James Fergusson (judge)
He was the eldest son of James Fergusson (1735–1816) of Bank, (afterwards of Monkwood, Ayrshire) and Margaret Hutchison (1746–1821).He held that office for a quarter of a century until, on 5 June 1826, he was appointed one of the principal clerks of session and four years later he added the post of keeper of the general record of entails for Scotland.[2] Fergusson wrote:[1] His writings detailing his interest in the differences between the possibility of divorce under Scottish law but not under English law, Reports of some recent Decisions... (1817) and A treatise on the present state ... (1830), exerted a considerable influence on the American Supreme Court judge and legal scholar Joseph Story.Story wrote, and published in 1834, the first major treatise in English written on this topic called Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws.[2] On 1 November 1806, Fergusson married Mary (d. 1845), daughter of John Home of Bassendean.