Ford, Corydon L. (Corydon La), 1813-1894

Physician, teacher, and lecturer; originally of Lexington, N.Y.; professor and lecturer at Geneva and Buffalo, N.Y., Castleton, Vt., and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Medical College. Married Jannie Chapman Messer in 1865 at Pittsfield, Mass.

From the description of Corydon L. Ford notebook, 1853. (Litchfield Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 757728134

Professor of anatomy at University of Michigan.

From the description of Corydon La Ford papers, 1873-1900. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34418620

Professor of Anatomy at Castleton Medical College in Castleton, Vt., Dean University of Michigan Medical College, and a genealogist.

From the description of Corydon L. Ford papers, 1604-1894 (bulk 1621-1870). (New England Historic Genealogical Society). WorldCat record id: 47635105

Corydon La Ford was born August 29, 1813 on a farm in Lexington, New York. Paralysis in one leg made it impossible for him to continue farming and at the age of 17 he became a teacher with a view to eventually becoming a physician. He received his M.D. from Geneva Medical College in 1842, where he then taught anatomy from 1842 to 1848. In 1847 he was appointed demonstrator of Anatomy in the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo, and while holding this position he was also Professor of Anatomy in the Castleton Medical College, Vermont. In 1854 he accepted the position of professor of anatomy at the University of Michigan; in 1860, he was named professor of anatomy and physiology. He taught for more than forty years, serving as dean of the faculty 1879-1880.

Aside from teaching, Ford wrote several significant works including "Questions on Anatomy, Histology, and Physiology, for the Use of Students" (last ed. Ann Arbor, 1878), "Syllabus of Lectures on Odontology, Human and Comparative (1884), and "Questions on the Structure and Development of the Human Teeth" (1885). Dr. Ford was given an LL.D. from Michigan in 1881. He died April 14, 1894.

From the guide to the Corydon L. Ford papers, 1841-1900, 1873-1900, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)