From the DNA test of my husband's grandfather, I found a 3rd-4th cousin match to someone whose ancestor was Mary J Ford (1861 TN - 1928 MO). Mary J Ford married Claborn Gilliam and they moved to Missouri. The death certificate of Mary Gilliam says that her father was William Ford and her mother was Pauline Eadens. I did not know who this Mary J Ford was and how she was connected to my husband's grandfather's Ford family tree.
My husband's grandfather is descended from William Patton Ford (1832-1910) of Scott County, VA. He was the right age to be the William who fathered Mary J Ford, but who was Pauline Eadens? I already knew that William Ford married Louisa Bishop. But he was over 30 when he married her, so perhaps he had a previous marriage.
Searching in the online archives of the Library of Virginia, I found a divorce case in Scott County VA for a William and Mary Ford. Sometimes she was called Mary. Sometimes she was referred to as Polly. But the first page had her last name as Evans. There is testimony from Henry Ford (this is the name of William's father), so I was fairly confident this was our William. Here is the story that unfolded.
William P. Ford (1832-1910) married first Mary Polly Edens(1834-1919). Mary Polly Edens was born in Hancock County TN to Isham and Martha Edens. She married William Ford around 1853, but I have not found the marriage record yet. Were they married in TN or VA? And how did they meet? Hancock Co Tn is not far from Scott Co VA, but what is "far" when you are walking or riding a horse?
I checked the 1850 census records and found:
1850 Scott Co VA - William Ford, age 18 is living with his parents, Henry and Ruth Ford
1850 Hancock Co TN - Polly Edens, age 15 is living with her parents Isham and Martha Edens
Around 1853 I am assuming William Ford married Mary Polly Edens. This is based on the age of their son Lewis Ford who is 7 years old in the 1860 census.
Checking the 1860 census we see:
1860 Scott Co VA - William Ford, age 27 is living alone
1860 Hancock Co TN - Mary Ford, age 26 is living with her parents Isham and Martha Edens
The census taker noted that Mary Ford was "sickly". Also listed are children Lewis age 7, Harrison age 5, Martha age 3, and Mary age 7 months. (Ok, so they had a son named Harrison Ford! Geek moment. That makes me smile! Though it's likely he was named Harrison after the president.) But I believe this infant Mary Ford (actually born either at the end 1859 or early 1860) is the ancestor of the DNA match.
I went back to check the Chancery Court files of Scott Co, VA online at Library of Virginia that I had looked at before to see if any mention was made of children. I found no reference to their children in the file. However, in the file's 32 pages you have personal testimony about the relationship of William and Mary Ford. It seems it was a stormy one including thrown rocks, knives and several death threats! Their marriage officially ends in divorce in 1866 though it seems they had been living apart for several years. The testimony of John Tignor, included in the court case, indicates that William's estranged wife Mary is living in Tennessee and presumably already married to a man named Robert Wooten.
So, looking in TN I found that on January 21, 1866 Mary Ford married Isaac Robert Wooten in Hawkins County, TN.
The 1870 Hancock TN census shows Mary Wooten is living with Robert Wooten and
children Lewis Ford, Martha Ann Ford, Mary Ford and Sarah Wooten.(Harrison, sadly, is not among them. I'll have to research and see if he is living somewhere else or has died.) Living next door to the Wootens is John Tignor who gave testimony.
On April 17, 1866 William Ford marries his second wife Louisa Bishop in Scott County, VA.
Louisa Bishop was previously married to James Bishop and had two sons, Lafayette and William Jesse Bishop.
The 1870 Scott Co VA census shows William P Ford age 36 is living with Louisa and children Lafayette and William J (Bishop), Amanda and James L Ford.
In the 1880 Scott Co VA census William and Louisa have added 3 more children, one of which is also named William P and is my husband's great great grandfather.
Here you can see William P. Ford's FindaGrave memorial.
After the death of Robert Wooten, it seems that Mary/Polly marries the friend John Tignor according to this FindaGrave memorial.
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