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John S. Ford
Born 1766? VA
Died Sep 11, 1844 Franklin Co. MS

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Father

SPOUSE	CHILDREN
Elizabeth Calvit m. 1784 Natchez Dist. b. 1770? NC d. Sep 10, 1843 Franklin Co. MS	Elizabeth b. Mar 6, 1784? ?Natchez Dist. d. Mar 17, 1843 MS	George b. 1785? ?Natchez Dist. d. after 1816	William b. 1788? ?Natchez Dist. d. after 1820 ?Cumberland Co. KY
	Absalom b. 1789? Natchez Dist. d. after Jun 19, 1856 MS?	Henry b. 1793? Adams Co. Miss. Terr. d. after 1851 MS	John D. b. 1795? Adams Co. Miss. Terr. d. 1840 Franklin Co. MS
	Sarah b. 1797? Adams Co. Miss. Terr. d. 1853? ?Franklin Co. MS	Anna b. 1802? Adams Co. Miss. Terr. d. aft 1850	Thomas C. b. Aug 21, 1809 Franklin Co. MS d. Sep 28, 1841 ?Franklin Co. MS
	Jesse Evans b. Feb 12, 1811 Franklin Co. MS d. Dec 12, 1899 Franklin Co. MS	Nancy or Lucy b. 1813? Adams Co. Miss. Terr. d. 1849 MS
John Ford lived in SC before moving to the Spanish-held Natchez District. His wife Elizabeth Calvit was born in NC to William Calvit and Jane Holmes. William (1740-by 1795?) was the eldest son of Mary Dean Calvit (1723?-1807).
On May 26, 1788 an agreement was recorded between John Ford and John Baptiste Farrell. John Ford would build houses and cabins and put slaves on the plantation of Farrell while sharing in the crop. On Dec 26 of that year, John Ford and John Calvit (son of William Calvit and brother of John Ford's wife) were among the buyers of "sundry mares and horses" for sale by John Pickens who was ill and made his will and died on the 18th of the following month [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book D, pp. 36-7, 51].
On Dec 12, 1788, John Ford was one of the purchasers in the sale of "horses, etc." belonging to John Pickens and Richard King [McBee, Book D, p. 141].
In a letter from Carlos de Grand-Pré, Natchez, Mar 2, 1790, to Governor Don Estavan Miro, that stated amount of tobacco produced by growers of Natchez, a "John Ford" produced 5400 pounds of tobacco, a "Robert Ford" produced 8000 pounds of tobacco, and a "Joseph Ford" produced 4500 pounds of tobacco [MDAH, website].
On Mar 18, 1790, a Spanish grant to John Ford of "700 arpents 18 miles east of the Fort [of Natchez], on Cole's [Creek]" that bordered the land of "William Calvit", was claimed, noting that the file containing information, such as the date of the original grant, is "missing" [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book B, p. 400].
On May 20, 1791, "John Ford" bought one of the 83 slaves imported in the Schooner Governor Miro from Jamaica for which he paid $560 [McBee, Book B page 502, p. 83].
The 1792 Natchez District Head of Household Index placed each household in one of nine areas within the district. Included in the SS = Second & Sandy Creek area, households of: Juan Holladay; Joshua Howard [he had returned by then to his plantation where John Holloway was killed 11 years earlier, his son John Holloway, born 1769, may have married a Sarah Ford; "Juan Foard"; "Thomas Foard".
The 1792 Census of the Natchez District was translated from the Spanish handwritten records. The following were all located in the "Second Y Sandy Creek" subdivision: Juan (John) Holladay; 0 arpents, 1 white [John Holloway], no blacks. Tonio (Tony) Howard; 400 arpents [336 acres], 6 whites , 5 blacks. [translated differently as "Joshua" in the Index of family heads]. Juan and Thomas Foard households: Juan (John) Foard; 800 arpents [672 acres], 6 whites, 2 blacks. Tomas (Thomas) Foard; 0 arpents, 3 whites, 0 blacks.
The Adams Co. MS will of father Joseph Ford, dated Nov 6, 1804, probate date unknown, names wife Rebecca, children John (executor), Thomas, Joseph (Jr.), Robert, George, Esther Strawder, & Elizabeth, and grandchildren "Elizabeth, & George Holliway". Son Robert Ford was a witness along with John Spires and Jacob Guice.
