Ferris Family.

Quaker family of Wilmington, De.

John Ferris (1710-1751), a Quaker tanner, moved to Delaware from Connecticut in 1748 and died of small pox three years later. His second son, Ziba, was born in 1743. The latter was apprenticed as a cabinet maker in Wilmington and married Edith Sharples of Chester Co., Pa., in 1769. Ziba and Edith had seven children, among whom were John, who married Sarah Harlan, and Benjamin, who married Frances Canby. John was a cabinetmaker who died of yellow fever in 1802, and Benjamin worked as a surveyor and as a conveyancer. He was a prominant member of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends in Wilmington. Benjamin's son, David Ferris, was born in 1821; he married Sarah Underwood in 1849. An Elder of Wilmington Monthly Meeting, David was active in a variety of social reform issues. Henry Ferris, his son, was born in 1855, and married Elizabeth Masters.

From the description of Papers 1737-1940. (Swarthmore College). WorldCat record id: 30462399