West Ford
b. 1784 · d. 1863
Man born enslaved on the estate of Bushrod Washington and later freed; a longtime manager at Mount Vernon whose descendants maintain an oral tradition of descent from the Washington family.
West Ford was born around 1784 into the household of John Augustine Washington, the brother of George Washington, and later became the property of Bushrod Washington, who inherited Mount Vernon in 1799. Bushrod Washington’s will provided for Ford’s manumission and granted him a 160-acre tract near the estate [1] Miller, Artisans and Merchants, 1991 Book .
Ford served in a supervisory role at Mount Vernon for decades and was by most accounts the most prominent free Black resident of the estate in the antebellum period. He died in 1863 at a community called Gum Springs, northwest of Mount Vernon, that grew up around land he and other free Black families owned [2] Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928 Book . Descendants of Ford maintain a family tradition, based on oral history, of descent from George Washington himself — a claim that remains unresolved by documentary evidence.
Associated places
- 1784–1799
West Ford lived and worked on the Mount Vernon farms, including at times River Farm, before his later manumission.
- 1802–1829
West Ford was held by Bushrod Washington at Mount Vernon until his manumission under Bushrod's will.
- 1829–1863
After manumission, Ford continued to live and work at or near Mount Vernon for decades.
Sources
- 1.
T. Michael Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, Virginia 1780-1820, Heritage Books, 1991.
Book
- 2.
Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia, from July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861, Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928.
Book
See a fact we missed?
Biographies are built incrementally. Family letters, descendants' corrections, and primary-source tips are the most valuable additions.