Levi V. Ford is a native of Randolph county, Ind., having been born here December 17, 1857. He is the only son of Mordecai and Sophia (Hoffman) Ford. His father came from Darke county, Ohio; his grandfather from Virginia; the great-grandfather from Scotland, and the great-grandfather from Scotland, and the great-grandmother from Germany. The great-grandparents were married in the old Dominion and then emigrated to Darke county, Ohio, where they they engaged in farming, the great-grandfather dying while there. The grandparents were born and reared in Ohio, and were also farmers, and a successful people.
Levi V. Ford's father was born in Darke county, January 5, 1830, and grew to manhood there, and his mother also grew to womanhood in the same place. The young people were united in marriage March 17, 1853, and then moved to Farmland, where he engaged in the saw-mill business for a period of five years. He purchased eighty acres of land, and then, after a time, returned to his first vocation, saw-milling, which he engaged in for three years more. He then returned to the farm, which was an unbroken tract of timber. He was a good financier, and at the time of his death owned 240 acres of well improved land. Two children were the fruit of this union - Ida Alice, wife of Saul O. Sumwalt, and Levi V. The father left his children the legacy of a good education, both having been prepared for teachers. He died January 15, 1879, and the mother passed away December 4, 1886, and were both buried in the Hopewell cemetery. The father was a member of the Masonic order, in which fraternity he took great pride, and was a good and efficient worker. In politics he was a democrat, and was a stanch adherent to this time-honored party. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a good woman in every sense of the word. A beautiful monument, erected in loving memory of them, marks the silent resting place of these two estimable people.
Levi V. Ford passed his early life on the farm, but after his father's death he was obliged to put up his books and assume the management of the homestead place. He was married at the age of twenty-five years to Miss Ella Bartmess, the accomplished daughter of Warren and Eliza (McCarty) Bartmess. She was of Irish-German descent and one of five children, Ella being the eldest. The others are named as follows: John, engaged in the railroad service; William, in the same employment; Edgar, also the same; Harry, deceased. After the marriage of our subject, he located on a farm of 10 acres, which had been given him by his father, on which he has made many handsome improvements. Mr. Ford is a scientific farmer and a man fully abreast of the times in his own peculiar employment, as well as otherwise. He is a great reader, a close observer, and a good practical thinker. He is a democrat, and in 1893 ran for sheriff on that ticket. No family in the country stands higher in the estimation of the people than the Ford family, which is a model for any household. Mr. Ford is business all the way through, and in connection with his farming, handles farm implements and machinery. His marriage has been blessed with two children, Lester and Edith.
A Portrait & Biographical Record of Delaware and Ramdolph Counties, Indiana, A.W. Bowen & Co., 1894, Page 1105
Submitted by Dusti