Person:Mitchel Ford (1)

Michel isn't listed by name in anything earlier than the 1870 Census, meaning he was not one of the 74 "free colored" people in Avoyelles Parish, and most likely in servitude at one of the nearby cotton plantations. Figuring out exactly which plantation that might have been is a daunting proposition, to say the least, as slaves were only enumerated by sex and age. And in 1860, Avoyelles Parish alone had 7,185 slaves distributed amongst 554 slaveholders.

That said, in the 1870 Census, Michel (23 years old) and his wife are living next door to the families of Ade Ford (21 years old) and Francois Ford (25 years old). It's not too much of a leap to assume that the three were probably brothers. The brothers' nearest neighbors were the families of Alexis Bonnette and Francois Gaspard. Ten years earlier, Francois Gaspard is listed in the 1860 Slave Schedule as having owned twelve slaves, including three males, aged thirteen (13), ten (10) and sixteen (16) years, respectively. Further delving into the wills of the Gaspards might be able to confirm whether those nameless strokes of the pen are the Fords.

Incidentally, there was a book, Twelve Years a Slave, written by Solomon Northrup, published soon after Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, chronicling the author's experience as a black man who was born free in New York, but kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for twelve years in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. The book was a bestseller and bombshell in the national political debate over slavery leading up to the Civil War, drawing endorsements from major Northern newspapers, anti-slavery organizations, and evangelical groups. A 2013 film retells the story.

Michel Ford - United States Census, 1880

Michel's wife Marie Luise apparently died sometime around 1898 and he remarried, taking a 25 year old bride, Eugenie. They had at least one child together.

Michel Ford - United States Census, 1900

Michel Ford - United States Census, 1910