Customer Reviews

The secret life of Henry Ford

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I found this book very intriguing and believable. I'm sure the Ford family tried to suppress this information, so as not to tarnish the image of Henry Ford. I wondered what happened to John Cote Dahlinger? I did some research and with the help of Alice Pepper, Detroit Free Press, was able to obtain this information on 10/15/2007.

Headline: MAN WHO SAID HE WAS SON OF HENRY FORD I DIES OF CANCER
Byline: PATRICIA MONTEMURRI, DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/22/1984

John Cote Dahlinger, who six years ago co-authored a book in which he claimed to be the illegitimate son of Ford Motor Co. founder Henry Ford I, has died in a Saginaw hospital of cancer at age 61. Mr. Dahlinger, who lived in Lexington on Lake Huron, died Friday at St. Mary's hospital.

In "The Secret Life of Henry Ford," Mr. Dahlinger wrote that his mother, the late Evangeline Cote Dahlinger, Henry Ford's personal secretary, was also the auto pioneer's mistress.

MR. Dahlinger had operated nightclubs in the Detroit area for many years. His family's former estate is a mile upstream from Henry Ford's Fair Lane mansion, now located on the University of Michigan's Dearborn campus.

Ford, Mr. Dahlinger had said, built the mansion, which was occupied by Evangeline Dahlinger and her husband, Raymond. Ford had showered him and his parents with expensive gifts, Mr. Dahlinger wrote.

Both Raymond and Evangeline Dahlinger had worked for Ford in the early days of the Ford Motor Co. Evangeline began work as a secretary for one of Ford's design consultants for the Model T, and later was Ford's personal secretary, handling correspondence for Ford's wife, Clara, and overseeing the development of Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. Her husband, who died in 1969, worked as a bodyguard for Ford and later managed the Ford Farms in Dearborn.

MR. Dahlinger had said in his book, co-authored by celebrity biographer Frances Spatz Leighton, that as a boy he had played with Henry Ford's four grandchildren. In his book, Mr. Dahlinger said his mother would never discuss his parentage, but he said her diaries and her close relationship with Ford convinced him that Ford was his father.

His mother seemed obsessed with Ford, despite their 30-year age difference, wrote Mr.Dahlinger. "She kept track of everything he was doing day by day in her diaries. She seems to have destroyed some of her diaries as she grew older and more discreet," he wrote. "Even so, I found enough of the little books secreted around the house, painstakingly written by hand (partly in French) to get a good picture of their relationship."

After the death of his mother in 1979, Mr. Dahlinger sold the Dahlinger estate. In an interview in 1978, Mr. Dahlinger said he wrote the book to put his parents "back into history."

Most Ford biographies include brief references to Raymond Dahlinger as
the manager of the Ford Farms. One Ford family biographer, David Lewis, named Evangeline Dahlinger as one of the 10 people who had the most influence on the Fords.

Mr. Dahlinger never worked for Ford Motor Co. He had been a pilot in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a professional race car driver for several years. In 1959 he bought Cliff Bell's, a popular downtown Detroit supper club. He and his second wife, Elizabeth, operated the Act IV nightclub on W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit for five years until 1969.

Mr. Dahlinger had one son, John, 28, from his first marriage.

The book was very interesting, but the ghost writer uses choppy sentences which make the book hard to read after a while. It starts out when John was a child and at first you think the book is purposely written in a child's style, but the style remains the whole way through. Aside from this minor distraction the book is excellent to read as it provides a good view of the private Ford in his later life. This is the third book I have read on Ford and it well worth reading.

If you look at the cover photo that is inside the book John looks like his father around the eyes and forehead. His father somewhat resembled Ford so I do not agree with his claim to be Ford's son, but this does not detract from the book.

Ford was disappointed with his son Edsel and wanted John to be part of the business. Ford took very good care of John and his parents and they saw a side of Ford few saw. If you are interested in Henry Ford and want a more complete view of him this is a good book to read.

I read this book with great interest when it was first published. As a long time Ford employee and Dearborn resident, I have always been interesting in Ford Motor Company and the Ford Family history. Also, Ray Dahlinger was my grandma's cousin. We never met, but I would have loved that!!

Great book if you love history the way I do. Unknown facts about Henry Ford and the boy who claims to be his son. Wish I could track him after 1978.

I met this man years ago through family friendship. I thought I would enjoy reading his story since I was young when I actually met him. The book became tiresome of extravagant and detailed descriptions of a privileged lifestyle that most people cannot imagine let alone relate to along with the constant undertones of being "wronged" all his life. Although it is sad that his family was denied by the Fords, why would they promote an illegitimate relationship involving years with a family that was not legally part of theirs?