Jan Helenus Ferguson was born on the Caribbean island of Curaçao to Jonathan Ferguson from Amsterdam and Helena Elizabeth Martijn from Curaçao. He initially made a career in the colonial administration of the Dutch Caribbean islands, becoming lieutenant governor of Aruba in 1866. He was appointed lieutenant governor of Bonaire in June 1871, but never took office as the Dutch government needed someone to hand over the Dutch Gold Coast to the British in 1872 after governor Cornelis Nagtglas had left the colony. After the Dutch flag was lowered for the last time in Elmina on 6 April 1872, Ferguson was appointed consul general of the Netherlands in China. He lived and worked in Chefoo, Hong Kong and Beijing, before retiring to the Netherlands in 1895. He then lived in Wageningen and Amsterdam. He died in Padang in the Dutch East Indies in 1908. Ferguson was a member of the Institut de Droit International. His main publication as an international lawyer was his 'Manual of international law for the use of navies, colonies and consulates', which was even translated into the Chinese language. He was awarded recognition by the Chinese emperor in the same year as an officer in the Order of the Double Dragon.
Personal life
Ferguson married Maria Eleanor Waymouth from Antigua on 22 December 1859 in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. They had thirteen children. After his wife died at the age of 46, he married Maria Margaretha de Jong on 15 September 1899.
Manual of international law for the use of navies, colonies and consulates ;
De zeden wet der natuur en haar invloed op de ontwikkeling der staatsvormen ;
The philosophy of civilization, a sociological study ;
Jurisdiction et exterritorialité en Chine ;
Het bimetallisme en de jongste muntverordening van Britsch Indië, eene schets op het gebied der staathuishoudkunde ;
The international conference of the Hague, a plea for peace in social evolution ;
Het kenvermogen van het medegevoel, het instinct van den mensch, verklarende het verband der natuurkrachten met de in den mensch gestelde geestesverwerking, voor de wetenschappelijke beschouwing van het idealisme, het spiritisme en aanverwante voorstellingen in verband met galvanisme, magnetisme, electriciteit en andere etheresche stroomen, tusschen persoonlijke menschelijke geesten met lichamen daarbuiten, onderling.
