William Russell Ford was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on December 27, 1891, to James B. Ford, an undertaker, and Annie Ford. William had a sister, Agnes, 8 years older and an older brother Leo J., 4 years older.
When William registered for the draft in June, 1917, he gave his address as 1050 Adams Street, Dorchester. He was a Superintendent in the leather warehouse of Martineau & Burke on Lincoln Street in Boston. He enlisted in the US Naval Reserve Force on May 22, 1918 and went to the Naval Training Camp at Hingham, Massachusetts, for about three weeks. He became a machinist’s mate and spent his time in the Office of Engineering Material at the Custom House in Boston. After November, 1918, he was on inactive duty and was discharged on September 30, 1921.
For the 1920 census, William reported his job again as Superintendent in a leather warehouse. He was boarding at 1050 Adams Street with the family of William Martineau. We have not found an entry in the 1930 census. By 1940 he was living at 4529 Greenview Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, with his wife Margaret M. and was employed as a Life Insurance Agent with The Great West Life Assurance Co., Winnipeg Canada.
No further records have been found.
Sources:
Boston directory 1922 on Ancestry.com
US Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1940 on Ancestry.com
WW I and WW II draft registration cards on Ancestry.com
WW I Service Record. Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.