William Ford Sr (abt. 1604 - 1676)

Born about 1604 in England

Husband of Anna (Unknown) Ford — married 1633 in England

Descendants

Died 23 Sep 1676 at about age 72 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony

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William Ford Sr migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

William Ford was born about 1604. He made a deposition in 1671 stating his age at 67, saying he had written Ralph Chapman's will. By this we get his age and know that he was educated^[1]

His oldest son was born about 1633, so he married his wife Ann/Anna before that date, probably in England^[1].

In 1643, the first record of William in New England is his name on a list of men able to bear arms in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony. Shortly thereafter, in 1645, he was one of 54 original grantees of the town of Bridgewater. On 13 June 1645, he bought land of William Hiller on the road between Plymouth and Duxbury^[1].

William was a miller, and in 1646/7 the courts found him guilty of not giving to owners their full measure and weight of corn after having it ground at the mill. He was told to be more careful and that he needed to provide a place for a proper scale, which the town would provide. He should also keep the dogs and sheep away from the mill^[1].

In 1651, June 5, William was propounded as a freeman, and he bought another 8 acres. He became a freeman on June 3 1652^[1].

He and Josias Winslow established a mill in Marshfield, where the family had moved. He and Anna sold their land in Duxbury and in 1657 they bought out Winslow's share of the mill. Samuel Howland must have needed his grist badly, Ford allowed him to take it on the Sabbath and was fined 5s for this breach^[1].

Town and Colony Service: 1658 Constable; 1666, 1670, 1675, 1676 Selectman; 1667, 1673 Grand Jury; 1669, 1670 served on committees for the enlargement of the meeting house and assigning seats. He was on a committee to place sentries to watch for Indians during King Philip's War^[1].

In 1671, William deeded land to his son Michel Foord.^[2]

He was buried in Marshfield, Sept 23, 1676, age 72.^[3] The record of William Ford's death found in the collected vital records of Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, is from a Bible then (1911) in the possession of Jonathan Ford of Duxbury;^[4] His will was made Sept 12 1676 and proved Nov. 4, 1676. He left his estate to his wife, for her life (she died in 1684). Afterwards most of his estate was to go to his sons William and Michael. He left £20 to his daughters Margaret and Mellesent, except if Margaret died before her husband, that £20 was to "return" to her sister, implying that Margaret was married but childless. Smaller bequests were made to named grandson John Ford and William Carver and the rest of his grandchildren. Grandson John Carver was given a parcel of upland, provided he continue with his grandmother until her death or he came of age.^{[5] [1]}

Children:^[1]

1. William b about 1633; m. in Marshfield Nov 4 1658 Sarah Dingley^[6]; Deacon William Ford d. Feb 7 1721/2 age 88^[6].
2. Margaret possibly married Zachariah Soule
3. Millicent m. in Marshfield Nov 4 1658, John Carver^[6]. Same date as brother Williams wedding
4. Michael born about 1640; married (1) Dec 12, 1667 Abigail Snow^[7], (2) Bethia Hatch^[7]. He died in Marshfield March 27, 1729.

From a previous Note: More information and data on his four children is given in Ford Family Genealogy, by Hannibal C Ford, 1950; this book has mistakes; it is better to check Plymouth Colony by Eugene Stratton (p 293) for up-to-date and accepted lineages before accepting early data. ^[8]

Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691 Part Three: Biographical Sketches Biographical Sketches Freeman, Edmond

• —William Ford first appears in Plymouth records on the 1643 ATBA for Duxbury. Moore Families, pp. 264-75, gives an account of his life and his family. In 1671 he gave his age as sixty-seven, and thus was born ca. 1604. His wife Anna, or Hannah, _____ died in 1684; Mrs. Barclay (NEHGR 119:23) thought Ford's wife might be Hannah Eames (Torrey suggests the daughter of Anthony Eames). Ford was a miller in Duxbury, and he later moved to Marshfield where he owned a mill in partnership with Josias Winslow, Jr. In 1652 he became a freeman, and he served in various public capacities such as highway surveyor and constable. On 3 October 1662 he was fined five shillings for allowing Samuel Howland to breach the Sabbath by carrying grist from the mill. In 1665/66 he became a selectman for Marshfield for the first of several times. His will, dated 12 September 1676, sworn 4 November 1676, mentioned his wife, sons William and Michael, daughters Margaret and Millicent, Margaret's unnamed husband, and grandsons John Ford, William Carver, and John Carver (Ply. Colony PR 3:2:22). Daughter Margaret is believed to have married Zachariah Soule and to have had no issue (see MF 3 and Torrey). Daughter Millicent married John2 Carver, son of Robert, and their children are given by Mrs. Barclay, "The Ancestry of Experience, Wife of Cornelius4 Washburn of Bridgewater, Mass.," NEHGR 119:24. Son Michael married Abigail Snow, daughter of Anthony and Abigail (Warren) Snow, and son William married Sarah Dingley, daughter of John Dingley.

Research Notes

Disputed Parents: He was not the son of widow Martha Ford of the Fortune.^[9], as was suggested in Savage's Genealogical Dictionary.

Disputed Spouse: He did not marry Anne, daughter of Anthony Eames. This was suggested in a footnote as an interesting theory by Walter Goodwin Davis, in "Ancestry of Joseph Neal", 1945, page 105. Robert M and Helen C Search in their article "Jonathan Carver of Kent, Conn., and Kingston, Pa.," NEHGR, Vol 118 (1964), page 107, reminded us that it was only a theory and not a fact.

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s page 31 shows a William Ford's arrival in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. That would be William? Ford died at sea on the "Fortune," husband of the above Martha.

Family Data Collection - Births and Millennium File Record, both derivative sources, show birth 1604 in Southwark, Surrey, England.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Joseph Neal 1769-c. 1835 of Litchfield Maine. Portland, Maine: Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1945| "Ancestry of Joseph Neal, Pages 105 to 107"
2. ↑ "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9Z7-PHRL : 22 May 2014), Plymouth > Deeds 1664-1711 vol 1-5 > image 214 of 652; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.
3. ↑ "Deaths and Burials from the Early Records of Marshfield, Ma.," The NEHGS Register, v. 8, p. 192 (accessed 2 Oct 2017).
4. ↑ NEHGS, compiler, Vital Records of Duxbury, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1911) p. 377.
5. ↑ Plymouth Colony Wills, Vol 3, p 22. See Image 302 of 616 in Plymouth Colony Records, Wills, 1633-1686, Vols. 1-4 at familysearch.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass., to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007), (Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Compiled by Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1970.)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 - Duxbury (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010)
8. ↑ ~~~~ looking for a copy of this text
9. ↑ "Goodwife Martha Ford Alias "widow" Ford, Her Second Husband Peter Brown and Her Children" The American Genealogist 42:35.

• "Ford History and Genealogies of Allied Families" by Fred Ford
• Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists Of Persons Of Quality (John Camden Hotten, 1874)

• Page xxviii: "Widow Ford and three children, William, Martha, and John."

• Family Data Collection - Deaths Edmund West, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001. Note: Record Collection 5771
• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Gale Research Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenge Note: Record Collection 7486
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived Note: Record Collection 7836
• Find A Grave: Memorial #22003031
• Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Trees Ancestry Family Tree 45575179