The Ford Family

Born	1800 West Dean, Sussex, England
Died	July 18, 1870 West Dean, Sussex, England

Spouse	Clara Ford
Married	August 1, 1826 Easebourne, England
Children	William Ford James Ford George Ford Louisa Wray Mary Edwards Eliza Ford Jane Ford

Bio
We can trace the roots of our Ford family back to James Ford, who was born right around the turn of the century in 1800, as the industrial revolution began in Europe.

According to census and Church of England records, James was born in southern England, in the Parish (town) of West Dean, County of Sussex, in the District of Chichester. A cathedral City in West Sussex, Chichester is also the seat of the Church of England and a District. This City District of Chichester and county of Sussex has been important to the island of England for thousands of years.

During the Roman invasion of the island in A.D. 43, Chichester became an important military site. The Romans built a wall around the city itself, over 6 feet thick, that survived for more than 1500 years! The Anglo-Saxons captured the city in the 5th century, and it became the central location for the Kingdom of Sussex.

Then came the Norman invasion, and in 1066, after the Battle of Hastings, the new King (William the Conquer) made a listing of everything he now owned in England. The list was called the Doomsday Book. In this book, all of the land in the area of Chichester was held by the Duke of Norfolk as hunting grounds. The land was passed down through generations of Dukes until in 1572 Queen Elizabeth took all of it from the Duke of Norfolk when she accused him of treason. Like her father before her, Elizabeth liked to chop off the heads of people who angered her, and so the Duke lost his. Later she felt badly about the head chopping incident, so she gave everything back to the Duke's first son Phillip. It was Phillip who built the first Manor on the area, called West Dean, in 1603.

Why is this history important to the Ford Family you may wonder? Well, over the years the Manor was restored and enlarged and today it is the college of West Dean. If you visit there you will also find the historical and beautiful West Dean Gardens. The Gardens were begun in 1622 around the Manor and have been tended and grown to the point over the years that they are now a protected historical site on the Register of Historical Parks and Gardens of England. You will never guess the occupation of our ancestor James Ford....he was a Gardener!

James marries a girl from the other side of the county - Easebourne, about 7 miles north - on August 1, 1826. One year later their first child is born in West Dean. He is named William Ford and will become the father of Thomas, grandfather of WKF1 and great grandfather to Top Dog. Throughout the years recorded by the census until his death, James is an "Ag laborer" and a "Gardener" likely working in the West Dean Garden ('cause it's the only garden around). By 1841 the family of James and Clara has really grown: William is 14, James 12, George 9, Louisa 6, Mary 4, and Eliza is just 3 months old. By the next census in 1851, they have added another girl - Jane who is then 7. Just ten years later, only Jane and Eliza are living at home with their parents.

There is one more census before James dies in 1870. He is a widower now and still working. His son James is single and has come back home to help. Mary comes home, married and now Mrs. Edwards, but we do not know where her husband is. Jane, the baby, remains and works as a dressmaker to help with the family finances. We do not know the cause of James' death. What we do know is that the oldest son, William, strikes out on his own sometime after 1841 and moves north to Fownhope and his life as a builder.