April 11, 1888 – Henry Ford marries Clara Bryant

Clara Jane Bryant and Henry Ford tied the knot on this day in 1888, Clara’s 22nd birthday. The ceremony took place at her parents’ home in Greenfield Township, Michigan. Over the next 50 years Clara stood next to Henry as the Ford Motor Company grew into a global manufacturing behemoth. The couple originally met at a New Year’s dance in 1885 and were engaged in 1886. Clara’s mother said she was too young to marry and made them wait two more years. In 1891 the couple moved from the farmland that Henry received from his father to Detroit when Henry took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company. The couple had one child, Edsel, and were married until Henry’s death in 1947. She passed about three years later in 1950.