Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1915
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 799
JOHN J. FORD

Not the least of Harrison County's prominent citizens is John J. FORD, in whom flows the blood of sturdy, strong-minded English ancestors and who displays those eminent traits of character which have made the Anglo-Saxon race dominant on the earth. Mr. FORD has gained prominence as a breeder of full-blooded Duroc-Jersey hogs and Shorthorn cattle, of the former feeding annually 100 head and of the latter feeding about 20 head.

John FORD was born on March 10, 1866, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, son of Fred and Rebecca (Horn) FORD, who were natives of England, who came to America about the year 1856. They were the parents of seven children, of whom John was the third in order of birth. When John was 14 years of age, his mother was killed in a runaway, after which the family was kept intact by the father, who later remarried.

As a youth, John FORD lived with his father until the father was married the second time, after which Mr. FORD rented land of his father and three years later bought a farm in Pottawattamie County, on which he lived for eight years, at the end of which time he sold the farm and moved to Missouri Valley, where he lived for one year. He then purchased 177 acres in section 16 of Cincinnati Township, this county, where he now lives. This land, bought in 1903, is well-improved and bears a comfortable house, commodious barn, and other substantial outbuildings. One hundred forty acres have since been bought in section 17, and fifty-one acres have been sold, leaving Mr. FORD in possession of 266 acres of land.

Although general farming is Mr. FORD's main business, he raises full-blooded Duroc-Jersey hogs and Shorthorn cattle. He feeds and sells 100 head of hogs each year, as well as 20 head of high grade cattle.

On February 21, 1894, Mr. FORD married Nellie Alexander, who was born on March 7, 1873, daughter of Charles and Catharine (Scott) Alexander, who were natives, respectively, of Philadelphia and New York, and who came to Pottawattamie County in the early sixties, moving to Harrison County in 1893.

Mr. FORD is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He votes the Republican ticket but has never sought office. Mr. FORD is deserving of great credit as one of the leaders in the ranks of Harrison County's farmers, and has done his full share in elevating the standards of the community in which he resides.

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