George Ferguson

Who was George Ferguson?

George Ferguson was the fourth Laird of Pitfour, a large estate in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland which became known as The Blenheim of the North.

He lived much of his life in Tobago and became Lieutenant Governor in 1779. He surrendered the island to the French after a battle in 1781. Accusations were made by the commander of the British Fleet that the island was surrendered too easily but Ferguson was cleared of any blame at a subsequent enquiry. He is usually referred to as the "Governor" to help differentiate between the generations, as men of the next generations were also named George Ferguson.

Ferguson was only Laird of Pitfour for about three months before his sizeable estate, including the plantations in the Caribbean, passed to his illegitimate son.