Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, valued hard work, ingenuity, and action above most else. His most celebrated innovations include building the world's first auto assembly line in 1910 in Highland Park, Mich., and introducing the living wage with Ford's "five-dollar day" policy in 1915. His ideas made way for large-scale industrial production, the expansion of the middle class, and the immigration and migration of masses of individuals and families to America's northern cities. He introduced the Model T in 1908, securing both wealth and renown for the Ford family, and would run the company until the 1940s. He died at his home, Fair Lane, in 1947.
Clara Jane Bryant Ford was the wife of Henry Ford and the mother of Edsel Ford. She was the matriarch of a family that changed the world, and she left behind an important legacy all of her own.
She was passionate about her philanthropic pursuits and social reform projects, and many of her projects focused on making a difference in women's lives, from advocating for women's suffrage to providing support to unwed mothers and unskilled girls who needed medical care and skills training. Clara Ford lived at Fair Lane until her death in 1950.
Edsel B. Ford was the only child of Clara and Henry Ford. He was just six weeks old when his father tested the first Ford engine in their kitchen at 58 Bagley Avenue, and only 2 ½ when he rode in his father's first successful car – the Quadricycle. As an adult, he had his father's knowledge of automobiles and production and an interest in styling and design.
Edsel joined Ford Motor Company, where he learned more about automobile manufacturing as an apprentice. In 1915, he was elected secretary of the company, and in 1917, vice president. From the beginning, he assumed responsibility for the company's business side – sales, purchasing, advertising, and the numerous details of the daily routine.
Edsel lived at Fair Lane for one year after it was built. In 1916, Edsel married Eleanor Lowthian Clay. The couple first lived in the Indian Village neighborhood of Detroit and later settled in their Albert Kahn-designed estate at Gaukler Point in Grosse Pointe Shores. Together they had four children: Henry II (1917), Benson (1919), Josephine Clay (1923), and William Clay (1925). The couple and their children were frequent visitors to Fair Lane. Here, Clara and Henry's grandchildren enjoyed riding ponies, playing in the miniature farmhouse, and riding in the Custer car that was stored in the garage. To learn more about Edsel and Eleanor's family and their historic home in Grosse Pointe Shores, visit www.fordhouse.org.
Clara met Henry at a New Year's community dance in 1885 at the Greenfield Dancing Club. They married in 1888 in the front parlor of the Bryant family home.
Henry and Clara's only child, Edsel Bryant Ford, was born Nov. 6, 1893. Edsel married Eleanor Clay, daughter of William and Eliza Clay and niece of J.L. Hudson, the department store founder, in November 1916. Together they had four children, Henry II, Benson, Josephine, and William. Edsel became president of Ford Motor Company in 1919.