(excerpts):
Andrew1 Ford was b. undoubtedly in England ca. 1620; and d. at Hingham, Mass. 4 Mar. 1693. He mar. ca. 1646 to Ellinor (or Ellyn, Ellen) Lovell, dau. of Robert and Elizabeth Lovell. Andrew's birthdate is established by the fact that he had to be twenty-one or older in 1642, when he is recorded as a Weymouth, Mass. landowner.
The exact date of Andrew Ford's arrival in America is not known. He stated in 1673 that he was one of the original inhabitants and purchasers of Weymouth. But he was not included in the first land division, 1636, but did appear in one made in 1642-4. Hence, it seems likely that he came during the great migration of 1638-9 or perhaps a year or two earlier. He was included as a landowner in a record sometime between 26 Oct. 1642 and 21 May 1644 in which he owned "Seuen acres in the East field first giuen to Masachill Barnard on the East with Edmond Hartes land on the west and north with the land of mr Jener on the south with the Indianes land." This small acreage indicates he was single and did not have a family to support.
The second record relating to Andrew Ford is the will of Robert Lovell, dated 3 Apr. 1651 and probated 25 June 1672, in which he bequeathed to his son-in-law, Andrew Ford, on heifer, to Ford's eldest son, on heifer, and his youngest son, one calf. The next date in Andrew's history was 3 May 1654, when he was made a freeman of the Mass. Bay Colony. At the annual town meeting, Weymouth, 24 Nov. 1662, Andrew Ford and James Lovell, his wife's brother, were among four men chosen to be Wardens for the ensuing year. On 14 Dec. 1663 there were two divisions of land in Weymouth, according to the rights each man had to common land and the corresponding tax rates. Andrew received six acres, lot 28, in the first division and eighteen acres, lot 65, in the second. In 1673 Andrew was granted a few acres in the Cedar Swamp in deference to his claim, already referred to, that he was an original inhabitant, purchaser of the town and entitled to more land. The records of the Suffolk Co. Court, session of 29 Oct. 1678, show that Andrew Ford, Sr., "in Waymouth," took the oath of allegiance to Charles II with his sons Andrew Jr., James, Nathaniel, Samuel and Ebenezer.
In addition to his land in Weymouth, Mass. Bay Colony, Andrew Ford acquired property in Plymouth Colony to the south. He and his brother-in-law, James Lovell, began these investments in 1664. The first land they bought was the Souther grant, 200 acres promised to Nathaniel Souther, First Secretary of the Colony, by the Plymouth Court in 1642-3 and sold by Nathaniel's heirs, John Blake of Boston and Hannah Johnson, to James Lovell, who petitioned the Court, 4 Oct. 1664, to have the land laid out. Ford's holding was known as Ford's Farms. He probably gave shares in the farm to his sons, although there are no records to prive this, it may be inferred from the fact that some of his sons lived there and that his will mentioned previous gifts to these sons. The first to settle was Andrew Jr., ca. 1679, followed by his brothers James, Ebenezer and Samuel.
The second piece of land which Andrew Ford bought in Plymouth was the "2 x 3/4 mile tract" so-called because of its size, located between the Souther grant and the Old Colony line. William J. Coughlin of Abington in his notes called it the "Holbrook" grant. The parcel contained about 1000 acres and was bought in 1668 by Lt. John Holbrook, James Lovell and Andrew Ford of Weymouth from Constant Southworth and Robert Stedson, representatives of the Plymouth Court.
Andrew Ford was living in Weymouth 2 Feb. 1692. He probably moved soon afterwards to live with his dau. Prudence Lincoln in Hingham. His will, dated a year later, stated that he was "late of the Town of weymouth now residen in Hingham." His will, probated in Boston 23 Mar. 1692-3 follows... (pp. 77-78)