A Sarah Ford married a William Graves, born in SC after 1780, died before Mar 11, 1849 in Franklin Co. MS. She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Ford. They had one child by 1810 according to the Franklin Co. MS census of that year. William Graves household: 1 male over 21 (William Graves), 1 male under 21, 1 female over 21 (Sarah Ford), and 7 Slaves. This household is also found under William Graves in the 1816 Census for Franklin Co. dated May 14, 1816.
There are six Ford households that year in the 1810 Census of Franklin Co., which contained the Second and Sandy Creek areas when the county was created in 1809, including: This John Ford: 3 males over 21, 4 males under 21, 1 female over 21, 5 females under 21, no free Negroes, and 6 Slaves. Thomas Ford: 1 male over 21, 6 males under 21, 1 female over 21, 2 females under 21, no free Negroes, and 2 Slaves. Joseph Ford: 2 males over 21, 1 male under 21, no female over 21, 3 females under 21, no free Negroes or Slaves. There is a "Bartlitt Ford" (1782-1827) household, which may include the future parents of Thomas Bartlett Ford, 1827-1858, who married Rebecca Ann Cain. She had five children and remarried after 1858 to a man named Seale. These Fords were originally from SC and came down the Mississippi on a barge and settled in counties south of Claiborne.
Daughter Sarah married Peter Blackman after May 1816. He is a single male with a female child and a slave in the 1816 Franklin Co. Census.
According to W. W. Lambright's History of Franklin County, Mississippi From 1809-1899, John Ford was among the first settlers of Franklin Co. MS [MSGW, website]. Franklin Co. MS was formed in 1809 from Adams Co. (see present day map for location).
In the 1816 Franklin Co. MS Census, page 9, there are 2 large Ford households: In the John Ford household (line 2) were: 1 male over 21 [John S.], 3 males under 21 [Jesse, Thomas and ?Absalom], 1 female over 21 [wife Elizabeth], 3 females under 21 [Nancy, Anna and ?], and 8 slaves. In brother Thomas Ford's household (line 3), were: 3 males over 21 [brother Thomas and ?], 6 males under 21, [sons] 1 female over 21 [wife Elizabeth], 1 female under 21 [daughter Elizabeth], and 4 slaves.
In the 1816 Franklin Co. MS Census, page 4, son William Ford's household (line 13) had: 1 male over 21 [William], 2 males under 21, 1 female over 21 [wife born by 1795], 1 female under 21, [born by 1816].
In 1816 Franklin Co. family of son William matches with the "William Ford" family listed in the Cumberland Co. KY Census, on line 37 of microfilm page 150. Next to him, on line 36, was a similar household of a James Harper, possible orphan son born by 1790 to the notorious Micajah Harpe ("Big Harpe" executed in 1799). James Harper may have traveled up the Natchez Trace to Kentucky with William Ford between 1816 and 1820 [familysearch.org, website, 1820 Census, microfilm]. James Harper is still in Cumberland Co. KY in 1830 but William Ford is not [ancestry.com website]
Cumberland Co. KY was founded in 1798. It bordered Tennessee not far from Nashville and the terminus of the Natchez Trace. Modern map showing the region.
Son Henry Ford married Mary Buckles or Buckholtz (1797-1821) who died during/after birth of their daughter Elizabeth Ann Ford.
Daughter Anna Ford married William D. Buckles or Buckholtz on Feb 14, 1828 in Franklin Co. MS.
In the 1830 Franklin Co. MS Census, on line 13 of page 156 is the large household of "Jno. Ford Snr." aged 60-70. Also in the household were: His wife, possibly not Elizabeth, aged 50-60; 2 males aged 10-15; 1 male 15-20 (Jesse); 1 male 20-30 (Thomas); 1 female 5-10; 1 female 15-20 (Nancy/Lucy b. 1810-15); and 26 slaves. There was a another household, "Elizabeth Ford" on the last line of the preceding page 155 with a family of a male 30-40 and a female aged 50-60. The geographic location of all of these parts of the census was given as "Leesdale, Adams Co." On line 11, there is the household of a son of Robert Holloway, a brother-in-law of John's father, namely "George Holaway" born between 1800 and 1810, with a female born during the same time and no children. There was a male and a female slave both aged 10-24 years. On line 15 is the household of Robert's son-in-law "Simeon J. Broadaway" aged 30-40, having children and slaves and a female aged 50-60 years old, possibly Rebecca, Robert's wife.
