HOME      FORUM      HELP      SEARCH      
News : The Surname Interests Table (SIT), the Database for Special Interests Groups (DBSIG) and Ancestral Anniversaries
are now "mobile friendlier" more here ...
Record #3298
Name :
: Samuel JONES (1898 - 1966)
  aka : Wallace Ford


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 12 Feb 1898

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 11 Jun 1966   Notes : Heart Attack
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Lancashire, Bolton
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialUnited States of America, California, Los Angeles
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 1 Jul 1905
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Southwark

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesIn 1902, Samuel Jones, 3 years of age, was placed in Barnardos Home in London.

In 1905, Samuel Jones, 7, arrived in Quebec, Canada with a group of 163 children (162 boys and 1 girl) en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Placed with a farmer who mistreated him, Samuel ran away. It is not sure when he changed his name, but he became Wallace Ford by the age of 11 when he first set foot on stage, playing in vaudeville and music halls before working his way up to Broadway.

Once there was a film historian who opined that Wallace Ford was in more movies than any other character actor of his prominence. This is unlikely, but Ford was certainly kept busy in roles of all shapes and sizes during his 35-year movie career.

His inauspicious feature-film debut was in Swellhead (1931), a baseball melodrama which lay on the shelf for nearly five years before its release. He went on to play wisecracking leading roles in such "B movies" as Night of Terror (1933), The Nut Farm (1935) and The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1935); the critics paid no heed to these minor efforts, though they always showered Ford with praise for his supporting roles in films like John Ford's The Informer (1935) and Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He occasionally took a leave of absence from films to accept a stage role; in 1937, he created the part of George in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men (1937). As he grew balder and stockier, he remained in demand for middle-aged character roles, often portraying wistful drunks or philosophical ne'er-do-wells. His filmography included, "The Beast of the City" (1932), "Night of Terror" (1933), "The Informer" (1935) co-starring Victor McLaglen, "The Mummy's Hand" (1940), "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), Alfred Hitchcock's film "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943) co-starring Joseph Cotton, Hitchcock's film "Spellbound" (1945) co-starring Ingrid Bergman, "The Great John L." (1945) co-starring Linda Darnell, "Dead Reckoning" (1947) co-starring Humphrey Bogart, "Harvey" (1950) co-starring James Stewart, and "The Rainmaker" (1956) co-starring Burt Lancaster.

Samuel/Wallace spent 21 years searching for his biological mother, an unusual occurrence in the 1930's. Despite obstacles and hurdles, Samuel did finally find his mother, Catherine Jones, known locally as "Mam Kit," living in an auto trailer beside the river at Northwich, Cheshire, England. She married to a match seller known as Blind Dan. Without the benefits of DNA back then, Samuel went to visit her and, after talking to her for 5 hours, became convinced she was the mother he had sought for so many years.

Samuel/Wallace began his search while on the Broadway stage in 1915. The only clue he had was her name - Catherine Jones. Through his film connections in 1935, Los Angeles police got in touch with Scotland Yard, which in turn, narrowed the search to Lancashire. A letter from a scrap iron merchant at Northwich, Samuel/Wallace was informed about "Mam Kit". Through an aunt, Mrs. Mary Beddoes of Birkdale, Southport, who placed him in the foundlings home in Liverpool originally, he definitely established the relationship with "Mam". Mrs. Beddoes had not seen his mother for thirty years. Samuel said, upon satisfying himself of Catherine Jones' identity, "I'm glad it is all over. I'm going to get a little house in Northwich where my mother and her husband can spend the rest of their days in peace. She has had a hard life".

Wallace Ford ended his film career with his powerful portrayal of Elizabeth Hartman's vacillating father in A Patch of Blue (1965). Wallace Ford / Samuel Jones died of a heart attack on June 11, 1966, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. 
ContributorsCreated : 2008-03-07 12:50:07 / From original database


Last Updated : 2009-02-01 10:48:16 /

Family History ResearchersRootsChatters with family connections to Samuel JONES:



 
Readers Comments

Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3004 AARON, Alfred Robert1899ENG, LAN, West Derby, Liverpool Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3003 AARON, John Richard1895ENG, LAN, West Derby, Liverpool Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3007 ABBEY, Bertha1890ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3006 ABBEY, John1887ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3161 ABBEY, Thomas1892ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3020 ABBOT, Alice1877ENG, MDX, Islington Oct 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3047 ABBOT, William1878ENG,     Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
3019 ABBOTT, Alfred1869ENG,     Aug 1887 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
23669 ABBOTT, Alice1877ENG,     Oct 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3022 ABBOTT, Bertie1894ENG, SFK, Ipswich May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos sharonmx5 , patty_in_ms  
3025 ABBOTT, David Henry1891ENG, ESS, Grays Mar 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3055 ABBOTT, Douglas Groves1910ENG, HAM, Hartley Wintney Apr 1924 : Montclare CAN Barnardos  
3858 ABBOTT, Emily Jane1886ENG, YKS, Guisborough Jul 1903 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
8354 ABBOTT, Frederick Albert Prosper1885ENG, LND, Homerton Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
3036 ABBOTT, George1894ENG, MDX, London Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3038 ABBOTT, Herman Henry1882ENG, MDX, Hoxton, London Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
10624 ABBOTT, John1913ENG,     Apr 1929 : Duchess of York CAN Barnardos  
3045 ABBOTT, Leslie1883ENG,     Mar 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3060 ABBOTT, Lilian1903ENG,     Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3026 ABBOTT, Mary1888ENG, ESS, Maldon Oct 1902 : Colonian CAN Barnardos  
3049 ABBOTT, Penelope1901ENG, KEN, Sidcup Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
5046 ABBS, Bertie Cecil John1914ENG, LND, St. Pancras Mar 1930 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Barnardos  
3061 ABDALE, John George1873ENG, NBL, Newcastle Upon Tyne Mar 1891 : Norwegian CAN Barnardos  
3063 ABEL, Albert Edward G.1901ENG, ESS, West Ham Aug 1910 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3066 ABEL, Charles1891ENG,     Mar 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3065 ABEL, Florence1902ENG, ESS, West Ham Aug 1910 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3067 ABEL, Frederick1889ENG,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3068 ABEL, George1887ENG,     Aug 1905 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3069 ABEL, George1897ENG,     Mar 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3071 ABEL, John1886ENG,     Jun 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries