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Biography/History:
Edwin William Ford was born in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi, on January 4, 1865. He was the son of Thomas Jefferson and Mahalah Hammond Ford. Edwin William Ford graduated from Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee, in 1887. He enrolled in Union Theological Seminary in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia, in 1888. Ford graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1891, and he received his ministerial license on July 23, 1891. The Presbytery of Central Mississippi ordained Ford on September 10, 1891.Ford married Annie Graham Mecklin of French Camp, Choctaw County, Mississippi, on January 14, 1892. The couple had seven children: Edwin G. (b. ca. 1894), Bessie M. (b. ca. 1897), Gus H. (b. ca. 1900), Mary J. (b. ca. 1902), Annie R. (b. ca. 1905), Edwina L. (b. ca. 1907), and Mahalah (b. ca. 1911). The Ford family was living in Winona, Montgomery County, Mississippi, by 1920.
During his fifty-year career as a Presbyterian minister, Ford preached in churches across Mississippi, primarily in Adams, Carroll, Holmes, Newton, and Smith counties. He also served as president of the board of trustees of French Camp Academy, and he was the stated clerk of the Central Mississippi Presbytery. Ford died at the age of eighty in Goodman, Montgomery County, Mississippi, on January 7, 1945. He was interred at Goodman Cemetery.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of a bound Presbyterian ministerial record and accompanying materials of Edwin William Ford of Goodman, Montgomery County, Mississippi. The indexed volume contains sections for sermon topics, as well as records of funerals; marriages; presbyteries, synods, and assemblies; and baptisms.The sermons section (1887-1920) lists sermon topics, biblical texts cited therein, and places where they were delivered. Ford also remarks on the size of congregations and how sermons were received. The funerals section (1888-1920) lists the name and age of the deceased, funeral date, place of interment, and remarks on the character of the deceased. The marriages section (1893-1918) lists the names, ages, and occupations of the betrothed, wedding date and place, wedding fees, and remarks on the parents and religious upbringing of the betrothed. The presbyteries, synods, and assemblies section (1891-1918) lists the date, place, and moderator of various religious meetings and includes remarks on individual meetings. The baptisms section (1891-1916) lists the name and age of the baptized child and the date and place of the baptism. Included are parents’ names and remarks on the health of the child.
There are annotations throughout the volume on the ministerial career of Ford, including those supplied by his daughter, Judith Ford. Also included are letters inviting Ford to be the minister at Fayette Presbyterian Church in 1898 and at Canton Presbyterian Church in 1911.
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