Dorothy Ayer Gardner King Ford (February 27, 1892 – September 17, 1967) was the mother of U.S. President Gerald Ford.

Early life and marriage

Dorothy Ayer Gardner was born in the small town of

Harvard, Illinois Harvard is a city located in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,469 at the 2020 census. The city is 63 miles from the Chicago Loop and it is the last stop on the Union Pacific/Northwest Line. History The original owners of the la ...

to Levi Addison Gardner, a businessman and one-time mayor, and Adele Augusta (Ayer) Gardner. There she married her first husband, wool trader Leslie Lynch King of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, on September 7, 1912. She met him while she was in college, as he was the charming brother of her roommate.Excerpted from an essay by James R. Cannon, "Character Above All: Gerald Ford"
, PBS Newshour, accessed 25 Jul 2008 The couple returned to Omaha, King's home. They lived at first with his parents at their Victorian mansion at 3202 Woolworth Avenue. His parents were wealthy banker and businessman

Charles Henry King Charles Henry King (March 12, 1853 – February 27, 1930) was an Omaha businessman and banker who was instrumental in founding several cities in the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. He saw opportunity with the expansion of the railroad west and bu ...

and the former Martha Alicia Porter, both from

Fayette County, Pennsylvania Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county wa ...

. Dorothy and Leslie King's son was born on July 14, 1913. They named him Leslie Lynch King Jr. Soon after her marriage, Dorothy discovered that her husband was abusive. In Omaha she further discovered he was a liar and alcoholic, but she was soon pregnant. With the support of his parents, she stayed with them and her husband until the birth of their son. After Leslie threatened her and the child with a butcher knife a few days after the birth, Gardner King completed her plans to leave her husband.Excerpted from an essay by James R. Cannon, "Character Above All: Gerald Ford"
, PBS Newshour

Separation and divorce

Sixteen days after the birth of her son, Dorothy Gardner King left her husband. Divorce was unusual then, but she refused to continue to risk her son's safety or her own. She took Leslie Jr. with her to the

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

home of her sister Tannisse and her husband, Clarence Haskins James. From there she moved to the home of her parents, who had relocated to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. That was where her son grew up. Dorothy Gardner King quickly filed for formal separation and divorce. On December 19, 1913, an Omaha court granted a divorce to the Kings. Leslie King refused to pay child support. His father

paid it until shortly before his death in 1930.

Second marriage and family

Three years later, Dorothy met Grand Rapids businessman

Gerald Rudolff Ford Gerald Rudolff Ford (December 9, 1890 – January 26, 1962) was an American businessman and Republican politician who was the stepfather of U.S. President Gerald Ford and for whom Ford legally changed his name. Early life Ford was born in Gran ...

on February 1, 1917. Then they called her first son Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr., although he was not formally adopted by Ford. Gerald Ford Jr. formally changed his name in 1935, in honor of his stepfather, the only father he really had. At the time, Ford adopted a more conventional spelling of his middle name. Later Ford recounted that his mother insisted he learn to control his temper, one he seemed to have inherited from his biological father. Dorothy Ford bore three more sons during her second marriage: Thomas Gardner Ford (July 15, 1918 – August 28, 1995), Richard Addison Ford (June 3, 1924 – March 20, 2015), and James Francis Ford (August 11, 1927 - January 23, 2001). Gerald R. Ford Library, "Gerald Ford Genealogy"
, University of Texas She and Gerald Ford Sr. were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Dorothy 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Harvard, Illinois Gerald Ford family Burials in Michigan Mothers of presidents of the United States Mothers of vice presidents of the United States 20th-century American politicians