Nationality Irish-American Grandchildren Edsel Ford Role Businessman | Name William Ford Occupation Business | |
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Born December 10, 1826 Ballinascarthy, County Cork, Ireland Other names William "Bill" Ford
Billy Ford
Bill Ford Died March 8, 1905, Sacramento, California, United States Spouse Mary Litogot Ford (m. 1861–1876) Children Henry Ford, Margaret Ford, William Ford, Jr., Jane Ford, Robert Ford Parents Thomasine Ford, Jonathan Ford Similar People Henry Ford, Mary Litogot Ford, William Clay Ford - Jr, Edsel Ford, Clara Ala Bryant | ||
William Ford (December 10, 1826 – March 8, 1905) was an Irish-American businessman and was the father of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford.
Contents
Life and career
William was born in Ballinascarthy near Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland and was the son of Thomasine (née Smith) and Jonathan "John" Ford. Ford's ancestors were originally from Somerset, England, and migrated to Ireland as the English created plantations. Ford was an Anglican and attended a local Episcopal Church. The surname Ford is an English surname that dates back to Anglo-Saxon England, although the surname "Forde" is sometimes found in Ireland as an Anglicised version of a number of indigenous Gaelic names. Another Irish surname anglicised Ford is Ó Fuartháin, a name meaning "descendant of Fuarthán". The personal name Fuartháin, derived from the Irish fuar ("cold"), was once taken to represent the Irish fuarathán ("cold little ford"), which led the name to be erroneously translated "ford". The former two Irish surnames were borne by septs centred in the province of Connacht, whilst the latter was borne by a sept centred in County Cork (in the province of Munster).
William attended St. Joseph's High School, had six siblings, and emigrated to the United States in 1846. The family arrived in Quebec in 1847 and then onto the United States.
On April 21, 1861, William married Mary Litogot in Wayne County, Michigan, daughter of Belgian immigrants. He and Mary had eight children, six of whom survived into adulthood. They moved to Detroit, Michigan.
William retired in 1879. He died of natural causes on March 8, 1905 in his home and was buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Plot: St. Martha's Episcopal Church yard.
Family
William married Belgian-American Mary Litogot, together they had six children:
William had 6 siblings — 4 sisters, and 2 brothers: