Frederick Ayer
Encyclopedia
Frederick Ayer was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer. He graduated from The Hill School
The Hill School
The Hill School is a preparatory boarding school for boys and girls located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia....

. In addition to his involvement in the patent medicine business, he is better known for his work in the textile industry. After buying the Tremont and Suffolk mills in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

, he bought up many textile operations in nearby Lawrence
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

, combining them in 1899 into the American Woolen Company
American Woolen Company
The American Woolen Company was established in 1899 under the leadership of William M. Wood and his father-in-law Frederick Ayer through the consolidation of eight financially troubled New England woolen mills. At the company's height in the 1920s, it owned and operated 60 woolen mills across New...

, of which he was the first president. He was involved in other businesses of the time as well, such as being the co-founder of the Arctic Coal Company . He died on March 14, 1918, in Thomasville, Georgia
Thomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...

, and is interred at Lowell Cemetery
Lowell Cemetery
Lowell Cemetery is a cemetery located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Founded in 1841 and located on the banks of the Concord River, the cemetery is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the nation, inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

.

His home in Lowell is now a Catholic school, The Franco American School and the Frederick Ayer Mansion
Frederick Ayer Mansion
The Frederick Ayer Mansion is a National Historic Landmark on 395 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts.The mansion was the home of Frederick Ayer, owner of the American Woolen Company, and features well preserved design work by Louis Comfort Tiffany...

 on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, is a National Historic Landmark.

Ayer's first wife was Cornelia Wheaton (1835–1878), daughter of Charles Augustus Wheaton
Charles Augustus Wheaton
Charles Augustus Wheaton was a businessman and major figure in the central New York state abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad, as well as other progressive causes...

 and Ellen Birdseye. They married on December 15, 1858 and Cornelia's mother died the following day. The couple had four children: Ellen Wheaton Ayer (1859–1951), James Cook Ayer (1862–1939), Charles Fanning Ayer (1865–1956) and Louise Raynor Ayer (1876–1878).

Daughter Ellen married American Woolen Company's William Madison Wood
William Madison Wood
William M. Wood was a textile mill owner of Lawrence, Massachusetts who was considered to be an expert in efficiency. He made a good deal of his fortune through being hired by mill owners to turn around failing mills and was disliked by organized labor.- Early life :William Wood was born in 1858...

.

After Cornelia's death, Ayer married Ellen Barrows Banning (1853–1918) in 1884. They had three children: Beatrice Banning Ayer (1886–1953), Frederick Ayer (1888–1969) and Mary Katherine "Kay" Ayer (1890–1981).

Daughter Beatrice married future World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 general George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...

.

His nephew, J.C. Ayer's son, was also Frederick Ayer. Frederick Fanning Ayer, born in 1851, became a lawyer and philanthropist, and was director or stockholder of many corporations.

External Links

  • Frederick Ayer at Find a Grave
    Find A Grave
    Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...

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