Thomas Ford (December 5, 1800 – November 3,
1850) was the eighthGovernor
of Illinois, and served in this capacity from 1842 to 1846. A
Democrat, he is
remembered largely for his involvement in the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.,
and the subsequent Illinois Mormon
War. He is also the author of A History of Illinois
(Chicago, 1854), published posthumously about the state from its
founding in 1818 until 1847.

Ford was the half-brother to George Forquer, who later became the
state's attorney general. The two would eventually share a law
office together, and Forquer aided Ford in his early years as a
lawyer and judge. But, he took a brief time away from the law to
become a spy against Black Hawk shortly before the Black Hawk War in
1832. He was the state's attorney in Western Illinois, then was
elected as a state court judge in the north in 1836. He later
served as a municipal judge in Chicago, before becoming a state
court judge again. This led to his joining the Supreme Court of Illinois as
an associate justice, 1841-42. He was very interested in politics
and bragged that he attended every session of the state legislature
from 1825-1847.

Ford married Frances Hambaugh in 1828 and had five children by
her, but his personal life was never calm. He was accused of taking
"stimulants" as governor, suggesting that it might have harmed his
career, but there is no definitive evidence of drug abuse. His wife
died of cancer in 1850 at the age of 38, and he followed her in
death three weeks later from tuberculosis in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois.
Interment was at Springdale Cemetery, Peoria. Ford
County, Illinois is named for him.

The couple had three daughters, two of which were said to have
died young. Ford's two sons were both lynched as outlaws in Kansas
in the 1870s, one dying under mysterious circumstances.

Governorship

Ford's rise in the judiciary led to his election as governor in
1842, becoming one of the most controversial politicians in the
nation's history. He worked hard to repair the fiscally
irresponsible Internal Improvements Act that built
expensive bridges, canals, roads and highways, often in places
where few people or communities existed. This bill was passed years
earlier with the aid of a previous state representative, Abraham
Lincoln, and Ford's actions helped turn the economic crisis
around, although the debt for the Act would not be paid off until
1882. Ford also worked to build the Illinois and Michigan
Canal, which greatly improved the state's finances.

Ford wrote extensively of his dealings with the Mormon
community, and was especially critical of their religion. He called
Smith "the most successful impostor in modern times," and said he
hoped that the increasingly popular Mormonism would not replace
traditional Christianity, which in turn would make him out to be a
modern-day Pontius
Pilate. Ford took some steps to impede the anti-Mormons, but with little results. The
conflict grew heated, with hundreds on both sides being driven from
their homes, and mobs that eventually employed several thousands of
people.

At one point, Ford encouraged Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, to go to
Carthage, the county seat, to face
criminal charges in the destruction of the newspaper, the Nauvoo
Expositor. Once there, the Smiths were charged with treason, and Ford abandoned
them to be guarded by the Carthage Greys, an anti-Mormon militia
that helped murder them on June 27, 1844.

Ford denied being responsible. However, two men later gave
affidavits suggesting Ford knew of the plot and could have approved
of it. Dan Jones, a riverboat captain and one of the few
eyewitnesses to both sides of the event, repeatedly warned Ford
throughout the day of comments he heard from the guards and
jailkeepers concerning their plot to assassinate the Mormon
leaders. In response, Ford replied, "You are unnecessarily alarmed
for your friends safety sir. The people are not that cruel."
Irritated by the remark, Jones urged the necessity of placing
better men than professed assassins to guard them. He stressed that
they [the Smiths] were American citizens surrendered to his
[Ford's] pledged honour. When Ford showed little interest in Jone's
concerns, Jones commented "[I] had then but one request to make; if
you [Ford] left their lives in the hands of those men to be
sacrificed, that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper
time and place to testify that you have been timely warned of their
danger." Later that day, returning to Nauvoo on horseback, Jones
passed Ford's company while it passed by a painted mob ready to
enter Carthage to kill the Mormon leaders. Jones records that while
the assassination was taking place in Carthage, Ford addressed the
citizens of Nauvoo saying that a "severe atonement must be made so
prepare your minds for the emergency." The officials of the
governor were heard urging him to hasten from there assuring him
that the deed (that is the assassination) "was sure of having been
accomplished by then." Both Ford's statement and the comments of
his supporting officials provide strong evidence of Ford's
involvement. He was later claimed to have said, "it's all nonsense;
you will have to drive the Mormons out yet." This is exactly what
happened. Several residents of Hancock County, and many residents
from several surrounding counties, met and decided on a plan of
action that later forced the Mormon retreat into Utah, led by Brigham Young, by 1846.

While Ford opposed the Mormons, he also claimed to oppose the
anti-Mormon faction that eventually drove them from the state. Ford
defended his meek actions during the crisis, saying hated
minorities are never safe from hostile majorities. He said, "Men
engaged in unpopular projects expect more protection from the laws
than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular
excitement." He believed that a politicized militia and court
system, as well as weak powers granted him by state law, prevented
him from doing more to stop the Illinois Mormon War. His criticisms
lead to a constitutional convention in 1847, which empowered future
governors over state affairs.