The Ford Family

Born	November 3, 1825 Herefordshire, England
Died	May 19, 1879 ByeCross Far, Preston on the Wye
Father	John Williams
Mother	Rachael Williams
Siblings	Anne Ford Bridget Williams James Williams Margaret Williams Edwin Williams Sarah Williams Elizabeth Williams

Married

February 28, 1850 St. Margaret, Herefordshire

Bio
John is the third child born to Rachel and John Williams and he is their first boy. His older sister is Anne Williams who will become the mother of Thomas A Ford.

John marries Elizabeth Watkins and they settle in a town called Madley in Herefordshire County. They have their first son in 1853 and name him John, of course. Three years later John gets a little brother named James. Things are looking up for the little family and they move to a place called ByeCross Farm, Preston on the Wye. The Wye is a decent size river that runs through Herefordshire county and also through Fownhope.

At ByeCross John has more land to farm and has more boys to help him. Alfred is born here in 1859 and then Edwin in 1864. (Cousin Thomas A. Ford is born the same year, just a few towns away.) Things go well and the boys grow up and begin to move on. John has taken on another farm down the road and may have been worried about the expense of this, as one account states that he was depressed.

One evening his youngest son Edwin and wife Elizabeth go off to church. John says it is too late in the evening to join them. When Edwin and his mom get home, John is not there. The next morning Edwin goes out to find his father. He discovers his father's hat placed upon a rail. He looks around and sees the embankment down to the River Wye. He rushes down and yes, he finds his father has drowned in the River Wye. This fact was reported in the Hereford Times in October of 1879. So John was just 54 when he died. His youngest son Edwin was just 15, as was someone who likely came to the funeral, Thomas A. Ford.