Edward Ford

Sir Edward Ford, 22 April 1605 to 3 September 1670, was a member of the West Sussex gentry and inventor, who fought for the Royalists in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In his "History of the Rebellion", Clarendon judged that while 'a man of honesty and courage', Ford lacked experience of war and was an ineffectual soldier. However, he proved a reliable and trustworthy agent during negotiations between Charles I and Parliament in the period leading up to the 1648 Second English Civil War. Personal details Edward Ford was born on the family estates at Uppark, near Harting, West Sussex, eldest son of Sir William Ford (1570- 1653) and Anna Carell (1575-1658). He had an elder sister Magdalen (1604-?), and two younger brothers, John (1606-1681) and William (1608-?). Sometime before 1634 he married Sarah Ireton, sister of Puritan radical and future Parliamentarian general Henry Ireton. They had one surviving daughter Katherine (1634 to 1682). Career