Adele Augusta Ayer Gardner

Adele Augusta Ayer Gardner (July 2, 1867 – August 10, 1938) was the maternal grandmother of President Gerald Ford, who was raised at her home following his mother's marital breakup.

She was born in either Harvard, Illinois or Youngstown, Ohio to George Manney Ayer and Amy Gridley Butler. She married Levi Addison Gardner on October 23, 1884 in Harvard, Illinois. They had two daughters Dorothy Ayer Gardner and Tannisse Ayer Gardner.

Dorothy married Leslie Lynch King in 1912 and they moved into in Omaha, Nebraska to have their only child named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913. Sixteen days after the birth fearing abusive behavor by her husband, Dorothy fled Omaha with her child, the two staying initially with her sister Tannisse in Oak Park, Illinois before coming to live with the Gardners in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Levi died in Grand Rapids in 1916. A year later in 1917, Dorothy married Grand Rapids paint salesman Gerald Rudolff Ford. Her son Leslie, the future president, later took on the name of his stepfather. Adele died in Los Angeles, California in 1938.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu