 In the 1830s, the family founded Ferrysburg, Michigan, and in 1834 founded and moved to Grand Haven, Michigan.In August 1861, Ferry joined the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry, and served during the American Civil War, eventually being made a major and lieutenant-colonel in 1865.In 1871, Ferry's brother Thomas W. Ferry—who was a Republican—was elected by the Michigan Legislature as a United States Senator for Michigan.