John T. Ford
John T. Ford | |
---|---|
Baltimore, Maryland , US | |
Died | (aged 64) Baltimore, Maryland, US |
Occupation | Theater manager |
Years active | 1854–1890s |
John Thompson Ford (April 16, 1829 – March 14, 1894) was an American
Early life
Ford was born in
The theatre
Working as a bookseller in Richmond, Ford then wrote a farce dealing with contemporary life. The farce was entitled Richmond As It Is, and was produced by a minstrel company called the Nightingale Serenaders. This farce was fairly successful, and George Kunkel, the owner and manager of the Serenaders, offered Ford a position with the organization. He accepted, and for several seasons traveled as business manager of this company throughout the United States and Canada.
In 1854, Ford assumed control of the Holliday Street Theater, Baltimore, which he managed for twenty-five years.[1] Later, he built the Grand Opera House in that city in 1871.
Ford also was responsible for creating three theaters in Washington, D.C. He opened his first theatre on Tenth Street in 1861. After it was destroyed by fire the following year, he rebuilt the structure on the same site and called it Ford's Theatre.
Political life
In 1858, Ford was elected President of the City Council of
He was a Commissioner of the McDonough Fund on part of the city, and managed the old Washington theatre for a season.[2]
Lincoln assassination
Ford was the manager of this highly successful theatre at the time of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He was a good friend of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor. Ford drew further suspicion upon himself by being in Richmond, Virginia, at the time of the assassination on April 14, 1865. Until April 2, 1865, Richmond had been the capital of the Confederate States of America and a center of anti-Lincoln conspiracies.
An order was issued for Ford's arrest and on April 18, he was arrested at his Baltimore home. His brothers James and Harry Clay Ford were thrown into prison along with him. John Ford complained of the effect that his incarceration would have on his business and family, and he offered to help with the investigation, but
The theater was seized by the government, and Ford was paid $88,000 for it by Congress. The treatment accorded to him following the assassination made him remain bitter toward the US government for decades.
Theatres in other cities
During his career, Ford also managed theaters in
For a period of forty years, Ford was an active and prominent figure in Baltimore's civic life. He was connected with many banking and financial concerns, and his business advice was sought and relied on. He was president of the Union Railroad Company, member of the board of directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, vice president of the West Baltimore Improvement Association, and trustee of numerous philanthropic institutions. In 1858, while serving as president of the City Council, he was made acting mayor of the city of Baltimore, and he filled this position with marked ability. His winning and gracious personality won him a host of friends.
Death
In early 1894, Ford's health declined. His death at his Baltimore home of a
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-9612670-7-0.
- ^ "Our Dramatic Portrait Gallery : John T. Ford" (PDF). New York Clipper. New York Clipper. 1865-08-15. p. 147. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- Pennsylvania Avenue. (Chamlee, p. 117)
References
- Chamlee, Roy Z. Lincoln's Assassins: A Complete Account of Their Capture, Trial, and Punishment, pp. 116–8. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1990.
- Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 6, pp. 517–8. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931.
- "John Thompson Ford Dead", The Washington Post, March 15, 1894, p. 2.
- "Funeral of John T. Ford", The Washington Post, March 17, 1894, p. 4.