My family sounds similar. My gggrandfather James A. Ford was born in Hastings, Sussex England which is not far from Dorset in 1822. His father was William Ford b. about 1790, and the family emmigrated to the US in 1835. James may have had a brother Thomas. Family names include Henry, George Henry, George William, and Charles. The family lore is that they emmigrated from Ireland to England, but I have not been able to push that far back. Did you have a William Ford born around 1790?