Ford, Francis W.
Francis W. Ford (July 1846 - February 3, 1904) was a New York City based civil engineer and surveyor active in the late 19th century. Ford was born in the lower part of Manhattan, New York City. Ford began his career as a civil engineer in 1864, a just 18, when he took a position under Richard Amerman (1829 - 1893, aka. Ammerman), who trained him in surveying. He later partnered with Richard Amerman sometime in the 1870s to compile and publish cadastral property maps of New York in the 1870s - a lucrative profession in a time when old estates were being seized under eminent domain and redeveloped into property lots. After Amerman passed in 1893, the business continued as Francis W. Ford and Sons well into the 20th century, eventually bringing his sons Frederic C. Ford, Francis W. Ford Jr., and Harold Ford into the business. Francis W. Ford, his eldest, died just two years after his father in a freak car accident. Francis lived at no. 5 Mount Morris Park West, in Harlem. His home still stands and has been divided into condos.
Rare cadestral map of New York City's Spanish Harlem.
Maps of the Estates of Morris Randel, Philip Milledoler and William Wood, in the Twelfth (Formerly Ninth) Ward of the City of New York.
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- Digital Map Information
- Suitable for large format printing
- File Size: 35.3 MB
- File Type: ZIP / TIFF
- ICC color profile embedded
- Delivered instantly via download link
A rare cadastral or property map of northeastern Manhattan, New York City, between Second Avenue and the Harlem River, and from 113th to 125th Streets. This area is today generally considered part of Spanish Harlem. The map employs color coding to define the limits of the former estates belonging to the Swiss-American Philip Milledoler (September 22, 1775 – September 22, 1852, 5th president of Rutgers College/University), William Wood (1777 - 1857, businessman), and Morris A. Randel. (more details)