Carrie Earl McFadden Ford with her three sons. (Sons L to R) Herbert Andrew born 27 June 1895, Alvin Leon born 9 Sept 1890, and Maurice Earl (my grandfather) born 14 Jan 1893. Carrie’s Husband Herbert Alvin Ford (pictured in the banner at the top of this page) died 6 June 1895 from Tuberculosis, when she was still pregnant with Herbert Andrew. Becoming a widow at the age of 27, Carrie did not shrink into passive widowhood. “She quickly took control of their ranch and extensive land holdings, establishing herself as a powerful business figure in her own right. during this era, she was the only woman running a ranch in the area.”
One of her many accomplishments was to follow up on a lawsuit filed and won by her husband against an individual who did not deliver on a pre-paid order of orange trees. This man refused to pay the judgement attained against him, so Carrie took her case against him all the way to the California Supreme Court, “establishing the legal right of widows to claims won by their late husbands.” (quotes from Fullerton Heritage, Spring, Volume 17, Number 8, May 11)
Following the trails of our ancestors 