Nathaniel Ford (1658 - abt. 1733)

Born 31 Mar 1658 in Weymouth, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Joanna (Bicknell) Ford — married about 1682 in Weymouth, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 5 May 1733 at about age 75 in Weymouth, Suffolk, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sherry McDowell [send private message]

Biography

First Appearance

See attached Image - Nathaniel first appears as a child under his father Andrew's and mother Eleanor Lovell 's biographical information on Page 8 of Elizabeth Cobb Stewart's 1969 book. He appears again under his own ID Number 5 on pages 18 to 20.

5. NATIIANIEL2 FORD (Andrew 1), born in Weymouth 31 March 1658, died there 5 May 1733, in 76th year.

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Nathaniel Ford was born on 31 March 1658 to Andrew Ford and Eleanor Lovell in Weymouth, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[1]

Marriage

As asserted in a few genealogies, Nathaniel's wife was apparently Joanna Bicknell, daughter of John and Mary (Porter) Bicknell.

The first to make this assertion seems to have been Chamberlain in 1923, followed by Preston in 1930 and Stewart, who first published in NEHGR in 1965. None cite any reasoning.

No certain evidence for their marriage has been found yet, but there is substantial circumstantial evidence. See Joanna's Identity below.

Children

Nathaniel and Joannah (Bicknell) Ford had 14 children, all born in Weymouth:^[2]

1. Joanna Ford, b. 27 January 1683 [1683/4?], d. young
2. Mary Ford, b. 7 January 1684 [1684/5?], m. Joseph Bump[as] of Middleborough
3. Joanna Ford, 2nd, b. 19 October 1686, d.s.p. 21 January 1764^[3]
4. Lydia Ford, b. 1 April 1688, m. Ebenezer White
5. Ruth Ford, b. 20 November 1689, m. Thomas Holbrook of Braintree
6. Sarah Ford, b. 11 February 1691 [1691/2?], m. Richard Thayer
7. Nathaniel Ford, b. 10 October 1694, d. young
8. Nathaniel Ford, 2nd, b. 21 November 1695, m. Hannah Pratt
9. Elizabeth Ford, b. 14 December 1697, d.s.p. bef. 24 August 1742^[4]
10. Joseph Ford, b. 16 January 1699 [1699/1700?], d. young
11. Joseph Ford, 2nd, b. 30 October 1700, m. Priscilla (Thayer) Hayden, wid. of Elijah
12. Israel Ford, b. 21 October 1702, d. young
13. Israel Ford, 2nd, b. 13 July 1704, m. Mary Green
14. Ann Ford, b. 6 November 1706, d.s.p. 27 April 1764^[3]

Will

Nathaniel Foord of Weymouth executed his last will on 24 August 1732, witnessed by Benjamin Bicknell, James Humphrey and Nathaniel Humphrey, making bequests:^[5]

• to son Nathaniel Foord, 1 square acre of my orchard homeland & what pertains thereto in that corner next to the orchard of Benjamin Richards and the Common Way; 200 acres at Quenepouge that my father Andrew Foord gave me by his will;
• to son Joseph Foord, many acres at Smith's Hill betwixt the Spring Well and the sea;
• to wife Johanna Foord and to my son Israel Foord joyntly, all my home housing & land, being about 20 acres, and all my moveable estate for their improvement; after decease of my wife, the whole to son Israel Foord;
• to the North Church in Weymouth, 20s.;
• to daughter Mary, wife of Joseph Bump, £10;
• to daughter Joanna Foord, £15, and during the time of her virginity with her own labour she shall have a comfortable subsistence of the product of my estate that I have given to my son Israel Foord -- my daughter Johanna hath that privilege over & above her £15;
• to daughter Lydia, wife of Ebenezer White, £10;
• to daughter Ruth, wife of Thomas Holbrook, £10;
• to daughter Sarah, wife of Richard Thayer, £15;
• what daughters or daughter of mine are unmarryed at my decease shall have liberty to live in my house & make use of my household goods;
• if my sons may be disposed to sell any of the land, their brother or brethren to have right of first refusal;
• to my three sons before named, all my right to the Common undivided land in the Town, share alike.

Son Israel Foord to be executor, and he to pay the sums I have given within three years after the decease of my wife Joanna.