Leesdale in Adams Co. is located west of Second Creek, a few miles north of Liberty Road [Second Creek Road] and now has a population of abbout 3,000. It was originally called Franklin because it was on the Franklin Co. border, and thus included in that county's census in 1830 [msghn.org, website].
On Mar 22, 1833 daughter Nancy Ford married a Jeptha Higdon (1803-1846), possibly a grandson of Jeptha Higdon (1763-by 1809), in Franklin Co. MS. On his grave marker in Redbone Methodist Cemetery in Warren Co. MS he is identified as "Jeptha Higdon".
Son Thomas C. Ford married Minerva Vardeman on Nov 17, 1834 in Franklin Co. MS.
Son John D. Ford married Mahala O'Neal on Jan 30, 1833 in Franklin Co. MS. He died by 1841. In the 1841 Franklin Co. MS Census, page 5-6, 4th entry, there is a "Mahala Ford" household with 1 male and 2 females [familysearch.org, website].
Son Jesse E. Ford married Mary Ann Buckles (1821-1853) on May 21, 1838 and married Ann Elizabeth Wactor on Apr 11, 1855, both in Franklin Co. MS.
In the 1841 Franklin Co. MS Census, page 4, 19th entry, there is a "John S. Ford" household with 1 male and 2 females On page 2, third to last entry, was the household of son "Jesse E. Ford" with 1 male and 2 females. His household was right after two other Ford households: John Ford with a male and female [John and wife Elizabeth], and Thomas Ford with 3 males and 3 females [son Thomas C. who died the next year] [familysearch.org, website].
Son Absalom Ford married Lucinda Moore on May 28, 1846 and then "Maria Halleway" on Jun 19, 1856, both in Franklin Co. MS. The latter is most likely Mary Jane Holloway (1805-1872), widow of Joseph Lord and daughter of Robert Holloway.
Elizabeth Calvit Ford, and daughter Elizabeth and sons Jesse Evans and Thomas C. (or G.) may be buried in Ford Cemetery in Franklin Co. MS. John was buried in Sweet Home Church Cemetery in Franklin Co. MS.
SOURCES: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "Adams County, Mississippi Wills", 2009, website. Aymond, Greg, Holloway Family of Holloway Prairie, internet website, Dec 1999. Cumberland Co. KY census 1820, familysearch.org website, microfilm, page 150. "Franklin County, MS 1810 Census", abstract from Gillis book, rootsweb website. Documents ... , US Congress, 1815-24] Franklin Co. MS Census 1830, www.familyhistory,org, website, pp. 155-6. "John Holloway, 1851", File H-3, on p. 208 of "The MS Cains", website. John Stillee Bible. McBee, May Wilson, comp., Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Greenwood MS, 1953, v. 2, pp. 36-7, 51, 288, 400, Book B, pp. 83, 400, Book D, p. 141. Franklin Co. Genealogy & Hustory Network, Franklin Co. Mississippi Marriages, website. MS Dept. of Arch. & Hist., 1816 Franklin Co. Census in "Territorial Censuses", website. MS Dept. of Archives & History, Jackson MS, rootsweb , Letter from Carlos de Grand-Pre ... statement of tobacco, Mar 2, 1790. MSGW, Franklin Co. MS, website, http://www.msgw.org/franklin/settlfms.html, ref. Lambright, W.W., History of Franklin Co. MS. Rowland, Dunbar, "1816 Census for Franklin Co. Miss.", taken from The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi,Centennial Edition, 1917, rootsweb website. USGenWeb, Early Southwest Miss. Territory, "Natchez District 1792 Spanish Census Index", website. USGenWeb, Franklin Co. Mississippi, "Franklin County Mississippi Early Settlers", website. Veach, Damon, "Louisiana Ancestors", article in Sunday Advocate Magazine, Baton Rouge LA, Feb 21, 1982. White, Gifford, James Taylor White of Virginia and some of his descendants into Texas, Austin, TX, 1982. Unknown author, "...to John ..." [illegible], correspondence detailing discovery of baptismal records of Stillee children in Cathedral Archives, no date but possibly mid 1900's.