1878-013: Ambrose Carlton and James H. Gardner, Surv. Partner vs. John T. Ford

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Debt case in which defendant is the John T. Ford of what became the famous Ford’s Theater where Abraham Lincoln was shot. Here, Ford was in Richmond in 1849 and was indebted to the boot and shoe firm of Hubbard, Gardner, and Carlton for hundreds of dollars’ worth of shoes. He later left town and ostensibly neglected his debt, returning briefly in 1852 at which time suit was filed against him, with judgment for the plaintiffs. Exhibit attached to deposition of W.P. Shields for the plaintiffs were transcriptions of advertisements that were to have run in the Daily Richmond Whig in March 1852 regarding Kunkel’s Nightingale Ethiopian Opera Troupe of which Ford was business manager. Records of the judgments against Ford were destroyed during the Civil War and the burning of Richmond. The most recent decree in the cause (1878) indicated that Ford planned to appeal, so it was ordered that the decree be suspended for 60 days, with $100 bond. No further action evident in cause.

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