Receipt for Property Taxes Paid by William Ford (Henry Ford's Father) on February 17, 1896

When William Ford, Henry Ford's father, emigrated from Ireland in 1847 at the age of twenty he had little wealth. William settled near family in southeast Michigan and eventually purchased a tract of land. By the late 19th century, William was a prosperous farmer. In 1896, the date of this receipt, he owned over two hundred acres of farmland in Wayne County.