William Montague Ferry

Who was William Montague Ferry?

William Montague Ferry, Sr. was a Presbyterian minister and missionary who founded several settlements in Ottawa County, Michigan.

Ferry was born in Granby, Massachusetts. In the 1820s, Ferry established a Christian mission of Native Americans on Mackinac Island. The Mission House he built there in 1825 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is operated as part of the Mackinac Island State Park.

In the 1830s, he founded the settlements of Ferrysburg and Grand Haven in Ottawa County. He lived in Grand Haven as head of the Presbyterian church from 1834 until his death. In 1869, Ferry Hall School in Lake Forest, Illinois was established as a result of a bequest made in Ferry's will.

Ferry was the father of Thomas W. Ferry, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate for Michigan. His oldest son, William Montague Ferry, Jr., was mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan and a politician in Utah.