In the passing of John F. Ford at his home on Winslow Street last Friday afternoon, Redwood City lost one of it’s oldest and most highly esteemed residents. Mr. Ford had been ill for several months and his death followed an operation performed several months ago. Funeral services were conducted from the Masonic Temple Sunday afternoon by RC Lodge No. 168, F & AM, and were attended by hundreds of relatives and friends, Interment was in Union Cemetery. Layng & Tinney were in charge of the arrangements.

The funeral was one of the largest ever held in Redwood City. Mr. Ford is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mary Ford, a step daughter, Mrs. Grace Williams and three step sons, Percy E. Long, well known local merchant, Raymond E. and Milton H. Long, all of RC. A brother, Daniel W. Ford, and a sister, Mrs. Margaret Hatfield, passed away some time ago. Mr. Ford was 75 years of age.

He came to Redwood City with his parents from Boston, Mass., in 1855, when he was a very young boy. He claimed the longest residence in Redwood of any other person, excepting Chase Littlejohn, Searsville, where the elder Ford conducted a blacksmith shop. Returning to RC in the early sixties, he opened a shop on Broadway, on the present site of the Standard office and plant. The elder Ford conducted this business for many years, farmers coming from all parts of the county and from the distant mountain districts, to have their blacksmith work done.

John Ford took up printing as a trade and worked in the local shops. He was a writer of considerable merit, and while on the reporting staff of his paper met Fremont Older, now editor of the SF Call, and who at that time worked as a typesetter on the Times-Gazette here. The two men became fast friends and in later years of the younger days and pleasant were the reminiscences of the pair. In 1877 Mr. Ford took up seal hunting, and he followed this occupation for many years with much success. He spent many summers in the Behring Sea and also made trips as far as the Japan coast. Seal hunting in those days was done from small boats and the Redwood man became one of the most skillful shots in the business. Mr. Ford continued his seal hunting expeditions until the government ordered the hunting stopped in the north seas and confiscated the ships and cargoes of the hunters. A few years ago Congress voted to pay the claims of the men for their losses through the seizure of their property and the closing of the Behring seas to seal hunting. Mr. Ford’s share amounted to several thousand dollars. This money has not yet been paid by the government.

For 16 years and up to about a year ago, when he retired, Mr. Ford was engaged in the taxi business in Redwood. The deceased was a member on one of the first fire departments in RC, the records showing that he joined the volunteer organization Jan 9. 1871, and was fire hose for the department. He also belonged to the San Francisco volunteer fire dept. and was a member of the State Militia for ten years.

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