By Pieter Claesz, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4892401 It is a mysterious thing but sometimes, even recent ancestors seem to disappear from the face of the earth in a puff of smoke. After constructing a thorough timeline of their life, suddenly, the trail goes cold. In this article, I will be looking at some of the reasons…
The Tale of the Mathematical Instrument Maker Part 3
We last left William Ford in Part 2, back in England with his wife, Elizabeth, after a long voyage from New Zealand. Preparations were being made for the family to emigrate to the colony and join William's elder brother, John, who had already emigrated with his family in 1859. They would also be reunited with…
The Tale of the Mathematical Instrument Maker – Part 2
In Part 1, we discovered more about William Ford's life as a mathematical instrument maker in Wapping, London, but in this story, we will be finding out about events in the early 1860s that challenged his comfortable existence. When the 1861 census was taken, he was living in the family home at 20 Lower Gun…
The Tale of the Mathematical Instrument Maker – Part 1
I’ve always been fascinated with William Ford, ever since I first saw his name in the records. For a start, he was a mathematical instrument maker, an occupation I’d never come across before. It's amazing to think that he made all these sophisticated, state of the art, precision instruments in his own workshop. He must…