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Hezekiah Ford and his Descendents One of the notable families represented in East Cleveland Township Cemetery is Hezekiah Ford IV and his descendents. Hezekiah was born on December 29, 1759 in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and married Huldah Cobb. Huldah passed away on September 11, 1835 in Cummington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Hezekiah is a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He participated in the Battle of Bennington, serving as a Private in Captain William Ward’s Company of Ezra May’s Regiment; served as a Private in Captain Benjamin Booney’s Company of Col. Elisha Porter’s Hampshire County Regiment; served in New London Connecticut in repelling the attacks of General Arnold, after his treachery; and ultimately served as a Captain in Col. Elisha Porter’s Regiment. Hezekiah and four of his sons became Ohio pioneers in approximately 1840. Hezekiah and three of his sons, namely, Darius, Cyrus and Lewis remained in the Cleveland area with son Ansel moving to Fulton County, Ohio. The family’s first endeavor was in Massillon, Ohio with an attempt to raise silkworms. The family was struck with malaria and decided to move to Cleveland. Cyrus purchased two farms of approximately 100 acres each, one on Euclid Avenue and the other on Mayfield Road. The Ford family was known for their progressive faming methods. The acres of land purchased soon became orchards of fruit and gardens of vegetables and flowers. It has been said that there was nothing Cyrus was afraid to try and most of his experiments in farming were successful. The Fords were also partly Quaker in descent and had very strong anti-slavery views. This was a family that did not just talk-the-talk but walked it, with their homes becoming stations of the “Underground Railroad”. Cyrus Ford worked closely with Samuel Cozad, III, assisting slaves in escaping to Canada. A story is told in The Pioneer Families of Cleveland 1796 – 1840, of “a beautiful Kentucky girl and a little boy, both so nearly white as to easily pass for such. They had been sold to a cruel New Orleans planter and fled north into Ohio, being passed on from one anti-slavery family to another until they reached the shores of Lake Erie and were received and secreted in the home of Cyrus Ford. A little steamer was then plying between Cleveland and Port Stanley, but its dock was being closely watched by emissaries of the southern master. The woman was dressed in rich apparel, her little boy disguised as a girl, and they were driven in a fine turnout to the boat, and those watching out little guessed that the elegantly attired lady who walked over the gangplank was the poor woman they had planned to seize and return to slavery.” The Ford family was also very involved with the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church. Horatio Clark Ford was instrumental in representing the interests of the church and assisting with the final removal of the bodies buried in what has become known as the Doan’s Corner Cemetery to East Cleveland Township Cemetery. The Doan’s Corner Cemetery was adjacent to the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church when it was located at what is now East 105th and Euclid Avenue. The church moved in 1867 to its new and current location on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Logan (now East 96th Street). After a struggle to document clear title to the property at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th, the church planned to sell the property to the Cleveland Trust Company in approximately 1905. To conclude the sale of the property, the balance of the burials remaining at Doan’s Corner Cemetery would need to be transferred, many to East Cleveland Township Cemetery. The balance of the history between Doan’s Corner Cemetery and East Cleveland Township Cemetery is still being finalized. The Ford women were also very involved in the community. An example is that of Clarissa Whitmarsh Ford, wife of Cyrus. Clarissa was the daughter of Deacon Jacob and Anna Poole Whitmarsh. She is described in The Pioneer Families of Cleveland 1796 – 1840 as “a woman who could do her own thinking, arrive at her own conclusions, and give her reasons for them with logical clearness.” The descendants of Hezekiah Ford continue to be prominent citizens in the Cleveland area today. Not only have they been successful in their business pursuits but also continue to support the communities in which they live. The Ford family members buried in East Cleveland Township Cemetery, are resting in Section 2, Lots 17, 18, 41, 42, and 43, which are located on the right side of the road as you drive into the cemetery just before the road turns to your right, include: Hezekiah Ford, IV – Father of Cyrus, Darius and Lewis and Revolutionary War Veteran. Hezekiah received a new headstone on or about October 19, 1941 that was presented by the Sons of the American Revolution. This marker was designed by the Ford family, as described in correspondence of Horatio Ford dated June 14, 1941. Arthur Horace Ford – Son of Horace Ford Christina Baker Lyman Ford – Wife of Lewis Ford Clarissa Whitmarsh Ford – Wife of Cyrus Ford Cyrus Ford – Son of Hezekiah Darius Ford – Son of Hezekiah Eliza Talbott (Margaret Elizabeth Talbott) Ford – 3rd Wife of Horace Ford Ellen G. Higgins Ford – Wife of Marshall Darius Ford Eunice Orcutt Ford – 1st Wife of Darius Ford Florintha Whitmarsh Ford – 2nd Wife of Lewis Ford Frank James Ford – Son of Lewis Ford George Ford Alton – Son of Nellie Lucretia Ford Horace Ford – Son of Cyrus Ford Ida Lavina Ford – Daughter of Horace Ford James Dawes Ford – Son of Horace Ford Jesse Williams Alton – Husband of Nellie Lucretia Ford John L. Ford – Son of Lewis Ford Leslie M. Ford – Son of Marshall Darius Ford Lewis Ford – Son of Hezekiah Ford Lewis Ford, Jr. – Son of Lewis Ford Lauretta Ford – Daughter of Horatio Clark Ford Marshall Darius Ford – Son of Darius Ford Mary Charlotte Hovey Ford – 2nd Wife of Horace Minnie Ford – Daughter of Francis Ford, who was the son of Cyrus Ford Nancy A. Phillips Ford – Wife of John L. Ford Nellie Lucretia Ford Alton – Daughter of Horace Ford Sarah Aurelia Dawes Ford – Wife of Horace Ford
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Copyright Notice: All files on this site are copyrighted by their creator. They may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from adamsnancy@ectcf.org. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are. However, it is permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use only. The East Cleveland Township Cemetery Foundation can be reached via regular mail at: East Cleveland Township Cemetery Foundation, P.O. Box 1874, Cleveland, OH 44106-0074 or you can call 216.536.7432. Last Updated: August 20, 2011 Webmaster: adamsnancy@ectcf.org
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