Ferebee Genealogy Collection, 1860s-1990s | Sargeant Memorial Collection

A genealogical collection of the Ferebee family, created by Annie Adelia Ferebee and continued by her niece, Sarah Cason Ferebee. This collection contains their research manuscripts, notes, photographs, correspondence, obituaries, articles, and Sarah's personal copy of the Ferebee book with her many notations. Most of the items in this collection are photocopies and research copies acquired from various sources.

The Ferebee Genealogy Collection includes information organized by Annie that her family compiled in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The collection also includes mid-1930s correspondence in which Annie mailed letters to the Ferebees descended from John Ferebee, Gentleman (circa 1630-1705) and his eldest son Thomas Ferebee (1682-1739). Also included are records from Annie’s and Sarah’s genealogical trips throughout Virginia and North Carolina where they researched records, interviewed relatives, and discovered family gravesites. The collection includes genealogical research and notes on the male Ferebee line, started by Annie Ferebee, and successively published in 1954 by Sarah Ferebee in the book Ferebee Family. Remarkably, this duo of family genealogists also researched the female lines of the Ferebee family; their research notes on the female lines are also included.

The collection contains comprehensive research dating to 1360 England with the ancestors of John Ferebee, Gentleman; his lineage is covered in the first part of the Ferebee book. The American lineage starts with John Ferebee, Gentleman, surveyor of the City of Norfolk in 1688. The first 54 sections were researched by both Annie and Sarah, and the remaining sections were added by Sarah and published in 1954. Sarah also did extensive work on both sides of her mother's family, Annie Terrell Cook Ferebee (1863-1826). From the handwriting, some of the notes may have been done by Mrs. Ferebee. Sarah Cason Ferebee was dedicated to recording, correcting, and compiling information on the Ferebee family up to her passing at the age of 97. All of this research is included in the Ferebee Genealogy Collection.

Ferebee family members also assisted with this collection through the years. Notebooks and diaries of family research trips are included in this collection. The first item in the Ferebee Genealogy Collection is an alphabetical index of names with book Section #s and their corresponding box and folder number, which was compiled by the finding aid author.