Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon James Cook Ayer.

Early life

Ayer was born on December 8, 1822, in Ledyard, Connecticut, and was the son of Frederick Ayer (1792–1825) and Persis Herrick ( Cook) Ayer (1786–1880). 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.

Career

Ayer was involved in the patent medicine business, but is better known for his work in the textile industry. After buying the Tremont and Suffolk mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, he bought up many textile operations in nearby Lawrence, combining them in 1899 into the American Woolen Company, 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.

Personal life

Ayer's first wife was Cornelia Wheaton (1835–1878), daughter of Charles Augustus Wheaton and Ellen Birdseye. They married on December 15, 1858, and Cornelia's mother died the following day. The couple had four children: After Cornelia's death, Ayer married Ellen Barrows Banning (1853–1918) in 1884. They had three children: He died on March 14, 1918, in Thomasville, Georgia, and is interred at Lowell Cemetery. His home in Lowell is now the Franco American School, a Catholic school, and the Frederick Ayer Mansion on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts is a National Historic Landmark.

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