Early Life and Marriage
Dorothy Gardner was born in the small town of Harvard, Illinois 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, on September 7, 1912. She had met him while she was in college, as he was the charming brother of her roommate.
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 and the former Martha Alicia Porter, both from Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
Dorothy and Leslie King's son was born on July 14, 1913. They named him Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Soon after her marriage, Dorothy had 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 knife a few days after the birth, Gardner King completed her plans to leave her husband.
Read more about this topic: Dorothy Ayer Gardner Ford
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