Re: Elizabeth Ferguson b. 1795 VA daughter of Champion Ferguson and Jemima UNK.

It appears that you have some doubt that Matthias Graham married Elizabeth Ferguson, daughter of Champion Ferguson, Sr.As a matter of fact, I too, have a great deal of doubt as to the wife of Matthias being "that" Elizabeth Ferguson, for several reasons, most especially location.

While Champion Ferguson was in Cumberland County, Kentucky, (since at least 1799), Mathias remained in Virginia until after 1840.In fact, Matthias did not appear in Kentucky until the 1850 U.S. Federal Census - nearly half a century after Champion Ferguson did.The distance poses a serious problem of how Elizabeth Ferguson and Matthias Graham could have met.According to Google maps, Washington County, Virginia (where Matthias Graham was situated) and Cumberland County, Kentucky (where Champion Ferguson was located) are approximately 270 miles apart - a distance that Google Maps cites would take almost five hours to travel in a personal vehicle today.In 1820, however, to journey 270 miles, a family in a covered wagon could expect to cover that same distance in 18 days!!!It seems reasonable to presume that that such a distance would not provide ample opportunity for Matthias Graham and Elizabeth Ferguson to meet - let alone establish a romatic relationship.

It is true that the names of Matthias Graham's descendants were peppered with Christian names of Champ and Champion - including my own great-great-grandfather, Champ Guffey, who was Matthias Graham's grandson.It should be noted, however, that the Christian name Champ, and Champion was not restricted to the "Ferguson" clan exclusively.The 1830 U.S. Federal Censusrecorded 100 such names; and by 1860, the number was nearly 400.

With compelling documentation, evidence or argument, I might be compelled to change my mind, but until then, my opinion is that MATTHIAS GRAHAM's wife, ELIZABETH was not ELIZABETH FERGUSON, daughter of CHAMPION FERGUSON [Sr.].