Leslie Lynch King, Sr.

Leslie Lynch King Sr. (July 25, 1884 – February 18, 1941) was the biological father of Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States. He was born in Chadron, Nebraska, to Charles Henry King, a businessman involved in numerous trading posts along railroad routes in Nebraska and Wyoming, and Martha Alicia (née Porter) King. His father was also a banker and achieved substantial financial success.

King attended a military academy in Missouri. The King family relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1905, where his parents commissioned the construction of a large Victorian mansion. In 1908, Leslie King, his father, and associates incorporated the Omaha Wool and Storage Company. King later assumed management of the company due to his father’s shifting business interests to Wyoming and subsequent residence in Los Angeles.

In terms of personal life, Leslie King married Dorothy Ayer Gardner on September 7, 1912, at Christ Episcopal Church in Omaha. Dorothy was from Harvard, Illinois, and was a roommate of Leslie’s sister, Marietta. For their honeymoon, the couple traveled to the West Coast and then returned to Omaha. Leslie King was eight years older than Dorothy. Shortly after their marriage, Dorothy became aware that King was embattled with debt, exhibited abusive behavior, and was short-tempered with alcohol issues. An incident involving a butcher knife occurred a few days after their son, Leslie Jr., was born on July 14, 1913, prompting Dorothy to plan an escape from her husband.

Sixteen days after Leslie Jr.'s birth, Dorothy left Omaha with her son, seeking refuge in Illinois and later Michigan with her family. Their divorce was finalized in Omaha on December 19, 1913. Leslie King did not initially provide child support, and court records indicated he had no income or employment at that time. His father, Charles H. King, later agreed to pay alimony and child support until his death in 1930, contingent on Dorothy dropping legal charges against Leslie.

Dorothy Gardner married Gerald Rudolff Ford in 1917, and her son was thereafter known as Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., a name he adopted legally in 1935. The Fords had three children: Marjorie Bell King, Leslie "Bud" Henry King, and Patricia Jane King.

Leslie King married Margaret Atwood in Reno, Nevada, in 1919, and they had three children together: Marjorie Bell King (1921–1993), Leslie "Bud" Henry King (1923–1976), and Patricia Jane King (1925–1980).

Gerald Ford’s biological father was unaware of his existence until shortly before Ford’s fifteenth birthday in 1928. Ford later described his biological father as "a carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son." His paternal grandfather, Charles Henry King, provided financial support for Ford until his death in 1930. Afterward, Leslie King inherited $50,000, equivalent to approximately $687,000 in 2016 inflation-adjusted dollars, but he refused to meet support obligations outside Nebraska's jurisdiction.

King experienced limited contact with his son during high school when Ford was a sophomore, briefly exchanging a financial gift in 1928. Reports suggest possible visits, including a summer at King's Wyoming home and a visit during Ford's tenure as Yale assistant football coach, but details remain uncertain. In 1939, Leslie King moved from Wyoming to Lincoln, Nebraska, and was arrested there for unpaid alimony. He died in Tucson, Arizona, on February 18, 1941, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.