Budd S. Ford (March 2, 1840 – July 20, 1879) was an American politician from Maryland. He served as a member of the
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...
, representing
Queen Anne's County
Queen Anne's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville ...
, from 1872 to 1874. He also served as a member of the
Maryland Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...
from 1876 to 1878.
Early life
Budd S. Ford was born on March 2, 1840, in
Salem, New Jersey
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Salem County,New Jersey County Map , to Catharine (née Wright) and Charles T. Ford. His father was a clergyman with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He attended Pennington Academy. At the age of 14, he worked as a clerk at a wholesale drug store.
Career
Ford moved west and lived in
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. He then moved to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and worked as a clerk on a steamer on
Chester River
The Chester River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 and its waters ...
. He stayed in that role until 1860 and then worked as captain of the steamer until 1862.
After marrying in 1862, Ford moved to
Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Queen Anne's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensvill ...
. He organized the Chester River Steamboat Stock Company and served as president and general business manager. The company built the steamer ''B. S. Ford'' to work between
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and Chestertown. It was named after Ford. They also owned one or two other steamers.
Ford was a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
. He served as a member of the
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...
, representing Queen Anne's County, from 1872 to 1874. He also served as a member of the
Maryland Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...
, representing Queen Anne's County, from 1876 to 1878. He served as a member of Governor
James Black Groome
James Black Groome (April 4, 1838 – October 5, 1893), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 36th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1874 to 1876. He was also a member of the United States Senate, representing ...
's staff.
Personal life
Ford married Emily Hendricks of Queen Anne's County in 1862. His wife died in 1868. They had two daughters, Emma H. and Catharine Ford. He was affianced with Alice Emory.
Ford drowned on July 20, 1879, in
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic resort city in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, Maryland, along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 United States c ...
. He was buried at the North East Methodist Cemetery.