(Redirected from Adele Augusta Ayer)'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
King's parents' home 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.
[1]
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.
References
1. Gerald R. Ford Genealogical Information - University of Texas Ford Geneology