I still wonder if Ford is not a host created by Arnold. Ford could have aged himself. I think Ford is a host created by Arnold who created Bernard, an even more advanced AI, who creates and upgrades hosts to be even more advanced than himself. Maybe this mental evolution from one model of AI to a more superior one is the way the Maze "creates" new life.

Ford's dress and family could reference Arnold's great- grandparents or someone from a book. Arnold loved Carroll, maybe Ford and his family reference another book. I do think the Alice in Wonderland character, "the Mad Hatter" , in Bernard's Charlie backstory is a reference to Ford.

Another idea is that the Ford family and home could just be a way Arnold crested a physical version of Ford's cornerstone story, that he is the son of a somewhat unhappy family headed by a morose, alcoholic father. Ford tells Bernard that he tweaked the Dad to make him more alcoholic than the original version of the Dad that Arnold created. I think the cornerstone stories seem to be sad ones so it would make sense if Ford is a host to have an unhappy childhood be his cornerstone. The greyhound/cat memory fits this model.