Friends, Families & Forays: Scenes from the Life and Times of Henry Ford

17. The Litogots

17 The Litogots The Litogot name, as influential in Henry Ford’s bloodline as the Ford name, has been difficult to trace. It is known that Henry’s grandfather William Litogot had settled in the vicinity of Taylor Township, Michigan, considerably before the Civil War. From whence he came, however, is not at all clear. Henry went to great lengths to find Litogots in Europe but could not locate individuals with that exact name. The consensus, however, is that the name is associated with either Holland or Belgium. Henry Ford’s mother was born Mary Litogot, probably in the year 1840. We know her father’s name was William Litogot, but we do not know her mother’s name, birthdate, or date of death. William and his wife had four children: Saphara (1832), John (1835), Barney (1838), and Mary (1840). The death of their mother is thought to have taken place soon after Mary’s birth. In 1842, William was killed in an accident while hauling logs with oxen from their farm into Detroit. He drowned when the ice broke while getting the load across the Rouge River. At that time, without either parent, the three orphaned boys were apparently taken care of by relatives or friends, and Mary was put into the care of Patrick and Margaret Ahern, who lived on a farm in Dearborn Township. The Aherns are said to have been looking for a child, and with the help of Hanna Flowers, who was acquainted with both the Litogots and the Aherns, Mary was adopted in 1843. The life of Mary Ahern, her attendance at the Scotch Settlement School, her marriage to William Ford, and their five children who grew to adulthood (Henry, John, Margaret, Jane, and William) are well documented . Mary died following another childbirth in 1876, a serious blow to Henry, then age thirteen. His reverence for his mother rather than his father and his insistence that the homestead farm belonged to his mother, not his father, show his attachment to the Litogot side of the family. In Henry’s mind, the Litogot family did not at all fade from the scene with the death of his mother, Mary Litogot Ahern. Saphara, Mary’s eldest brother, was a farmer and also followed the trade of carpenter. He married Lethera Brown in the early 1850s, and they had at least six children: Charles, Inez, Abner, Mina, Rachel, and 125 Barney. Saphara owned and farmed a piece of land in the vicinity of Telegraph Road and the Taylor-Brownstown Townline Road (now Pennsylvania Road) in Wayne County. The 1860 Michigan Agricultural Census describes “Saphara Ledigot” as having 109 acres of land in Taylor Township, Wayne 126 The Litogots This is said to be the only picture of Henry Ford’s mother, Mary; Henry apparently searched in vain for others. Mary Litogot was left as an orphan with her three brothers in 1842 when she was almost three years old. She was adopted by Margaret and Patrick Ahern, a childless couple living in a log cabin on a 91acre Dearborn Township farm. Mary attended the Scotch Settlement School one mile north of the farm. William Ford, a carpenter, worked for Patrick Ahern in 1860, building a frame house for the Aherns. During that time, William became well acquainted with Mary. On April 21, 1861, when Mary was twenty-two and William was thirty-four, they were married. After the death of an earlier, unnamed infant, the second of a total of eight children born to William and Mary was Henry Ford, born in 1863. Mary Litogot Ford died as a result of complications from childbirth on March 29, 1876. Henry, age thirteen, was devastated by her death. (188.2907) County. Of the 109 acres, 49 acres were classified as unimproved. The cash value of the farm was $2,000, and his farm equipment was valued at $50. He had one horse, one milk cow, and four other cattle. He had no oxen and no sheep but had six swine. His livestock was valued at $150. His crops consisted of 300 bushels of Indian corn, 300 bushels of Irish potatoes, 30 bushels of oats, and 25 tons of hay. One hundred pounds of butter had been produced, and orchard products were valued at $100. His post office is listed as Wyandotte. In 1867, Saphara lost his wife, Lethera, to a neighbor, Andrew Threadgold, who operated a nearby...