U.S.DiedApril 7, 1947 (aged 83)Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.OccupationBusiness, EngineeringNet worth$188.1 billion, based on information from Forbes, February 2008.ReligionProtestant EpiscopalSpouseClara Jane BryantChildrenEdsel FordParentsWilliam Ford and Mary FordSignatureEarly yearsFord was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township (near Detroit, Michigan).[1] His father, William Ford (18261905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, of a family originally from western England, who were among migrants to Ireland as the English created plantations.[citation needed] His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (18391876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (18671938); Jane Ford (c. 18681945); William Ford (18711917) and Robert Ford (18731934).His father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman.[2] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to theirEpiscopal church every Sunday.[3]Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farmit was the mother on the farm I loved."[4]In 1879, he left home to work as an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines. During this period Ford also studied bookkeeping at Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College in Detroit.[5]Marriage and familyFord married Clara Ala Bryant (18661950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill.[6] They had a single child: Edsel Ford (18931943).[7]CareerIn 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove it on June 4. After various test-drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.[8]Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation; encouraged by him, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898.[9] Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from Edison and founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899.[10] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford liked. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.[10]With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30,