Goodman
Ferre
Goodman Ferre (pronounced Ferry) was
born on January 27, 1806 and died on September 24, 1897.
When
he arrived in Bloomington
in the 1840s there were perhaps 1,000 to 1,500 people living here. What is now the town of Normal was farmland or open prairie
and neither
town had a university. In the fifty
years Ferre lived here he saw Bloomington’s
population increase to almost twenty times the size it was when he
arrived. He witnessed the early growth
of the town of Normal and saw McLean County
grow from 7 or 8 thousand inhabitants to a population of over 65,000.
Like many early settlers of this
area Ferre was born on the east coast and headed west to make his
fortune. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts
to Saloman and Margaret Ferre. His
father was a shoemaker of considerable success and was considered a
fairly
wealthy man. Goodman and his brother
Lyman left home as young men and moved to western New York where they both learned the
trade
of wagon-making. The two brothers spent
their youth together, learned and worked at the same trade, devoted
much of
their lives to their memberships in the Masons and spent their last
several
decades in Bloomington. Goodman died at Lyman’s home.
Ferre was married in Connecticut in about
1829 to Miss Julia Ann Cooley. They were
the parents of two children, a boy and a girl.
The children both lived to be about 20 years old and died
within about
one year of each other.
The Ferre brothers made
their way to Bloomington
and decided that it looked like a
promising place to set up business.
Their first wagon making business was right in the heart
of downtown on
the west side of Main
Street
between Washington and Front Streets.
Later they moved to Front and Center Streets where they
went into
business with John Wolcott, another of this year’s characters in the
Discovery Walk. In addition to making
carriages, they were
also involved with the undertaking business started by Wolcott.
Throughout most of his
adult life people in Bloomington
referred to Ferre as “The Squire”
or “Squire Ferre.” This title came from
the period where he was a justice of the peace, or police magistrate. He was known as a benevolent judge who did
not believe in handing down harsh fines.
Ferre was one of the most
well known members of the local
Masonic Lodge. He was also a charter
member of the Order of the Eastern Star.
These are fraternal organizations whose members are
involved in
charitable, educational and scientific activities.
Ferre was a member of the Masons from 1847
until his death in 1897. During most of
that time he acted as treasurer of the organization, resigning only
months
before his death due to his failing health.
He was also a long time member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows,
an organization first founded in the United States in 1819.
On the occasion of his 90th
birthday. the Eastern
Star threw a surprise birthday party for Ferre and presented him with a
gift of
a beautiful reclining chair. The
description of the party tells of him sinking into the chair and, for
the rest
of the evening, receiving the good wishes and admiration of all those
attending.
Death came to Goodman
Ferre at 8 o’clock on a Sunday morning
after four days in a coma. The obituary
stated that his death was brought on due to his being “seized with
congestion
of the stomach” and the “debility incident to old age”.
At the time of the death his brother, Lyman,
was himself in Attica,
Indiana for ten days
for some kind of
treatment.
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