Death; Burial

Nathaniel Ford died 5 May 1733 in Weymouth.^[6]

Nathaniel was buried at North Weymouth Cemetery, Weymouth, Norfolk Co., MA. The inscription on his graveston reads: "Here Lyes Buried ye Body of Mr. Nathaniel Ford who Died May y 5th 1733 in ye 76 Year of his Age." Some have apparently read the last digit in the year of his death on his gravestone as a 5, perhaps due to a streak in the stone, but his death and probate records assure us that it is a 3.^[7]

Estate

Nathaniel's will was proved on 22 May 1733,^[5] and inventory on his estate, taken by Benjamin Bicknell, John Green Jun'r and John Torrey, was presented by Israel Ford, executor, on 11 February 1734 [1733/4].^[8]

Israel died in 1739, before he had settled Nathaniel's estate. Israel's widow waived executorship, and Nathaniel, Israel's brother, petitioned the Massachusetts Governor and Council for permission to apply Israel's estate to the settlement of their father's. In settling the accounts, three years after their mother Joanna's decease, Nathaniel paid legacies to each of their living siblings, including to Joanna Ford on 22 February 1742 and to Ann Ford on 22 March 1742, by which we conclude there were still living unmarried on those dates and identify them as single women in their death records.^[9]

Joanna's Identity

There were three Joannas born of record in Weymouth in Nathaniel's age range:

• Joanna Smith, b. 4 April 1664 to James and Mary Smith,^[10] who married Josiah Ripley^[11]
• Joanna Chard, b. 17 August 1667 to William and Elizabeth (Pratt) Chard,^[12] who married William Dyer^[13]
• Joanna Bicknell, daughter of John and Mary (Porter) Bicknell, b. 2 March 1663^[14]

Of course, these three records do not rule out Nathaniel's marriage to some Joanna who lacks a birth record today, or to a Joanna from some other town.

However, Benjamin Bicknell, witness to Nathaniel's will and one of the appraisers of his estate, was a grandson of John and Mary and nephew of Joanna Bicknell, and deeds of Weymouth make clear that Nathaniel was a neighbor of John and Mary (Porter) Bicknell.

Ancestors of Joanna Bicknell and Nathaniel Ford appear to have been neighbors as of at least 14 December 1663, on which date the selectmen of Weymouth listed the property owners in the First Division, beginning at the Brauntry [Braintree] line, on which list Richard Porter (Joanna's maternal grandfather), with 10 acres, is found adjacent to Andrew Ford, with 6 acres.^[15]

Some examples:

James Richards, Joanna's brother-in-law, kept a daybook which is extant. In it, he made entries such as "brother John Dyer of Boston", "cousin Thomas Porter", "sister Hannah Bicknell", "brother Thomas Reed", and "brother Maurice Trufant", as per Quincey L. Reed, whose statement on the matter was published by John Ludovicus Reed in 1901.^[18] From his statement, we can make no conclusion as to whether James also made any notes about Nathaniel and Joanna Ford, but the source is enticing. The daybook is in the Dead link scua.library.umass.edu/ead/mums1030 New Link: http://findingaids.library.umass.edu/ead/mums1030 Richards Family Collection" of UMass Amherst, and its contents were published in James E. Wadsworth, ed., The World of Credit in Colonial Massachusetts: James Richards and his Daybook, 1692-1711. Amherst, Mass. : UMass Press, 2017.

Supplemental Research Information

Researchers interested in reading comprehensive details about Andrew Ford, his wife Ellinor, and their children are referred to the book The Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth Massachusetts starting at the beginning of the book on Page 1 and finishing on Page 10. Detailed information about Andrew and Ellinor's children (See attached Images 1 through 6) on the children’s father’s or mother’s profile page) can be found on Pages 7 through 10. Sons who have a bold number 2, 3, 4, or 5 at the start of their name will have their own profile located on higher number pages in the book. Sons without the bold number, as well as daughters, also have information. The online version of Volume 1 of the book is found here: THE DESCENDANTS OF ANDREW FORD OF WEYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS PART 1 THE FIRST SIX GENERATIONS Compiled by ELIZABETH COBB STEWART Capital City Press Montpelier, Vermont 1968 https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/601183-the-descendants-of-andrew-ford-of-weymouth-massachusetts-pt-1

