Plan of Action: William Preston Ford, Part 3

This post is the third part of an ongoing research problem into my great-grandfather's life. In the previous two posts, I began researching to find out who the parents of William were and to find the marriage to his first wife Leona F. Sharp who died a few days after giving birth to their son, George William.

If you would like a recap you may use these links:

Plan of Action: William Preston Ford - part 1

Plan of Action: William Preston Ford - part 2

I have been working diligently to locate any information on my great-grandfather, but I am coming up empty-handed at every turn. Here is what I have worked on since my last post.

1. Out of the eleven William Ford's in Missouri in the 1880 Census, I have ruled out seven. Those seven are all married with children. The ones I am still researching are:

* William Ford, born abt 1853, MO, lives in Prairieville, Pike, MO.

* William Ford, born about 1857, Ohio, living with another family in Sedalia, Pettis, MO, but there is also an older Ford in the home, John L. Ford, age 53.

* William Ford, born about 1857, living with William and Nancy E. Whitfield (nee Scott) in Blackwater, Pettis, MO.

* Wm. B. Ford, born about 1857, MO, living with parents Frank and Elizabeth. The initial could be a transcription error, or the census taker could have heard it incorrectly.

These may or may not be my William, but they are a place to start.

In addition to the above:

2. I have searched for marriage records for William Ford and Leona Sharp on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, as well as using various search engines. 

3. I searched on FindaGrave.org, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org for any sign of a Leona Frances Sharp (birth records, census, death), but could find nothing. I tried with both names and then each name individually and I made sure to not use exact search.

4. I found the marriage application dated 25 Aug 1881 on FamilySearch.org for William and second wife, Sarah Dodd. It lists Fulton County, Arkansas as where William is from. I did an Ancestry.com search for all Ford's in Fulton County, Arkansas in the 1880 census and did not find William Ford there. I expanded the search to surrounding counties and still no luck. 

5. I have sent off for marriage records for William Ford and Sarah Dodd, but have not received them yet. I do not expect to find anything on William's parents on the record, since he was of age, and had been married before, but I am still holding out hope.

6. I have been researching the Nancy E. Nicks (nee Nichols) who was caring for young orphan, George William Ford, aged 1 year. Found information on her husband and children, but have not found any link to William Ford's family as of yet.

Other areas I can continue to research:

1. Although I have not found any probate or will for William Ford online, I can call the county where he died to see if they have any records for him.


Plea for help:

I know there are other resources I have not checked. Is there anyone that could recommend any research strategies I have not already tried? All suggestions welcomed.

Plan of Action: Discovering William Preston Ford, Part 2

I still have no definitive answers for any of my questions. Instead, I have more questions. I did find something unexpected as you will see below.

I did an Ancestry.com search for all Ford's in the 1880 Benton Township, Howell County, MO to see if I could locate William Preston Ford. The only Ford listed in that township was George W. Ford, a  one year old orphan enumerated with Nancy E. Nicks. Upon closer look, I found Sarah Elizabeth Dodd enumerated in her father's home only three  households above the young George W. Ford. In the next year, Sarah Dodd would marry William Ford.

Could this be the young son of William and Leona Frances Ford? Who is this Nancy E. Nicks? Is she a relative? Is she caring for young George, so William can work? So where is William?

The 1880 Census - Benton Township, Howell County, Missouri

The citation for this census follows:

1900 U.S. Census, Howell County, Arkansas, population schedule, Benton Township, enumeration district 050, page 426B (stamped), page 22 (handwritten), dwelling 170, family 170, Nancy E. Nicks household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 15 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 691.



Since William Preston Ford was not found in Howell Township, I decided to do a search for all William Ford's in 1880 Missouri Census. I searched for William Ford, but broadened my search to include similar spellings of both given and surname. This is a snapshot of what I found.

Out of the eleven results, I have been able to rule out three. These were enumerated with wives and only daughters in the home.

The others I will need to follow up on and see if I can rule them out.