FORD FAMILY

To understand Elm Bend, it’s important to recognize the families and forces that shaped the community. The Ford family, who enslaved the Caise family, lived in nearby Clover

Bottom and later Mortonsville and controlled much of the land in the area. While many of families carried the same surname; some were not of any relation so it's important to know which lineage you're following. In the 1870s, James P. Ford conveyed 62 acres of land in Elm Bend (Clover Bottom) to Ben Caise. Including the Ford family in Elm Bend’s story helps us to see how land, power, and relationships influenced the community’s development. It also highlights the complexities of the past: while the Fords were respected members of the local church (Clear Creek Baptist Church) and white society of Southern Woodford County, the people they had enslaved were creating new lives and claiming their own space. By acknowledging these connections, we provide a fuller picture of the history that shaped Elm Bend.

DEscendants of JOhn Ford

James P. Ford home off on Ford's Mill Rd.

Absalom Ford first appeared on the Tax List of Madsion county, VA. in 1792, indicating that he was born in 1776. The Culpepper County descendant who compiled the lineage of John Ford (born 1755) through his son, Benjamin Ford, stated that John had a brother, Absalom Ford, who died in Scott County, Ky. Absalom Ford came to Kentucky in 1792 and was first overseer for the father of John J. Crittenden, near Versailles. He later bought land near the farm of his son in Southern Woodford County. Absalom died in 1840; his wife died in 1831. They had a family of 13 children, all of whom survived them. By 1878, all had passed away except for James Pannell Ford and one brother Zachariah Ford who married Cynthia Stone.

Most are buried in the Zack Ford Cemetery just off of Mortonsville Pike about 6 miles from Versailles. The ancestors of the Caise descendants were enslaved in Southern Woodford County by James P. Ford, just off Clear Creek, which winds back a mile or two to Elm Bend. Today James P. Ford's home still stands and is considered part of Nonesuch. (pictured at left, it is on the Bluegrass Historic Register.)

The Fords were related to the Johnston family. Mary Johnston, b.1782, married Joseph Sellers. Their son, Thomas Johnston Sellers, married Amanda Mahala Ford, daughter of Absalom Ford. Thomas J. and Amanda Sellers were the parents of distiller W. H. Sellers

Woodford County (Second Installment.) Author: William. E. Railey...Page 90; second column; second paragrapgh

FORD FAMILY

DEscendants of JOhn Ford

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