from Cekzin, Posen, Germany to America. For a period of time, they changed their name from Piehlke to Pilke.

In 1882 Moses and Wilhelmine married when she was eighteen years old. Moses then began farming and had approximately 50 head of horses, 70 head of cattle, and 200 head of hogs. Moses had homesteaded a farm near Abercrombie, North Dakota, where he and Wilhelmine lived until about 1896. They then moved to a large farm in Connelly Township, Wilkin County, Minnesota (near Breckenridge). About 1905, a tragic fire burned his barn and he lost 27 horses, about 800 bushels of oats, and about 150 tons of hay.

North Dakota became a state seven years after their marriage.

Moses and Wilhelmine had eleven children. The seven oldest were born in Abercrombie, North Dakota and the other four were born in Breckenridge, Minnesota on the farm. All of the children were born at home with the assistance of a midwife. As their family was growing up, Wilhelmine washed clothes with a hand-operated washing machine and ironed them with a flat iron on the old kitchen range. She churned butter and made homemade bread and pastries. Once a week, she would drive into town in a one-horse buggy to deliver butter and eggs. She did all the sewing for the smaller children using a treadle sewing machine. She made all the quilts for the family's use and in later years made them as a hobby. One quilt, in particular, had over one thousand pieces in it, with each piece hand sewn. Wilhelmine was a small woman with the soul of an angel and a heart of gold.

Moses was a large man, weighing over two hundred pounds, but he was only about five feet nine inches tall. He was a farmer most of his life, but one of his sidelines was dealing in horses. He was noted for some shrewd deals to which his sons all testified.

By 1920, Moses & Minnie moved to Wahpeton, Richland, North Dakota. Moses died in 1922. Minnie continued to live in Wahpeton where she died in 1948.

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Life in Prussia

There is a long history of turmoil with Poland being partitioned off between Austria, Russia, and Prussia. Over time, Poland regained control.

Tuchel, Kashubian, WestPreussen, Prussia became part of the German empire in 1871. It reverted back to Poland and is now Tuchola, Kaszubi, Bydgoszcz district, Poland. As of 1999, Tuchola is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland.
As part of the Partitions of Poland, The Province of Posen (aka German Provinz Posen) became a province of Prussia in 1848 and officially remained through 1919. It reverted back to Poland. The Prussia-German-controlled Provinz Posen is now referred to as Poland's Prowincja Poznańska.