John Ford
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Early Circuit Rider, Preacher
Notes:
• "Pioneer Methodist: Less than twenty-five years after American Independence, pioneers, seeking land, began a migration into the Tennessee Valley. Even before the ratification of the treaties with the Chickasaw and Cherokee nations in 1805 and 1806 which ceded a portion of the area known as 'The Triangle,' many families began to cross the Tennessee line and settle in what later became Madison County. These people were hearty frontiersmen who wanted to establish homes in this land of opportunity. From Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the north, they came, while others traveled westward from Georgia as well as North and South Carolina. Many of these pioneers were Methodists. Among the first to arrive was John S. Ford who led a band of immigrants into this territory from South Carolina. In 1805, John Ford joined the Methodist Church, received his license to preach and entered upon the itinerant ministry of the South Carolina Conference. Ford was, evidently, a man of some means for he owned numerous slaves. It seems, however, that he was not happy in this 'wild country,' and soon led his people farther south to the Pearl River in south Mississippi. In this area, as a member of the Mississippi Conference, he and his family became noted Methodist leaders. Though the Rev. Mr. Ford remained in 'The Triangle' less than two years, he left his imprint upon Methodism at Hunt's Spring, thus helping pave the way for the development of this denomination among the settlers who arrived between 1808 and 1810." - Ford & Van Valkenburgh
• "Methodism in Huntsville is older than the city itself. In 1807, just after the treaty was signed giving this section of the land to the government, a small band of immigrants came from South Carolina with John Ford as their leader. John Ford belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and, while he did not remain here more than a year, he did start 'Methodist Classes,' so that when the first homesteaders arrived in 1808, the Methodists among them found a welcome from members of their faith." - Taylor
• John Forld held Methodist Episcopal classes at Indian Springs in 1807. - Record, Vol 1
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Record, Vol 1
• Taylor
Notes:
• "Pioneer Methodist: Less than twenty-five years after American Independence, pioneers, seeking land, began a migration into the Tennessee Valley. Even before the ratification of the treaties with the Chickasaw and Cherokee nations in 1805 and 1806 which ceded a portion of the area known as 'The Triangle,' many families began to cross the Tennessee line and settle in what later became Madison County. These people were hearty frontiersmen who wanted to establish homes in this land of opportunity. From Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the north, they came, while others traveled westward from Georgia as well as North and South Carolina. Many of these pioneers were Methodists. Among the first to arrive was John S. Ford who led a band of immigrants into this territory from South Carolina. In 1805, John Ford joined the Methodist Church, received his license to preach and entered upon the itinerant ministry of the South Carolina Conference. Ford was, evidently, a man of some means for he owned numerous slaves. It seems, however, that he was not happy in this 'wild country,' and soon led his people farther south to the Pearl River in south Mississippi. In this area, as a member of the Mississippi Conference, he and his family became noted Methodist leaders. Though the Rev. Mr. Ford remained in 'The Triangle' less than two years, he left his imprint upon Methodism at Hunt's Spring, thus helping pave the way for the development of this denomination among the settlers who arrived between 1808 and 1810." - Ford & Van Valkenburgh
• "Methodism in Huntsville is older than the city itself. In 1807, just after the treaty was signed giving this section of the land to the government, a small band of immigrants came from South Carolina with John Ford as their leader. John Ford belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and, while he did not remain here more than a year, he did start 'Methodist Classes,' so that when the first homesteaders arrived in 1808, the Methodists among them found a welcome from members of their faith." - Taylor
• John Forld held Methodist Episcopal classes at Indian Springs in 1807. - Record, Vol 1
Related Links:
• Ford & Van Valkenburgh - A History of The First United Methodist Church of Huntsville, Alabama 1808-1983 by Ruth Sykes Ford and updated by Nancy Wilkinson Van Valkenburgh, 1984.
• Record, Vol 1 - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume I, by James Record, 1970, page 31.
• Taylor - Commemorative Album, Celebrating our City's Sesquicentennial of Progress, Huntsville, Alabama, by James E. Taylor, General Chairman, 1955, page 157.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Record, Vol 1
• Taylor