Author Topic: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)  (Read 5604 times)

Offline SuzanneTF

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Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« on: Saturday 19 March 11 20:16 GMT (UK) »
I am from South Carolina, USA and my family seems to have always lived here.

I'm trying to find the parents of my 7th-Great-Grandfather Preserved Ford (1685-1739). I don't seem to have any good records for him before his documented marriage (1709) and subsequent births of 5 children in the Charleston, SC area.

Some people's trees say that he was born in the area, while others claim England. All seem to agree that he was the son of James Ford, one of three brothers that traveled from England on a sailing vessel. The three settled in different areas.

The names of the brothers were Stephen, James, and John Ford.

One place I saw "heard" that they stopped over in Barbados on the way to America.

Stephen apparently bought land in 1699 so the brothers got here before that (obviously much sooner, though, if Preserved was born in SC).

So, how do I go about searching England-side for these kinds of records with no idea what area to look?

Offline aghadowey

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 19 March 11 20:20 GMT (UK) »
Suzanne- I've moved your post to Beginners board because there doesn't really seem to be a clear-cut link to England yet.
Unfortunately it's very difficult to find accurate records for such an early period and there could easily be numerous versions of the family tree online and in print (it's possible none of them are 100% accurate and you might not be able to find proof of any of these stories).
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline SuzanneTF

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 20 November 11 06:05 GMT (UK) »
Thanks! I'm going to bump this up...

Offline aghadowey

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 20 November 11 09:40 GMT (UK) »
Please do not repost unless you have more information to add- if eveyone bumped up their topics it would lead to conplete chaos.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!


Offline Nick29

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 20 November 11 11:30 GMT (UK) »
If your ancestors came from England, then they will have initially landed in the area that we now know as Massachusetts.  The ship that the first settlers came over in (the Mayflower) is very well documented, and no-one called Ford sailed on that ship.  There were of course many more ships that arrived later, carrying more settlers.  Ships carrying tobacco back from Virginia would 'stop off' in the Caribbean on the way out to load up with slaves, to improve their income.

The Mayflower History Website has a list of useful places in both the UK and the USA for those doing genealogical research.

I was quite surprised to find that some people in my ancestry were early traders/settlers in the Massachusetts area, and I was even more surprised to find their names mentioned in accounts from the time, which I found with Google searches.  For a country with a turbulent recent past, I was quite surprised to find that so many records from the 1600s survive.

Good luck with your quest  :)

RIP 1949-10th January 2013

Best Wishes,  Nick.

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Offline SuzanneTF

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 20 November 11 19:02 GMT (UK) »
I haven't found any of my family from New England. I know that my Todd family landed in Charleston, a port town. I would think this one did too, if Barbados was part of the route. About 1690 it was one of the largest cities in the US. From what has been passed down, my Ford ancestors had to fight for the King during the Revolution.

Offline SuzanneTF

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #6 on: Sunday 20 November 11 19:31 GMT (UK) »
"Three brothers sailed from England and landed at Georgetown, South Carolina, in the Pee Dee (river) Sections. James had a warrant for 500 acres of land on August 19, 1701. John had a warrant for 500 acres and Stephen had a warrant for 300 acres in 1699."

From Sally's "Warrants for Land in South Carolina".

Georgetown is a bit further north up the coast of SC, and they would have had to travel the river up a bit.



The Lumber River, Little Pee Dee River, Lynches River, and Waccamaw River all converge with the Pee Dee River near Georgetown. A lot of my Ford ancestors are from the area of the Lumber River (Drowning Creek), as well as the surrounding areas. In fact, I grew up in the area between the Lynches and Pee Dee Rivers. Going pretty far back, the family seems to be very agricultural which would have explained why they chose this area to settle. Also, one of them was a magistrate, but I think the records were burned during the Civil War (someone had the foresight to move them from the pathway of the troops that were burning... and unfortunately chose a place that did burn after all).



My ancestor was James (believed to be born about 1660 in England). I have no idea why there are Charleston church records for the son Preserved's family.

Offline lakegirl317

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #7 on: Monday 21 September 15 18:43 BST (UK) »
I am a descendant of James Ford and along with other cousins have been searching records to show when they actually arrived in SC. Everything I have shows Christ Church Parish, which is modern day Mount Pleasant, SC. That's south of Georgetown, SC. I would like to know if you have ever found anything relating to your post here? I believe they arrived here after a stay in Barbados and I have read that they may have been French. Have you ever run across the name Jacques Faure, which is also James Ford?

Offline *Sandra*

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Re: Where to Start? - 3 Ford Brothers to America (late 1600s)
« Reply #8 on: Monday 21 September 15 19:07 BST (UK) »
HI Lakegirl317,

Welcome To RootsChat

Unfortunately it looks as if SuzanneTF hasn't been back online since for a number of years.
However, I believe that someone with that username is contributing on FIND A GRAVE so you may be able to contact them that way. There are some Ford's listed on that first page.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47458435

Hope so.
Regards
Sandra  ;D
"We search for information, but the burden of proof is always with the thread owner"

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