THE MINNESOTA 
HORTICULTURIST. 
VOL. 26. AUGUST, 1808. No. 8. 
{\utobiography. 
L. M. FORD. 
SAN DIEGO, CAL. 
(See Frontispiece.) 
The original home of the Ford family to which the writer belongs 
was near the Hudson, in the historic town of Stillwater, near Bemis 
Heights. Our ancestors came from Ireland before the revolution, 
Our family was a large one, there being six boys and the same num- 
ber of girls; of these, four brothers only are now living, all younger 
than myself. 
The date of my birth was January 22d, 1825. I have no record of 
the exact locality. We resided in various parts of Saratoga county, 
New York, on farms, until most of uswere grown up, when we caught 
the western fever. In 1848 my sister Mary was married to Hiram 
Shoemaker, who soon after started for the Fox River country, of 
Wisconsin. The next season father and I came out to see the west, 
especially the part the newly married couple had selected for a 
home. He retarned, while I went to see my oldest sister, Caroline, 
who had come out the year before and settled at Mount Palatine, Ill 
During the winter I took charge of the academy located at that 
place. The next summer I cameto Minnesota. St. Paul was a very 
small place when I arrived there in the summer of 1850, 
Soon after my arrival I secured a claim of 160 acres nearly midway 
between St. Paul and St. Anthony, one-half of which I sold later toa 
friend who came up the river on the same boat. On the same land 
was in later years located the Minnesota Transfer, where so much 
freight is handled for the great northwest. 
The first winter I taught a classin French and a singing school 
which was the first ever organized in that upper country. My pio. 
neer nursery was started, in 1851, by taking up some little apple trees 
that came up in the dooryard of the small building standing on 
the place when bought. ; 
In 1852 I helped to organize a school district between the two 
cities, where now are located several colleges. It was called the 
Groveland school, or District No.10. Not finding a suitable teacher , 
I took charge of the school myself, the new building being located 
ona small hill some distance east of the Merriam Park station of 
later times. 
