The history and revival of Brown’s Crooked Island

The Original Story of Brown’s Crooked Island

(from Gloria’s Perspective)

WE ARE THE 5^TH. GENERATION

The settlement of Brown’s Crooked Island was divided into two parts. The Farquharson Ferguson’s owned the western half and the Beneby’s are the owners of the eastern half. I was told by Sybil that Nelson Farquharson/Ferguson and Felix Beneby brought this settlement and it was recorded by the Registrar General Department in 1907. Daddy told me Brown’s was given to them.

My perception on these two families is hilarious, the message I Gloria Ferguson Knowles received from my people, was that when Alvin S. Moss came back to Crooked Island early in 1920 from the U.S.A. In 1921 he married Eliza Louise Moss (maiden name also Moss) she was sister to Delia Moss Ferguson who married Daniel Ferguson, they were the parents of Bishop Cephas Ferguson and his eight siblings.

Presently Bishop Cephas Ferguson is the oldest living male Ferguson, Delia’s family was originally from True Blue Crooked Island, their mother was a Scavella from Landrail Point. (I am still working on Delia’s Family Tree) Alvin S. Moss came into Brown’s Crooked Island to start the Pentecostal church, at this time most of the people were Baptist, but Felix Beneby who was Bishop Nathaniel Beneby’s father willingly allowed Bishop Moss to start the church in his house.

According to my understanding Bishop Moss was very upset with the old Ferguson leaders because during this period of time everybody listened to the older family members. Most of these older men were drowned on different occasions, I was told that about five or six of them were drowned during a serious hurricane in 1926 (the same year daddy was born) they went to secured their boats and were washed away, eventually a day or so later their bodies showed up on the sand, it was said that GOD did this because they did not except the messages Bishop Moss brought to the island. I think these men were ignorant and were deceived, after this it was said that on another occasion people went missing and there were other drownings, this stirred the people up and a spirited of fear was planted into them, especially the Ferguson’s. It was also said that they became so fearful they started bowing to Moss, all the people in Brown’s started worshiping him with the Beneby’s and Moss leading the way, eventually the entire Crooked Island were worshiping him. Bishop Moss set up rules and regulations on how the church people should live and that they should only marry people who were a part of his church. He had full controlled over the people as if they were under a spell. Moss eventually came to Nassau and took over The Church of God, later called The Church of God of Prophecy, these rules went on with our fore parents for more than two generation (according to the bible 80 years) he set up doctrines in the church that were never broken, some of his rules still exist today and this man died from September 15^th. 1982.

My conclusion on the Moss, Beneby’s and Ferguson’s family is as follow: Alvin S. Moss made sure and paved the way for the Moss and Beneby’s generation so they could continue to be prosperous and productive, he always made sure that they stayed ahead of The Ferguson’s and I witnessed this coming up in the Church of God of Prophecy when the operation was passed on to Bishop Brice H. Thompson. By 1981 when I packed up and walked away from this church, it was obvious that we were deceived.

If we were not deceived than someone please tell us what is going on, like Marvin Gay said, “What’s Going On” I say War is going on, a war Moss started by telling the Moss’s and The Beneby’s they were better than the Ferguson’s. I am a part of the fifth generation of the Ferguson family which is over 150 years later and I say “WAR” is not the answer, telling the truth with LOVE can bring peace to us and generations to come. Exodus 20: 1-17.

I remembered sometime in the early 2000 daddy was trying to bring the people from Brown’s Crooked Island together; he did not speak directly to me and I was not paying much attention to him. Only a few people took heed to what he was trying to accomplish and they were mostly the Ferguson’s according to his minutes. It was not

until I started working on this Family Tree in about 2010 I found out that Bishop Nathaniel Beneby was also from Brown’s Crooked Island, I always thought he was from True Blue where his wife Victoria came from, I questioned daddy on the Beneby’s not attending the meetings he used to have, his replied was he don’t know in a very sad way, I asked him if he invited them, I don’t remember what he said.

Something is really missing from this puzzle that needs to be found, I say put it all in the Master hands he will fix it. I sure did put this situation into the Master hands, our Great GOD of WONDERS is bringing the gaps together and His people are coming on one accord.

CONCLUSION

I say thank you to my cousin Sybil Ferguson Toote for motivating me to put this family tree in perspective, by providing me with information and direction, most of all for your patience and loving spirit.

Cousin Sybil informed me to go to Land & Survey and get a copy of the land papers with Nelson Farquharson/Ferguson and Felix Beneby names on it. Carl and I went to Land & Survey and The Registry, at the time everybody avoided us.

Sybil also said she went to Brown’s Crooked Island with The Beneby’s and Wilbert Moss some years ago and when she returned she went to The Registry and got a copy of the Map of Browns and she gave daddy and couple of The Ferguson’s a copy. My heart desire is to attach a copy of the Map of Brown’s Crooked Island settlement to this Family Tree.

We are the Ferguson’s generation, descendants of Nelson Farquharson/Ferguson a former War Warrior, we have no record of his wife name but daddy said the family carried the name Farquharson until after World War 1. He said most of the generations before them were not able to spell Farquharson, which was Nelson’s original last name, but their generation who went to school settled with Ferguson.

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