Descendants of William Ford

Our immigrant ancestor of the Marshfield, Ma. Ford family is William Ford, Sr. who was born 1604 in Weymouth, Dorsetshire England and died 23 September 1676 at Marshfield, Ma. His place of birth is noted in C.E. Banks in his Planters of the Commonwealth-1937. Many sources note him as being the son of “the indomitable Widow Martha Ford who arrived here from England on the ship “Fortune” in 1623. Walter Goodwin Davis in his “Massachusetts and Maine Families” V1:pg565 notes there is no valid data supporting this supposition; he states that this “proposed relationship” was started when William Ford, Sr. was in Duxbury, Ma., an offshoot of Plymouth, Ma., twenty years after the Widow Ford ended her voyage in 1623. William Ford, Sr. married, ca 1632 at Fordington, Dorsetshire, Anna Eames who was born ca 1616 at Fordington, Dorsetshire and died 01 September 1684 at Marshfield, Ma. She was the daughter of Capt. Anthony and Margery Prisse Eames who were from Fordington, Dorsetshire and eventually settled in Marshfield, Ma.

William Ford, Sr., with his family came from England to New England around 1643 with the first record of him being in 1643. As such, it assumed that all of his children were born in England. He was in Duxbury, Ma. in 1643 when his name appears on the list of those able to bear arms. In 1645, he was one of the fifty four Duxbury men who were grantees of the new town Bridgewater, Ma. He was a miller by trade. On 13 June 1645 he purchased, from William Hiller, carpenter, nine acres of land on the highway leading from Plymouth to Duxbury. In both 1646 and 1647, he was admonished for not delivering to the owners their due weight of milled corn; he was directed to make space for scales and weights which would be provided by the town. In 1651 he bought eight acres of land at Green Harbor in Marshfield, Ma. from Stephen Bryant. He was propounded as a freeman on 05 June 1651 and admitted on 03 June 1652. In the latter part of 1652, William Ford, Sr., with his family, moved to Marshfield, Ma. where he established a mill there in partnership with James Winslow. He bought out James’s share of the partnership on 03 April 1657. William, Sr. and his wife Anna sold their Duxbury property including upland and meadows to Francis West, which they acknowledged before John Alden on 27 May 1661.

William Ford, Sr. gradually became involved in the community in Marshfield. He was a constable in 1658, a selectman in 1666, 1670, 1675, and 1676; and a grand juror in 1667 and 1673. In 1662, William, Sr. was fined 5 shillings for breach of the Sabbath “in suffering Samuel Howland to take grist from the mill”. He was on committees for enlarging the Marshfield Meeting House in 1669 and for building pews and assigning seats in 1670. It is to be noted as a side note that “assigning seats” was a bit of a delicate task. William, Sr. was a man of some education for we know, among other instances, that he wrote the will of Ralph Chapman. When the King Philip’s War broke out, William, Sr. was in charge of organizing and posting sentries.

William, Sr. and Anna Eames Ford had four children, sons, William and Michael, and daughters Margaret and Millicent. They all reached adulthood, married, and, except Margaret, had children. William Ford, Sr.’s will was made 21 September and proved 04 November 1676. He left his entire estate to his wife, Anna, with the caveat that upon he death, William, Jr. and Michael were to be joint heirs of “house, mill, land, meadows and movables. He made bequests of monies to his daughters and grandchildren.

Descendants of William Ford Page 2

References:PH7:275; PH17:V2:183-184; PH76:8,304; PH88:102; PH174:111; PH212:V1:565- 566; FH134:A17:2-3; MD14:V14:22

William Ford, Jr., the first son and child of William, Sr and Anna Eames Ford, was born ca 1633 in Fordington, Devonshire and died 07 February 1721 at Marshfield, Ma. He married, on 04 November 1658, in a double wedding with his sister, Millicent, who married John Carver, Sarah Dingley, who was born 04 November 1639 at Cape Cod, Ma. and died 07 May 1727 at Marshfield, Ma. She was the daughter of John and Sarah (–) Dingley of Marshfield, Ma.

William Ford, Jr.took the Oath of Fidelity in 1657, was admitted freeman on 01 June 1658, and served as constable in 1666. He was a selectman in 1685 and served in various minor town and colonial offices. He saw service in King Philip’s War, being with troops on 24 June 1675, the first day of hostilities. The local military company elected him Ensign in 1681. He was a Deacon of the Marshfield church.

William, Jr. and Sarah Dingley Ford had ten children, three sons and seven daughters. They all, except Bathsheba who was buried 12 March 1680, reached adulthood, married, and had families. William Ford, Jr. made his will 18 March 1720, which was proved 22 February 1721, in which he speaks of his wife and all of their living children

References:FH7:275; PH88:102; PH212:V1:566-567; FH134:A17:2-3

Mercy Ford, the second child of William, Jr. and Sarah Dingley Ford, was born 29 April 1662 and died in 1741, both at Marshfield, Ma. She married, on27 May 1680 at Marshfield, Ma., Samuel Thomas who was born 06 November 1655 and died 12 September 1720, both at Marshfield, Ma. He was the son of John and Sarah Pitney Thomas of Marshfield, Ma.

References:PH7:275:PH88:102: PH212:V1:567; FH50:163; FH134:A17:3

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