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Nathaniell Ford, s. Andrew and w., Mar. 31, [16]5[8] [dup. 1658]. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1:109.
2. ↑ Foord/Ford births. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1:107-9.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Deaths of Ann and Joanna Ford in 1764. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 2:270-1.
4. ↑ No legacy was paid to anyone named Elizabeth by Nathaniel Ford, and the legacies he did pay were to her siblings siblings, thus she must have died some time before three years after her mother's decease, as per the payment schedule set forth in Nathaniel's will.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Nathaniel Ford, last will and testament (copy). Petition of Nathaniel Ford in re: estates of Israel and Nathaniel Ford. This copy of the will is cited because the first page of the one in the case file is cut off at the bottom. Massachusetts Estates 17:731-3; images 84-5.
6. ↑ Death of Nathaniel Ford, 5 May 1733. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 2:271.
7. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 20 October 2018), memorial page for Nathaniel Ford (31 Mar 1658–5 May 1733), Find A Grave Memorial no. 39521152, citing North Weymouth Cemetery, Weymouth, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Beckie Cross (contributor 47069479).
8. ↑ Inventory, 11 February 1734. Estate of Nathaniel Ford, image 1118.
9. ↑ Accounting, 20 October 1760. Estate of Israel Ford, image 988.
10. ↑ Birth of Joanna Smith, 4 April 1664. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1:277.
11. ↑ Abstract of the estate of Joshua Smith, naming his sister as Joana, ye wife of Josiah Ripley. Jacobus, Donald L., The Granberry Family And Allied Families... Hartford, Conn.: E. F. Waterman, 1945, p. 324.
12. ↑ Birth of Joanna Chard, 17 August 1667. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1:71.
13. ↑ Daniel Axtell's account book shows matching entries for Eleanor (Waters) Chard's "brother Deyer" and for William Dyer, by which it is inferred that Joanna, William's wife, was Joanna (Chard) Dyer. Dyer, Ebenezer A., Ancestry of William Dyer, "The Abington Pioneer"... Whitman, Mass, 1911, pp. 20-1.
14. ↑ Birth of Joanna Bicknell, 2 March 1663. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1:43.
15. ↑ Weymouth Historical Society, Weymouth, Mass. History of Weymouth, Massachusetts... Weymouth Historical Society, under direction of the Town. Boston: Wright & Potter printing company, 1923, 1:200.
16. ↑ Thomas and Anne Richards to Morrice Trufant, 17 March 1702/3. Suffolk County Deeds, 26:234-5. "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (22 May 2014), Suffolk > Deeds 1711-1713 vol 26-27 > images 246-7 of 638; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.
17. ↑ Joseph Richards to Morris Truant, mortgage, 16 June 1706, and Truant to Nathaniel Ford, 18 April 1707. (See sidebar for sale to N. Ford). Suffolk County Deeds, 23:78. "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (22 May 2014), Suffolk > Deeds 1706-1711 vol 23-25 > image 87 of 803; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.
18. ↑ Reed, John L. Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade, of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635-1902. Baltimore: Baltimore Press, 1901, pp. 14-15.

• Andrews, H F. The Hamlin Family: A Genealogy of James Hamlin of Barnstable... Exira, IA: The author, 1902. Profile of Andrew Ford, p. 321.
• Bamford, Eleanor M. "Ford Family Notes." The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1922. Profile of Nathaniel Ford, 53:172-3.
• Chamberlain, George W. History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, Vol. 3: Genealogy of Weymouth Families. Weymouth Historical Society. Boston: Wright & Potter printing company, 1923. Profiles of John Bicknell, pp. 78-9, and Nathaniel Ford, pp. 227-8.
• Estate of Israel Ford, 24 September 1739. Suffolk County Probate Case No. 7358; Massachusetts, Suffolk County, probate records. "Probate and Family Court Department FILE PAPERS, Box 40 Case 7251 to Case 7450, 1 Jan 1636-31 Dec 1894," FamilySearch, Film # 103,207,930, images 976-989.
• Estate of Nathaniel Ford, 22 May 1733. Suffolk County Probate Case No. 6436; Massachusetts, Suffolk County, probate records. "Probate and Family Court Department Probate and Family Court Department FILE PAPERS, Box 35 Case 6310 to Case 6490, 1 Jan 1636-31 Dec 1894," FamilySearch, Film # 103,155,426. images 1111-18.
• Petition of Nathaniel Ford in re: estates of Israel and Nathaniel Ford, 19 November 1740. Massachusetts Estates, 17:730-4; Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period, 1622-1788. "v. 17 -- Estates (from p.669), 1697-1742 ; v. 18 -- Estates (to p.687), 1742-1753," FamilySearch, Film # 7,702,897, images 83-8.
• Preston, Mary I. Bassett-Preston Ancestors... New Haven, Conn: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1930. Profile of Andrew Ford, pp. 104-5.
• Stewart, Elizabeth C. The Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth, Massachusetts: Part I. Available in two publications:
  • Montpelier, Vt: Capital City Press, 1968; Ancestry.com. The descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth, Massachusetts. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, images 21-3.
  • The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1965; Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018, 119:110-12.
• Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Boston, Mass: Publ. by the New England historic genealogical society, at the charge of the Eddy town-record fund, 1910.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Tom Quick for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tom and others.