Ford
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Ford Surname Genealogy
Ford is one of the oldest locational surnames, from the Old English ford - meaning a shallow place in the river for crossing. It described either someone who lived by a ford or who came from a place named Ford (of which there were many in England).
The Fords of Bagtor in Ilsington were local gentry in Devon in the 16th century. Fords were also farmers at Branscombe in east Devon at that time. William Braddick Ford who farmed there in the late 18th century kept a diary which has been preserved. Another Ford family from Devon - who were to emigrate to New Zealand - have traced themselves back to William Ford of Woodleigh in south Devon in the late 18th century.
Ireland. The Ford name can also be Irish in origin, either as an English implant or an anglicization of a Gaelic sept name. One Forde family from Devon became landowners in Meath, Wicklow and county Down. Henry Ford had Irish roots, his family having come originally to Ireland from Somerset in the late 16th century and settled in Cork. Meanwhile, a number of Gaelic septs adopted Ford as an anglicized form of their name, such as the O'Fuarain sept in Limerick. Their name was sometimes seen as Forde or Fourde.
America. The first Ford in America may well have been William Ford, a miller, who settled first in Duxbury in 1643 and later moved to Marshfield, Massachusetts. Andrew Ford was recorded as a landowner in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1642 and his sons subsequently settled in Abington. This line was covered in Elizabeth Stewart’s 1968 book Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth.
However, the larger number of Ford arrivals in America came from Ireland rather than from England. Among these Irish Fords were:
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John Ford from Bagtor in Devon was a pre-Restoration playwright of the early 17th century.
Henry Ford was the founder of Ford Motor Company and of modern assembly line practice.
John Ford, born John Feeney to Irish parents, was one of the great American film directors of the 20th century.
Jerry and Eileen Ford founded the Ford Modelling Agency in New York in 1946 and ran it for fifty years.
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees was a leading baseball pitcher of the 1950's.
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States. He took the name Ford from his stepfather.
Harrison Ford is an American actor best known for his Indiana Jones films. He like Henry Ford is of Irish descent.
Select Fords Today
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For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.
Ford is one of the oldest locational surnames, from the Old English ford - meaning a shallow place in the river for crossing. It described either someone who lived by a ford or who came from a place named Ford (of which there were many in England).
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Ford Resources on
The
Internet
- William Braddick Ford's Diary. A late 18th century diary from Branscombe in Devon.
- History of Ford in Ireland. Henry Ford's Irish roots.
- Uriah Ford and His Family. Ford family in Indiana.
- Ford DNA Project. Ford DNA.
The Fords of Bagtor in Ilsington were local gentry in Devon in the 16th century. Fords were also farmers at Branscombe in east Devon at that time. William Braddick Ford who farmed there in the late 18th century kept a diary which has been preserved. Another Ford family from Devon - who were to emigrate to New Zealand - have traced themselves back to William Ford of Woodleigh in south Devon in the late 18th century.
Ireland. The Ford name can also be Irish in origin, either as an English implant or an anglicization of a Gaelic sept name. One Forde family from Devon became landowners in Meath, Wicklow and county Down. Henry Ford had Irish roots, his family having come originally to Ireland from Somerset in the late 16th century and settled in Cork. Meanwhile, a number of Gaelic septs adopted Ford as an anglicized form of their name, such as the O'Fuarain sept in Limerick. Their name was sometimes seen as Forde or Fourde.
America. The first Ford in America may well have been William Ford, a miller, who settled first in Duxbury in 1643 and later moved to Marshfield, Massachusetts. Andrew Ford was recorded as a landowner in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1642 and his sons subsequently settled in Abington. This line was covered in Elizabeth Stewart’s 1968 book Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth.
However, the larger number of Ford arrivals in America came from Ireland rather than from England. Among these Irish Fords were:
- William Ford who immigrated to America (possibly with two
brothers) sometime in the 1770's. He settled in Saratoga county
in upstate New York. One of his sons drowned in the Hudson river
after a night of drinking in a tavern. Other Fords of this family
moved west to Ohio.
- Patrick Ford
who came to Boston as a young boy with his
parents in 1846. He made his name as the editor and
publisher of the Boston Tribune
in the years prior to the Civil War. After the war he started up The Irish World in New York, a
weekly journal that was to champion the Irish-American cause. His
nephew Austin Ford was also a publisher in New York. Austin's
family became missionaries.
- William Ford, who left Cork in 1847 with his parents at the
height of the potato famine for Dearborn, Michigan. His son
was the automobile pioneer Henry Ford.
- and Michael and Catherine Ford from Roscommon, also fleeing the
potato famine, who reached New York City in 1849. They joined
other Fords from Ireland that settled in Newark, New Jersey.
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Ford Names
John Ford from Bagtor in Devon was a pre-Restoration playwright of the early 17th century.
Henry Ford was the founder of Ford Motor Company and of modern assembly line practice.
John Ford, born John Feeney to Irish parents, was one of the great American film directors of the 20th century.
Jerry and Eileen Ford founded the Ford Modelling Agency in New York in 1946 and ran it for fifty years.
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees was a leading baseball pitcher of the 1950's.
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States. He took the name Ford from his stepfather.
Harrison Ford is an American actor best known for his Indiana Jones films. He like Henry Ford is of Irish descent.
Select Fords Today
- 54,000 in the UK (most numerous in Lancashire)
- 60,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
- 35,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Australia)
Select Surname List
For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.