Benson Ford, Sr (Benson Ford)
Second son of Edsel Bryant Ford I and Eleanor Lowthian Clay, he was at first named Edsel Junior, but re-named Benson, a Hudson family name, his maternal grandmother’s maiden name. Easygoing, affable and good-humored, he worked in the Ford Rouge with Henry Ford II, his older brother, until their enlistment after Pearl Harbor. In June 1943, he and Henry II represented the 41.9% of shares that had been held by their father, Edsel I. One of the 1950s Ford Motor Co. directors and vice-presidents, he ran the Mercury Div. 1948-56, then took charge of Lincoln-Mercury dealer relations. He died an alcoholic. (bio by: Earl Richard Sutton) Family links: Parents: Edsel Bryant Ford (1893 – 1943) Eleanor Lowthian Clay Ford (1896 – 1976) Spouse: Edith McNaughton Ford (1920 – 1980) Siblings: Henry Ford (1917 – 1987)* Benson Ford (1919 – 1978) Josephine Clay Ford (1923 – 2005)* William Clay Ford (1925 – 2014)* *Calculated relationship
Born
- July, 20, 1919
- USA
Died
- July, 07, 1978
- USA
Cemetery
- Woodlawn Cemetery
- Michigan
- USA